Summary:
In this article I explore whether gym owners should add Hyrox training to their fitness business, by unpacking six key questions to help decide if it’s the right strategic fit.
6 things you’ll learn in this article
- How to assess whether Hyrox actually solves a meaningful problem for your specific target market.
- Why understanding your gym’s USP is critical before adding new programs like Hyrox.
- How offering too many services can dilute your positioning and weaken your brand.
- The importance of being either 10 times better or meaningfully different when competing in crowded fitness trends.
- How to spot hidden opportunities by zigging when other gyms are zagging.
- The risks of aligning your gym’s brand with external brands like Hyrox, and how that can impact your reputation long-term.
Gym owners are always looking for the next big thing.
That thing that can add a couple of zeros to the bottom line of their bank statements.
So when Hyrox came along, a lot of gym owners saw dollar signs. Here was a global fitness movement that has captured the attention of both recreational exercisers and pro athletes.
If you’ve been living under a rock, Hyrox is basically a cross between a fun run for people who get bored easily, an obstacle course race for people who don’t like getting mud in their hair, and a CrossFit competition for people who can’t walk on their hands.
This is a movement that is expected to reach almost 500,000 participants this year, across 85 events in 26 countries. There are around 5,000 affiliated gyms worldwide.
For gym owners, the barrier to entry is really low. Most, if not all gyms already have all the equipment needed to offer their clients and members the Hyrox experience. The initial financial outlay is virtually non existent.
But here’s an interesting observation. If you look at a map of Hyrox Gyms, a lot of the 5,000 gyms listed as offering Hyrox are actually CrossFit Gyms, F45s, or other existing ‘functional fitness’ businesses.
With astronomical growth numbers, and this low barrier to entry, it almost seems like a no-brainer that you should consider adding Hyrox training to your service offerings.
But there’s a pattern that repeats time and time again in businesses that are easy to start. Because people don’t have to work hard or invest heavily to set them up, and because the hurdles to clear are so low, there’s very little filtering. There’s nothing to keep out and protect the people who maybe aren’t cut out to run a business like that. And that means everyone gets to play. And things start to get pretty crowded. It’s like the PT industry. It’s getting easier and easier to become a qualified PT. And the rates of people leaving the industry are getting higher and higher.
I’ve spoken about ways to pivot your fitness business before, in episode 48 of The Business of Fitness Podcast, 9 ways to pivot your fitness business to earn more (read the article here).
So it got me thinking, is there a filter we can apply to Hyrox to help you decide whether it’s a smart business move for you?
So before jumping aboard the Hyrox train, there are the six questions you should be able to answer ‘yes’ to. Let’s run through them and unpack each one.
Question 1: Does Hyrox solve a problem your avatar has better than the solution you’re already providing?
Every single successful business on earth solves a problem. Coca Cola solves thirst. Disney solves boredom. Amazon solves lack of time to shop.
And each of these businesses has a very clearly defined avatar who they solve this problem for.
And your business should too. Without thinking about it, you should be able to clearly and easily complete the sentence ‘My business helps [type of person you help] to [problem you solve].
For example. My business helps over 60s build stronger bones. My business helps isolated mums build healthy social connections. My business helps skinny blokes build bigger muscles.
If you can’t complete this sentence for your business, you’ve got a bigger problem than whether or not to introduce Hyrox. Start by working out who you’re for and how you help them.
The type of person you target is called your avatar, and how you solve their problem is called your value proposition.
But let’s say you can complete the sentence. You know who you’re for, and the problem you solve for them. And this brings us back to the first question you need to be able to answer ‘yes’ to, ‘does Hyrox solve a problem your avatar has better than the solution you’re already providing?’.
Dumping your current avatar and disregarding their needs isn’t a smart business move. It’s like McDonalds deciding to stop selling burgers to their loyal clientele of convenience-chasing Big Mac lovers, and instead switching to pizza. Their customers simply don’t want pizza. It doesn’t solve their problem.
You shouldn’t switch to Hyrox because it’s trending, you should switch because it’s a better solution to the problems of the type of people you’ve decided to help. If your avatar are competitive people who like to have something to train for and love doing cardio, and you feel like Hyrox does a better job of providing this than whatever you’re currently doing for them, then yes, adding Hyrox to your gym might be a good idea.
If this isn’t your avatar, or you feel like the unique experience you provide is better for your people than what Hyrox offers, maybe question making the switch.
Question 2: Does it strengthen your USP?
One of the very first things I work on with the fitness business owners I mentor is establishing their USP – their unique selling proposition. This is the thing that their fitness business does that is different from everyone else.
