Best of Philly Spotlight: How to Prep for HYROX
These Philly-area businesses will help you train for — and recover from! — the popular fitness competition.
Here’s where you can prep for HYROX, the popular fitness competition. / Photography courtesy of Arena Fitness & Performance
You’ve signed up for HYROX — now here’s how to crush the competition everyone’s talking about, from the all-out workouts (wall balls!) to the full-throttle runs.
Conquer the Course
Head to Arena Fitness & Performance, the region’s Best Gym to Train for HYROX. (It was founded by Chris Beck — a longtime personal trainer and HYROX world champ qualifier — and is the second HYROX affiliate gym in North America.) Here, you’ll tackle workouts such as pushing and pulling power sleds and throwing a weighted ball nine feet in the air — all things you’ll do during different portions of the competition — under the watchful eye of skilled trainers. The group classes, focused on agility, strength, and cardio, will kick your ass but help you power through the finish line.
Run — for Longer
Hit the trails with Wissahickon Wanderers. This year’s Best Run Club, which meets at Valley Green Inn for four- to five-mile jaunts on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings, will get you zigzagging through the wooded Wiss. Several group members have competed in the Worlds End 100K and the Rabid Raccoon 100 (PA’s premier trail ultramarathon), making them ideal stamina-pushing partners. (For context, HYROX competitors alternate between running one kilometer and doing a workout a total of eight times — or almost five miles.) All that hardcore training will make the running portion of HYROX that much faster.
Soothe Sore Muscles
Inside a sauna at Surge Sauna & Cold Plunge / Photograph courtesy of Surge Sauna & Cold Plunge
Let loose at Surge Sauna & Cold Plunge, home to the Best Recovery Space around. Formerly a garage, the open-concept studio in Downingtown boasts a wooden barrel dry sauna (hand-built by the owner), red-light therapy, infrared saunas, NormaTec compression leg sleeves, and three cold-plunge tanks that provide ultimate recharging and repair. (They’re all said to reduce inflammation and improve sleep.) As for the lounge area? It’s replete with locally sourced hibiscus tea and honey, comfy seating, and books — and evokes the congenial nature of social spas.
>> Click here to return to Best of Philly 2026
Published as “Fitness Frenzy” in the August 2026 issue of Philadelphia magazine.
The biggest celebration of the year is back. Join us on August 4th for an unforgettable night of fun, food, and drink from the city’s top restaurants at the Best of Philly Party. Get your tickets here!
