What Is Hyrox Adaptive? All 13 Divisions and the Rules for Each
Hyrox Adaptive is the set of Hyrox divisions for athletes with permanent impairments. You race the same eight 1 km runs and eight workout stations as every other entrant, and the official Adaptive rulebook sets the distances, repetitions and loads for each of its 13 divisions. If the format is new to you, our Hyrox explainer covers how a race works, and Hyrox weights by division lists the standard loads.
For the 2026/27 season, Hyrox describes Adaptive as moving from a model built for mass participation towards a high-performance framework, with a points system, classification codes and the introduction of Adaptive Doubles. Hyrox is one of many routes into sport for athletes with disability, and our guide to what adaptive sports are covers the wider picture.
Key Takeaways:
Thirteen divisions: Hyrox Adaptive covers limb impairment, short stature, vision and hearing impairment, neurological impairment and three seated classes.
Same race, scaled stations: Every division runs the full eight-station format, with distances, loads, reps and wall ball targets set for each one.
Men and women race separately: "Men Adaptive" and "Women Adaptive" on a start list are the two gender categories, which start in separate waves with their own loads.
Permanent impairments only: You must be classified into a division, and temporary injuries such as recovery from knee or hip surgery don't qualify.
Guides are welcome in every division: Any Adaptive racer can bring a guide runner, handler or support person for orientation, though not for help with the stations.
A path to a world title: The top three in each division across the season are invited to the World Championships, held in Hong Kong in June 2027.
Table of Contents
What Hyrox Adaptive is
Adaptive racers run the full format, eight 1 km runs with a station after each, in the standard order. The rulebook changes what happens inside each station, so seated racers may use their own straps to move the sled, and racers with short stature throw a 2 or 4 kg wall ball to a 2.00 or 2.30 m target.
You need to be at least 16 on race day. Divisions are separated by gender and men and women start in separate waves, which is why event schedules and results show Hyrox Men Adaptive and Hyrox Women Adaptive. Within each, you're ranked against racers in your own division.
"We opened our doors to Every Body." — HYROX Adaptive Rulebook 2026/27
The 13 Adaptive divisions
Each division groups athletes whose impairments affect movement in similar ways. The rulebook gives every division a functional point value from 1.0 to 5.0, and a lower number means a greater impact on function.
Division | Who it's for | Points |
Lower Limb Major | A major impairment of one or both legs, such as an above-knee amputation or severe joint fusion, that greatly affects power or gait | 3.0 |
Lower Limb Minor | A moderate leg impairment, such as a below-knee amputation or muscle weakness, where walking and running remain functional | 4.5 |
Upper Limb Major | A major arm impairment or limb deficiency, such as an above-elbow amputation | 3.0 |
Upper Limb Minor | A partial arm impairment, such as a below-elbow amputation or impaired grip | 4.5 |
Short Stature | Reduced standing height from an underlying condition such as skeletal dysplasia | 4.0 |
Vision Impairment | A permanent impairment of the eye structure or visual cortex | 4.0 |
D/deaf or Hard of Hearing | Permanent hearing loss | 5.0 |
Neurological Minor | A mild impairment, usually of one limb, such as mild cerebral palsy or the effects of a stroke, with walking and running possible without significant help | 4.5 |
Neurological Moderate | A moderate impairment such as hemiplegia or partial loss across several limbs; braces or orthoses may be used, but not a full-time wheelchair | 3.5 |
Neurological Major | A severe impairment of two or more limbs, such as paraplegia, severe stroke or advanced muscular dystrophy; racers often use wheelchairs, walkers or orthoses | 2.0 |
Seated with Hip Function | Wheelchair users with full or partial hip function | 2.5 |
Seated without Hip Function | Wheelchair users without functional hip movement, who may keep core and upper-body function | 1.5 |
Seated without Core Function | Wheelchair users without hip or core function, who may keep upper-body function | 1.0 |
Hyrox plans to introduce formal classification codes by mid-season, with each class given a code for its main area of impairment and its level of impact. If your impairment isn't described in any division, the rulebook asks you to contact Hyrox before you enter.
How classification works
To race in an Adaptive division you must be officially classified into one of the 13. The divisions are reserved for permanent impairments, so someone recovering from knee or hip surgery, for example, doesn't qualify.
When you register, you choose your division and declare any specialised equipment you'll race with. At check-in you show government-issued photo ID and your registration confirmation, then collect your racer number, wristband and a timing chip worn on the ankle.
The rulebook gives no time allowance for setting up, attaching or removing equipment. Any change of prosthesis, strapping or chair set-up happens on the race clock, so it pays to rehearse those transitions.
How the stations change
All 13 divisions complete all eight stations in the standard order. Distances, loads and repetitions change by division, and some movements are adapted for wheelchair users and racers who use crutches.
