If you're currently involved in the functional fitness scene, you've probably noticed this trend yourself: A few years ago, it felt like everything revolved around CrossFit. Then HYROX came along, and suddenly everyone was training for sled pushes, wall balls, and running intervals.
These days, new names are popping up more and more often: ATHX Games. XENOM. World Fitness Project. New competitions. New concepts. New promises.
And perhaps by now you’re asking yourself the same question as many other athletes: Do we really need even more functional fitness competitions? Or to put it another way: Is HYROX just the beginning of a much bigger trend?
Because even though HYROX is still booming right now, the functional fitness scene is currently undergoing noticeable changes. The big question is: Why are so many new formats emerging in the first place?
How HYROX Has Changed Functional Fitness
To understand why new competition formats are emerging today, it’s worth taking a look back. Because no matter what you personally think of HYROX: The format has changed the fitness market.
Before HYROX, many fitness enthusiasts really only had two options:
Either you just worked out for yourself—without a specific goal.
Or you joined an existing competitive scene, such as CrossFit.
HYROX has created a third option.
Suddenly, there was a competition that was challenging enough to appeal to ambitious athletes, yet remained accessible enough that even regular gym-goers could participate. That was (and is) precisely where the strength of the format lies.
You didn't have to be able to do a muscle-up, master Olympic weightlifting techniques, or have years of CrossFit experience. If you were willing to run, push yourself, and train, you could get started. And that's exactly what millions of people did.
But along with that success came something else: a completely new target group of athletes. People who don't just want to work out, but who are training for a specific event and want to measure their progress.
And it is precisely for this target audience that new formats are now being developed.
New Functional Fitness Competitions: What Alternatives to HYROX Are Emerging?
What's interesting is that the new formats don't all have the same goal. They aren't simply trying to copy HYROX. Rather, they have different focuses and appeal to different types of athletes.
The most exciting ones right now are:
ATHX Games: More athleticism instead of pure racing performance
ATHX Games are currently among the most exciting developments in the functional fitness market. When you talk to athletes who have tried both CrossFit and HYROX, you often hear similar comments:
“HYROX is fun, but at some point the training gets very specific.”
“CrossFit is varied, but not everyone wants to learn gymnastics or Olympic weightlifting.”
ATHX Games positions itself right between these two worlds.
The focus isn't on how fast you can run eight kilometers. Instead, the goal is to get as comprehensive a picture as possible of your athletic ability: strength, speed, explosiveness, coordination, and endurance.
ATHX is a 2.5-hour, non-stop fitness competition that spans six zones—such as the Strength Zone, Refuel Zone, and MetCon X Zone—and includes various challenges.
The ATHX Games aim to take a more holistic approach to fitness. This makes the format particularly appealing to people who don't see themselves exclusively as runners or hybrid athletes.
At the same time, ATHX faces a challenge common to many new formats: HYROX is extremely easy to understand. The ATHX Games are significantly more complex.
And that's exactly why it will be interesting to see whether the versatility of the format can prevail in the long run or whether the simplicity of HYROX will continue to be the greater advantage.
XENOM: An Attempt to Rethink Fitness
XENOM, on the other hand, takes a different approach. While many competitions are primarily aimed at determining who is stronger, faster, or fitter, XENOM seems to take a broader perspective.
The format describes itself as a kind of “Decathlon of Fitness”—that is, as a multi-event competition that brings together various athletic skills. That alone already points to an interesting development.
This is because functional fitness is increasingly moving away from the idea of testing just a single skill. Instead, the focus is shifting to the question: What does fitness actually mean?
Is it the ability to run long distances? To lift heavy weights? Does it mean endurance? Or strength? The truth probably lies somewhere in between. And that’s exactly where XENOM aims to make a difference.
It is currently difficult to predict whether this format will catch on in the long term. What is interesting, however, is that the focus here is on a different concept than in traditional race formats: Not maximum specialization, but the broadest possible range of abilities.
World Fitness Project: The New Stage for Elite Athletes
While ATHX and XENOM are testing new ideas for recreational sports, the World Fitness Project is taking a different approach. It’s less about the average fitness enthusiast. It’s about the elite and the best of the best.
That is why the World Fitness Project is often compared more to the CrossFit Games than to HYROX. The goal is to further develop functional fitness as a professional competitive sport.
Why is this relevant for recreational athletes, too? Because the elite level of a sport almost always influences the broader base. That was the case with CrossFit. That was the case with triathlon. And that will likely be the case with functional fitness as well.
The workouts, training methods, and performance standards developed at the highest levels often find their way into the daily lives of ordinary athletes at some point.
Why are so many new fitness formats suddenly popping up?
That is actually the most intriguing question in the entire article. After all, ATHX, XENOM, and the World Fitness Project are ultimately just symptoms of a larger trend. The real change is taking place on a different level.
Fitness bedeutet heute etwas anderes als noch vor zehn oder fünfzehn Jahren.
In the past, fitness was often an end in itself. People would go to the gym, work out, and then head home. Today, many people want more. They want a goal, a community, an experience. And they want something to work toward.
That's exactly why marathons, triathlons, HYROX races, and other competitive events have become so popular. They give training a purpose.
When you’re training for an event, even an unspectacular interval session suddenly feels meaningful. Sunday’s long run takes on new significance. Strength training takes on a purpose. Training becomes preparation. And that’s exactly what motivates many people far more than an abstract goal like “getting fitter”.
There's another factor to consider: The functional fitness scene has now grown large enough to accommodate a variety of interests. Not everyone wants to do CrossFit or HYROX. Not everyone wants to compete.
The larger the community grows, the more room there is for specialization. And that is exactly why we are currently seeing more and more new formats.
What might the future of functional fitness look like?
Many discussions take place as if there had to be a winner in the end. ATHX versus HYROX. CrossFit versus World Fitness Project. XENOM versus everyone else. But perhaps that’s exactly the wrong way to look at it.
If we look at other sports, we see that various formats have long coexisted there.
In endurance sports, there are:
Marathons
Triathlons
Trail Runs
Ultramarathons
In strength training, there are:
Powerlifting
Strongman
No one expects any one of these formats to replace all the others. Why should it be any different in functional fitness? Perhaps the future lies precisely in athletes having more choices.
The next fitness craze may have already begun
The most interesting development in the coming years will likely not be which format prevails. The more exciting development is that functional fitness is becoming increasingly diverse.
HYROX has proven that people are willing to train for fitness events.
ATHX shows that many athletes are looking for more versatility.
XENOM raises the question of how broadly fitness should actually be defined.
And the World Fitness Project is working to develop functional fitness into a professional sport.
Perhaps that is why we are not currently witnessing the end of the HYROX boom, but rather the moment when functional fitness is coming of age.
And that could be the best news ever for athletes like you, because more formats ultimately mean one thing above all else: more opportunities to find the challenge that’s truly right for you.
