The sledge scrapes across the floor as the trainer calls for one more push. Sweat drips onto the rubber mats. Around the gym, people are rowing, lifting and gasping for air before rushing to the next station. There is no time to rest here. This is not simple running, and it is not simple weightlifting. This is Hyrox, a sporting challenge that is fast becoming a fitness craze in Nairobi.
Among the Kenyans who have joined Hyrox is Abraham Omala. The 26-year-old is seeking to test his functional strength and endurance at Hyrox.
The sport is closely related to CrossFit, but has different, simpler exercises and prioritises endurance over raw strength. The competitors are put through exercises including sledge pushes, burpee jumps, indoor rowing, carrying a kettlebell, lunges, and throws.
Abraham Omala, a fitness trainer and hybrid athlete, pushes a weighted sled during a training session at Ark La Creme Fitness Center in Ruaka on September 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
For Abraham, the appeal of Hyrox comes from how simple it is to understand, yet it pushes the body hard.
In Kenya, Hyrox is thriving at amateur level. Abraham explains that the exercises do not ask for fancy skills or years of gym experience. It is the kind of sport where a first-timer can stand beside an elite competitor and still feel like they belong.
“The reason it accommodates most people is that it doesn’t have anything complicated,” he says. “Most Hyrox workouts, anyone can do them. They are so basic. Even a beginner can do a Hyrox challenge.”
That accessibility, he believes, is part of why the sport is gaining popularity globally, including among everyday Nairobi gym-goers, not just professional athletes chasing medals.
Abraham Omala, a fitness trainer and hybrid athlete, during a training session at Ark La Creme Fitness Center in Ruaka on September 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
To understand Hyrox, picture this cycle. Run, then work, then run again. It sounds simple when Abraham says it, almost too simple for something that leaves participants panting and doubling over by the final round.
The race has eight exercise stations, and a runner must complete a kilometre before reaching the next station.
“You have to run one kilometre after each of the eight stations,” he says.
By the time a participant crosses the finish line, legs shaking and lungs burning, they have covered eight kilometres of running on top of eight demanding stations of strength work.
Those stations follow a set order, and each one tests a different part of the body. “At the first station, after running the first kilometre, you do a skier machine for 1,000 metres,” Abraham says, arms pulling hard against the resistance.
From there, the challenge continues. “After the skier, you do a sledge push. After that, a sledge pull,” Abraham explains.
“After a sledge pull, you do burpees to broad jumps,” he adds, a movement that leaves many people flat on the floor.
“After burpees to broad jump, you do air row. After that, farmers carry [where you hold a weight in each hand at your sides and walk steadily for a set distance or time],” Abraham says. “After farmers carry, you’re going to do walking lunges. Thereafter, you do wall balls,” he finishes.
Abraham Omala, a fitness trainer and hybrid athlete, does a kettleball farmers’ carry during a training session at Ark La Creme Fitness Center in Ruaka on September 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Abraham says the sledge push is one station that looks easier than it actually is, the kind of exercise that fools people watching from the sidelines. There is nothing complicated about it, just a heavy sledge and a stretch of floor to cover, but the weight may not move as fast as tired legs want it to. It takes patience and control to keep pushing when the body wants to stop, when every muscle is begging for a break.
“You need to push on even when you’re tired,” Abraham says.
Running makes up the biggest part of the entire workout, and Abraham is clear about how important it is for anyone hoping to try Hyrox.
“You have to be good at running, because it is 60 per cent of the routine.” The other 40 per cent, he explains, comes from the functional stations spread throughout the race.
This balance is what makes Hyrox different from a normal gym session or a straightforward road run. It blends both worlds into one long test of endurance and strength.
Abraham believes it comes down to how real and useful the movements feel in everyday life. He points to farmers’ carry as a clear example.
“It involves carrying one dumbbell from one point to another point. In your day-to-day activity, you need that strength of carrying your things,” he says.
Abraham Omala, a fitness trainer and hybrid athlete, during a training session at Ark La Creme Fitness Center in Ruaka on September 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Founded in 2017 primarily as an indoor discipline, Abraham says Hyrox is not just about looking physically fit for a photo. It is about building strength that one can actually use outside the gym, whether you are carrying shopping bags up a staircase, moving furniture into a new house or simply getting through a long, busy day.
“It is a longer-term exercise because it accommodates most people,” he says, arguing that unlike some fitness fads that only suit a narrow group of athletes, Hyrox welcomes beginners, casual gym-goers, and competitive athletes all on the same floor, sweating through the same stations at the same time.
That mix of people, all working toward the same finish line, all cheering each other through the final wall balls, is part of what makes the sport feel different.
For anyone wondering whether they are fit enough to try it, Abraham has simple advice.
“Take a month or two before trying,” he says.
In Kenya, the Hyrox competitions are often split into categories, starting with novice and open divisions before athletes move up to the professional level.
“You can try the novice or even the open category to test your endurance,” says Abraham, who works as a trainer and hybrid athlete [someone who trains to develop strength and endurance]. “And once you’re good enough and you’ve trained enough, you can try the pro categories.”
This step by step approach allows beginners to build confidence slowly, without the pressure of comparing themselves to people who have trained for years.
Abraham Omala, a fitness trainer and hybrid athlete, performs a wall-ball shot during a training session at Ark La Creme Fitness Center in Ruaka on September 11, 2026.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Still, Hyrox is not without its risks, especially for people who rush into intense training without proper preparation. Abraham says the most common injury he sees among beginners is muscle pull, usually caused by not preparing the body well enough before pushing hard. He is direct about the mistake many newcomers make: the same mistake.
“They start doing intense workouts. They start to compare themselves with the elite athletes,” he says. “Just start small, build slowly, and you’ll get there.”
His advice reflects a growing concern in the fitness world, where people jump onto a workout trend they see online without recognising the years of training and conditioning that elite athletes have built behind the scenes.
“That is a common thing in the fitness industry right now. You just try a workout because you saw it online and you don’t know when and how it’s supposed to work.”
Before jumping on the Hyrox craze, Abraham also strongly recommends training with a coach rather than attempting the exercises alone, especially for beginners who do not yet understand pacing or technique. “There is something we call efficiency that you need to learn from someone,” he says.
Also, Abraham notes that not every fitness coach is equipped to guide someone through Hyrox.
“Only trainers who have competed and studied the rules can teach the kind of efficiency that separates a good performance from a painful one,” he says.
Recovery matters just as much as training, Abraham says. It is something he stresses to every fitness enthusiast. After every race or hard session, the body needs care, but that does not mean simply lying down and doing nothing for the rest of the day.
“Just do something light, keep your body moving, so that it can shut down,” he explains. “Gentle movement after intense effort helps the body settle instead of crashing suddenly.”
For Abraham, the pain and panting are part of the reward, the very thing that keeps people coming back for more.
“It is a good feeling for most of the people who have done it,” he says. “The fact that you have pushed yourself, you know what your body can do…I actually find that quite appealing.”