In a cookie cutter, copycat world of gyms that seem to be dodgy photocopies of one another, being different can be the biggest advantage you have.
When establishing a USP – the thing that’s unique about your business, there are two paths we can take. We can work out what you do better than everyone else, or we can work out what you do that’s different to everyone else. It’s easier to be different than better, so that’s what I focus on.
You should be able to complete this sentence for your business: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is…’
For example the environmentally conscious clothing brand, Patagonia might say, ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is we build outdoor gear that supports environmental activism, not just adventure’.
Tesla might say ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is we make electric cars desirable by combining high performance, innovative tech, and sustainability’.
And Ikea might say, ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is we make stylish home furniture affordable through flat-pack design and self-assembly’.
Once I’ve helped a business establish their USP, I then ask them to list 20 things they do (or things they need to start doing) that make that USP true. I need to be able to read that list and think ‘Wow, yes, this business truly is unique, and they back that up through the daily actions they take’.
If Patagonia, the environmentally conscious clothing brand, were to list 20 points that support their USP, they might include things like:
- We donate 1% of sales to environmental causes.
- We actively encourage customers to buy less through campaigns like Don’t Buy This Jacket.
- We run the Worn Wear program, which buys back used Patagonia gear for resale.
- We run a self-imposed Earth tax to fund environmental initiatives.
- We publicly share our supply chain information for full transparency.
You can see that each of these points adds evidence to their USP being true, that they really are the best at building outdoor gear that supports environmental activism, not just adventure.
So my question for you is, would adding Hyrox training to your gym support your USP or detract from it. If your USP is something along the lines of ‘we support recreational athletes in their preparation for community-based physical challenges’, then the answer is yes – Hyrox would support your USP.
If your USP is more focussed around creating a friendly, inclusive, non-intimidating environment, then perhaps the addition of Hyrox isn’t in your best business interests.
Question 3: Does it dilute the services you’re already offering?
Picture this. Your walk into gym as a potential client of that gym. Your goal is to get strong.
As you walk through the door, you’re greeted by a series of posters proudly displaying the bios of the Personal Trainers at that gym. Below a cringe quote that says something like ‘true growth happens outside your comfort zone’, there’s a list of the areas of expertise for each PT.
Remember, your goal is to get strong.
Under ‘areas of expertise’ the first bio you look at lists weight loss, sports specific conditioning, injury rehab, pre and post natal training, toning, hypertrophy, pilates, boxing, weight loss and strength training.
Under ‘areas of expertise’, the next bio simply says, ‘strength training’. If you want to get strong, who do you choose? You choose the trainer who specialises in strength training… and only strength training.
This is called goal dilution. It’s a psychological phenomenon that basically tells us that the more things we claim to be good at, the less people perceive us to be good in each of those things.
Now, if the services you’re offering in your business are focussed around improving cardiorespiratory conditioning, the addition of Hyrox may add to that goal. If you’re F45 or a high intensity interval training centre – the goals might be supported.
But if that’s not what you’re famous for, addition Hyrox might only act to create a goal dilation, which can lead to your marketing dropping the perception of the value your can provide.
Question 4: Can you do a better job of offering Hyrox than anyone else OR can you offer Hyrox differently to everyone else?
In 2005, the book ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ was published. It talks about two different ‘oceans’ your business can operate in.
The red ocean is one where everyone is competing to be the best. You’re all doing pretty much the same thing, with everyone trying to be better than everyone else. There’s so much fighting going on that there’s blood in the water – the red ocean.
The blue ocean is an ocean that only you are in. You’re not spending your time trying to be better – instead, you’re trying to be different. If you’re different to everyone else, there is no competition.
To succeed in a red ocean, you need to be ten times better than everyone else. To succeed in a blue ocean, you just need to be different. And it’s easier to be different than it is to be ten times better.
And this brings us to the question. ‘Can you do a better job of offering Hyrox than anyone else OR can you offer Hyrox differently to everyone else?’.
Let’s break this question into two parts:
Part one: ‘Can you do a better job of offering Hyrox than anyone else?’
This one is really tough, because to do this you’re in a red ocean – fighting with everyone else to be the best. And it’s really hard to be the best when there’s a lot of competition. I wouldn’t recommend introducing Hyrox because you can do a ten times better job than everyone else. It’s unlikely.
Part two of this question, ‘Can you offer Hyrox differently to everyone else?’. Ok, this one has more potential. If you can find a unique twist on Hyrox, you might just be on to something.