SkiErg, rower, carries, lunges and wall balls
Loads in this table are shown as women's then men's, so 16/24 kg means 16 kg for women and 24 kg for men.
Division | SkiErg and row | Farmers carry | Sandbag lunges | Wall balls |
Lower Limb Minor | 1,000 m | 200 m, 2 x 16/24 kg | 100 m, 10/20 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.70/3.00 m |
Lower Limb Major | 1,000 m | 200 m, 2 x 12/16 kg | 100 m, 5/10 kg | 100 reps, 2/4 kg to 2.70/3.00 m |
Upper Limb Minor | 1,000 m | 200 m, 2 x 16/24 kg | 100 m, 10/20 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.70/3.00 m, or squats only |
Upper Limb Major | 750 m | 200 m, 2 x 12/16 kg | 100 m, 10/20 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.70/3.00 m, or squats only |
Short Stature | 500 m | 100 m, 2 x 12/16 kg | 50 m, 5/10 kg | 50 reps, 2/4 kg to 2.00/2.30 m |
Vision Impairment | 1,000 m | 200 m, 2 x 16/24 kg | 100 m, 10/20 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.70/3.00 m, or squats only |
D/deaf or Hard of Hearing | 1,000 m | 200 m, 2 x 16/24 kg | 100 m, 10/20 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.70/3.00 m |
Neurological Minor | 1,000 m | 200 m, 2 x 16/24 kg | 100 m, 5/10 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.70/3.00 m |
Neurological Moderate | 750 m | 100 m, 2 x 16/24 kg | 50 m, 5/10 kg | 100 reps, 4/6 kg to 2.00/2.30 m |
Neurological Major | 500 m | 100 m, 2 x 12/16 kg | 50 m, 5/10 kg | 100 reps, 2/4 kg to 2.00/2.30 m |
Seated with Hip Function | 900 m | 200 m, 1 x 16/24 kg | 50 m, 10/20 kg | 85 reps, 2/4 kg to 2.00/2.30 m |
Seated without Hip Function | 800 m | 200 m, 1 x 16/24 kg | 50 m, 10/20 kg | 75 reps, 2/4 kg to 2.00/2.30 m |
Seated without Core Function | 500 m | 200 m, 1 x 12/16 kg | 50 m, 5/10 kg | 65 reps, 2/4 kg to 2.00/2.30 m |
Single-arm and crutch users carry one kettlebell on the farmers carry instead of two. Seated racers carry a single kettlebell on their lap, with a lap mat provided, and keep both feet on the footplate on the SkiErg and rower. Both machines start with the damper at 6.
On the sandbag lunges, seated racers lift the sandbag onto their lap, alternating sides, and complete two grid-length wheelchair pushes per side. At the wall balls, the upper limb and vision impairment divisions can throw to the standard target or do squats only. Lower limb and Neurological Major racers may use a 60 cm plyo box, and seated racers keep the ball on their lap between reps.
Sled push and sled pull
Both sleds run over 12.5 m lanes, with two or four lanes depending on the division and, in some divisions, on gender. Sled push loads range from a plain 50 kg sled up to the standard 102 kg for women and 152 kg for men. Sled pull loads range from a plain 25 kg sled up to 78 kg and 103 kg. All of these figures include the sled.
Seated racers may move the sled push using straps they supply, lower limb racers may do the sled pull seated, and seated racers stay in their racer box for the pull. Each lane you miss costs three minutes, so check your division's exact lanes and load in the Adaptive rulebook before race day.
Burpee broad jumps
Most divisions cover the standard 80 m. The changes are for racers who use crutches or wheelchairs, and for short stature.
Short stature: 40 m.
Minor or moderate crutch users: 80 m, with the movement adapted to two in-place burpees or walk-outs, then four swings on crutches or four steps without them.
Major crutch users: 40 m, with two in-place burpees or walk-outs, then four steps with or without crutches.
Seated with Hip Function: 80 m, with one front-chair dip to a 90-degree elbow, then two grid-length wheelchair pushes.
Seated without Hip Function and Seated without Core Function: 80 m, with two in-chair dips, then two grid-length wheelchair pushes.
Guides, equipment and assistive devices
Every Adaptive racer can race with a guide runner, handler or support person for orientation and navigation. You appoint your own guide, since Hyrox doesn't provide one except where local law requires it. Guides don't appear in the rankings and can't help you complete the stations.
In the Vision Impairment division, racers running with a guide use a non-elastic tether of about 50 cm.
The rulebook counts prosthetics, wheelchairs, visual and hearing aids and specialised grip aids as adaptive equipment. Equipment has to enable you to take part or protect you, and it can't give a mechanical advantage beyond natural movement. Declare it when you register, because undeclared equipment that gives a significant advantage can bring a time penalty or disqualification.
