Full power into the pain - Hyrox World Champion Linda Meier

She runs, jumps, lifts weights, and throws medicine balls in the air: Linda Meier. And she's one of the best at it. In the relatively new fitness sport Hyrox, Linda is among the absolute world elite, even winning the phenomenal world championship title in 2025! We spoke with the business information technology graduate about what it takes to successfully complete a Hyrox competition, her secret to success, and how she manages the double burden of a full-time job and peak athletic performance.

The air crackles with tension, the large hall is dark, music blares from the speakers, and muscle-bound men and women are everywhere. One of them is Linda Meier. She's standing at the starting line of a Hyrox competition. Full of motivation and with a healthy dose of adrenaline in her system. Because she knows: It's about to begin. An hour of full throttle, with lactate, pain, joy, happiness, fulfillment. And before a competition, she always thinks to herself:

“What on earth am I doing here!?”

This is Hyrox!

But what is Hyrox anyway? Hyrox, which is a combination of the words Hybrid and Rocks, was invented in 2017 by Hamburg entrepreneur Christian Toetzke and former German hockey player Moritz Fürste. In this fitness sport, athletes alternate between running one kilometer and completing a strength and endurance station. There are eight strength stations. At the first station, they complete a distance of one kilometer on a ski ergometer. At the second station, a weight sled is pulled 50 meters, and at the third station, it is pushed 50 meters. This is followed by 80 meters of burpee jumps, one kilometer of rowing, 200 meters of kettlebell carrying, 100 meters of lunges with a sandbag on the shoulders, and finally, a medicine ball must be thrown upwards against the wall 100 times. After a total of eight kilometers of running and the eight stations, the Roxzones, the pain is over. The fittest men need just over 50 minutes to complete the race, while the best women need just under an hour.

An Hour of Full Throttle

Linda is among the world's elite women, competes in the Elite 15 races, where the 15 best women in the world rankings compete against each other, and finished 3rd at the European Championships and 5th at the World Championships. Her personal best is a few seconds over an hour, so the goal is clear: "Next season, I want to break the magic mark of one hour," says Linda.

Strength + Endurance Wins

Linda has been participating in Hyrox races since 2019. Friends at the gym asked her if she wanted to participate, and Linda immediately said yes. Of course. Because the young woman from Duisburg is a sports enthusiast through and through. She practically can't live without it. As a teenager, she was in a swimming club, played basketball and soccer, did track and field, and jogged regularly. Even as a toddler, she spent a lot of time in the gym, as her mother, now a HYROX athlete herself and vice world champion in her age group, was a weightlifter. Strength and endurance are practically in Linda's blood. And that's exactly what it takes for a Hyrox race. Linda won the competition in her age group at her first attempt and was hooked. By the atmosphere, the fitness exercises presented in a competitive format, by everything. "I've actually never experienced someone who took part in a Hyrox competition saying afterwards: That wasn't fun, I'll never do it again," says Linda with a smile.
 

Trend Sport Event Sport

It's no wonder that last year alone, 90,000 sports enthusiasts participated in Hyrox competitions in cities like London, New York, Madrid, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. And Hyrox continues to grow worldwide. Every year, new cities and countries are added, and records are broken: With 12,500 participants in London, Hyrox is the largest fitness race in the world.

For anyone interested in trying HYROX, Linda advises a good running background. "You should be able to run at least ten kilometers consistently," recommends Linda. A certain level of strength is also necessary. "If someone just wants to try it out, there are also options for tandem racing, in a relay race, or in the Open, where lighter weights are used," says Linda.

“I need to be slowed down”

Linda herself started out in the pro category with her strength foundation. And since then, she's been a top athlete in the sport. But the competition never sleeps; the races are getting faster, and the competition is getting more competitive.

"I now train much more specifically, have a coach, and place a greater focus on recovery," says Linda, who, when she first started with Hyrox, says she was simply keen to push herself. "I never need to motivate myself to train; I need to be slowed down," Linda laughs.

But too much exercise, and especially Hyrox, can easily lead to injuries – if the fundamentals aren't right. Linda herself has already suffered a stress fracture, periostitis, and shin splints. Today, Linda takes at least 10 to 15 minutes every day to roll on a BLACKROLL® foam roller, massage herself with the fascia gun, or refresh her tired legs in the COMPRESSION BOOTS. "Not having time for it is always a bad excuse, in my opinion. Because a lot of it can be done on the side, at your desk, or while scrolling through Instagram," says Linda. The many small exercises help her recover faster so she can then go full throttle again.

Good sleep is the secret recipe

Talking about full throttle: Linda can only smile wearily at the 5am Club. Her alarm clock rings at 4:30 a.m. Then it's off to training. And after 60 to 90 minutes of exercise, it's off to work. Full-time, sometimes until late in the evening, and a regular commute from Duisburg to Frankfurt. Sleep is therefore a precious commodity in Linda's life. "Due to my job and competitions, I sleep in hotels a lot. The RECOVERY PILLOW from BLACKROLL® helps me sleep better and reduces my migraine attacks," Linda reveals her secret recipe for healthy sleep.

Enjoy your success

Despite all the effort and deprivation, sport isn't a duty, torture, or a professional goal for Linda. "Hyrox is purely a personal pleasure for me; I do it because I enjoy it," says Linda. This very attitude is probably another secret to her success. Because to complete a Hyrox competition quickly and successfully, you need the right attitude. When Linda is at the starting line, she often thinks, although she sometimes also wonders what she's actually doing:

“Cool, I can step on the gas today.”

And if that's the case, the chances are pretty high that Linda will finish at the front and cross the finish line with a smile on her face. And that happens regularly.

With her long-term goal of staying healthy so that she can still successfully complete Hyrox races at the age of 60, the foundation has been laid for us to see Linda cross the finish line smiling many more times.

At the end of November 2024, Linda will continue with her first World Championship qualifying race. And one thing is already clear: If you want to beat her, you'll have to get up early.