Maybe you target a certain demographic, like masters or teens, maybe you treat training as a periodised ‘season’ rather than just ongoing classes, maybe you offer a high-tech, sports science, data driven approach.
Whatever you choose, you need to either be ten times better, or different. If you can’t be one of those things, Hyrox may not be worth the inclusion.
Question 5: Is there a hidden opportunity to go in a completely different direction?
One of the best pieces of business advice I’ve ever heard is to ‘zig while everyone else is zagging’.
If everyone is moving in the direction of Hyrox, maybe there’s a hidden opportunity to go in a completely different direction.
Maybe you surrender in the battle to be the best Hyrox gym and stop trying to chase the highly competitive type A market of Hyrox participants.
Maybe you go in the opposite direction and zig while everyone else is zagging. This might look like anything from a boutique studio focussing on breath guided work, mindfulness, and movement flows, right through to an intuitive-based strength training gym, that focuses on tempo training and movement exploration.
Where Hyrox is competitive, intense, measurable, time-based and standardised, your alternate path could be non-competitive, gentle, unmeasured, intuitive and personal.
If you’re interest in some of the other ideas I’ve had for fitness models that are a little out of the ordinary, check out 8 crazy fitness business models you haven’t considered, episode 38 of The Business of Fitness Podcast (or read the article).
Question 6: Are you confident Hyrox won’t dilute your brand?
Your business’s brand is one of the most precious things you can own. I don’t mean your logo or your website. I mean everything your brand stand for. The culture, the experience you offer, how people feel when they think about you.
Brand is something you should protect with your life.
Your brand is yours and yours alone – it’s something you have built and nurtured to be exactly what you want it to be. You have complete control over your brand. It’s deeply personal.
The risk in aligning yourself with an external brand like Hyrox (or CrossFit for example) is that you take on some of their brand – the bad as well as the good. You’re handing over creative control.
Look at what happened to CrossFit in 2020. The founder and CEO, Greg Glassman, posted a racially insensitive tweet. This is widely accepted as a turning point for CrossFit where its growth trajectory slowed. The public lost trust with the brand, and thousands of CrossFit licences had their brands damaged by association.
You need to decide if you align with the values of Hyrox’s leadership and company brand, and are willing to accept any negative blow back that might occur in the future, or whether you’d prefer to be the master of your own destiny.
Look, I’m not anti-Hyrox in any way. I’m not ‘anti’ and fitness movement. I think anything that gets one more person exercising that otherwise would be is a net win.
But I am contrarian. To repeat a line I’ve already used, I like to ‘zig’ when everyone else is ‘zagging’. I covered a similar topic in episode 42 of The Business of Fitness Podcast, How to Boost Gym Profit with Ice Baths/Saunas.
And I know how hard it is to run a successful fitness business.
So I wanted to play the Devil’s Advocate, and at least encourage people to question their choice to go down the Hyrox path, and examine the option from all sides.
Ask yourself these six questions.
Does Hyrox solve a problem your avatar has better than the solution you’re already providing?
Does it strengthen your USP?
Does it dilute the services you’re already offering?
Can you do a better job of offering Hyrox than anyone else OR can you offer Hyrox differently to everyone else?
Is there a hidden opportunity to go in a completely different direction?
Are you confident Hyrox won’t dilute your brand?
If you answered ‘yes’ to all of them, Hyrox might just be an excellent business decision for you. If you answered ‘no’, it might be worth digging a little deeper before taking the plunge.
Your action steps:
- Review your business’s core avatar and value proposition to determine if Hyrox training directly solves a top priority problem for them.
- Clarify your gym’s USP and evaluate whether adding Hyrox strengthens or dilutes that unique positioning.
- Audit your current service offerings to ensure adding Hyrox won’t create goal dilution or confuse your ideal clients.
- Brainstorm ways you could offer Hyrox training differently to stand out, rather than just competing to be the best.
- Consider alternative services or training models that could appeal to underserved segments instead of following the Hyrox crowd.
If you enjoyed this, you’ll also enjoy the following, they’re some of my most popular articles and podcasts on topics similar to this one:
- Episode 63: 10 ways to ensure your side hustle idea will make $50k: Read the article | Listen to the podcast.
- Episode 48: 9 ways to pivot your fitness business to earn more: Read the article | Listen to the podcast.
- Episode 42: Saunas/Icebaths: A Money Maker for Gyms? Read the article | Listen to the podcast.
- Episode 38: 8 crazy fitness business models you haven’t considered. Read the article | Listen to the podcast.