Wheelchairs: Daily-use chairs are allowed, though sports wheelchairs are encouraged.
Grip aids: Upper Limb Major racers may use strapping or hooks, and Upper Limb Minor racers may not use strapping.
Equipment failure: You get a reasonable window to fix it, and if a repair can't be made safely or quickly, you withdraw.
Responsibility: You're responsible for your equipment holding up through high-intensity movement.
Adaptive Doubles
The 2026/27 rulebook introduces Adaptive Doubles. Hyrox plans a points cap so teams are balanced, with the combined functional points of both partners not exceeding 7.0. A Seated without Hip Function racer (1.5) could pair with a Lower Limb Minor racer (4.5) for 6.0, for example, while two D/deaf or Hard of Hearing racers (5.0 each) would total 10.0 and sit over the cap.
Each partner wears their own timing chip. The provisional schedules for the Australian events name Men Adaptive and Women Adaptive waves, so check the event page before you plan a doubles entry.
Qualifying for the World Championships
Any racer at an Adaptive Hyrox event can qualify. The top three in each division, ranked by fastest time across the season, are invited to the World Championships, and only results inside the official qualification window count. If you race more than once, only your fastest time counts.
The 2027 World Championships are in Hong Kong from 10 to 13 June at AsiaWorld-Expo, the event's first time in Asia. Hyrox's terms for the event list Adaptive Men and Adaptive Women among its competitions and set the qualification cut-off as the event weekend of 16 May 2027.
Adaptive division winners race for their own titles. The rulebook rules them out of prize money and the overall World Champion of Fitness Racing title.
How to enter
Find your city on hyrox.com and choose Register.
Select your Adaptive division and enter your details.
Declare any specialised equipment you'll race with.
Arrange your own guide runner or handler if you want one.
Bring government-issued photo ID and your registration confirmation to check-in.
In Australia, HYROX Melbourne runs from 9 to 13 December 2026 and HYROX Brisbane from 31 March to 5 April 2027. Both provisional schedules list Adaptive waves for men and women across several race days, with exact start times released closer to each event.
Who sets the rules
Hyrox Adaptive has no separate governing body or national federation. HYROX World GmbH, the Hamburg company that owns the format, writes the Adaptive rulebook alongside the Singles, Doubles and Relay rulebooks, so each division races to the same standards in every country. Since October 2025 the format has also been a World Triathlon discipline under the name Fitness Racing, but Hyrox still sets the rules.
The divisions and points are Hyrox's own system and don't follow the Paralympic classification used in sports such as para swimming and wheelchair basketball. For local support or a club to train with, our guide to adaptive sports associations points to organisations that help athletes with disability find their way into sport.
Final Thoughts
Hyrox Adaptive gives athletes with permanent impairments the same race as everyone else, with the same runs, the same stations and the same finish line, and standards set for how each impairment affects movement. The 13 divisions take in athletes with limb amputations, wheelchair users, and athletes with vision, hearing or neurological impairments.
This season adds a points system, classification codes and Adaptive Doubles, and the fastest in each division can earn a start in Hong Kong. If you're weighing up a first race, find your division in the rulebook, check which events near you run Adaptive waves, and decide whether you want a guide beside you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is Hyrox Adaptive?
A: Hyrox Adaptive is the group of 13 Hyrox divisions for athletes with permanent impairments. Racers complete the standard format of eight 1 km runs and eight stations, with distances, loads and reps set for each division.
Q: What does Hyrox Men Adaptive or Women Adaptive mean?
A: They're the gender categories within Adaptive. Men and women start in separate waves and race their own loads, and results are ranked within each of the 13 divisions.
Q: Can wheelchair users race Hyrox?
A: Yes. Three seated divisions cover wheelchair users with hip function, without hip function and without core function. Daily-use chairs are allowed, and sports wheelchairs are encouraged.
Q: Can I race in an Adaptive division with a temporary injury?
A: No. The divisions are for permanent impairments only, and the rulebook says temporary injuries, such as recovery from knee or hip surgery, don't qualify.
Q: Do I need a guide runner?
A: No, but every Adaptive racer may bring one. You appoint your own guide runner, handler or support person, who can help with orientation but not with the stations.
Q: Is there an Adaptive Doubles division?
A: Yes. The 2026/27 rulebook introduces Adaptive Doubles, with a planned cap of 7.0 combined functional points per team.
Q: How do Adaptive athletes qualify for the World Championships?
A: The top three in each division, by fastest time within the season's qualification window, are invited. For the 2027 World Championships in Hong Kong, the cut-off is the event weekend of 16 May 2027.
Q: How old do you need to be to race Hyrox Adaptive?
A: At least 16 on race day.
