The Wall Ball station is the last station in a HYROX event. By the time you get here, you will have run a total of 8km, and completed 7 other functional stations (including ski erg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carries and walking lunges). So, you’ll likely be feeling a bit fatigued! I can only assume that the idea to require 100 wall balls at the end of what is already a gruelling event was some kind of crazy joke by whoever thought it up!
It is an important station where there is a large variability in the times that athletes complete it in. But, unlike with other stations where that applies, you can push yourself to your absolute limit to get them done because it’s the end of the race. This is where leaving something in the tank goes out the window – by the time you reach the wall balls your tank will likely be almost empty, and you should use the wall balls to fully empty it!
Let’s find out all about this final station in HYROX, and how to finish strongly…
HYROX Wall Ball Requirements (reps, weights, and target height)
The wall ball requirements, by category, in HYROX are as follows:
Women: 100 Reps * 9lbs (4kg) ball – to 9-foot target
Women Pro: 100 Reps * 14lbs (6kg) ball – to 9-foot target
Men: 100 Reps * 14lbs (6kg) ball – to 10-foot target
Men Pro: 100 Reps * 20lbs (9kg) ball – to 10-foot target
Mixed Doubles: 100 Reps * 14lbs (6kg) ball – to 9-foot target
Women Doubles: 100 Reps * 9lbs (4kg) ball – to 9-foot target
Men Doubles: 100 Reps * 14lbs (6kg) ball – to 10-foot target
HYROX Wall Ball Standards
For each rep, you must throw the ball up to strike the centre of the designated target (9 feet high for women, 10 feet for men). Female athletes must hit the bottom of the two targets, male athletes must strike the top target.
Before the participant starts with the Wall Balls, the ball must be picked up from the ground and the athlete should stand in an upright position with hips and knees extended. He/she may then initiate the movement.
At the bottom of the squat, the participant’s knees must go below 90°. To help with this, the athlete can use a box that is placed behind them, and the judge will ensure that the athlete makes contact with the box, for each rep, to determine if the athlete is squatting deep enough.Â
Below is a HYROX video covering the wall ball standards. It is very important you understand these and can comply with them. If not, you may get a number of “no reps” on the day which will make everything a whole lot harder and longer.
HYROX Wall Ball Training Tips
When training for the HYROX wall balls there are a lot of things to consider…
First things first, you want to ensure you have a ball of an appropriate weight to train with. My recommendation would be for most of your training to be with a ball that is at least the weight you’ll be using at HYROX. Anything less and it could be too much of a shock to the system, especially at the end of a long race. You can buy balls here (in the UK).
You’ll also want to make sure you are throwing the ball to an appropriate height. Your gym may already have wall ball targets set up, but if not, you will want to measure the target you are throwing to and ensure it is preferably the same as which you’ll be throwing to at HYROX (9/10 feet, depending on category). This website sells the targets if you wanted to buy one for your home or gym.
A large number of wall balls repetitions will test many muscles of your body.  For example, you’ll be using your quads and glutes, with all the squatting, as well as your triceps and delts for the ball throwing element of the exercise. And obviously you’ll also be getting tested aerobically with so many reps required at the end of a long race. It really is the ultimate finisher. It’s worth adding at this point, because of all the muscles tested, that practising wall balls isnt the only way to train for them. Other exercises such as thrusters, over head pressing, and squats, can all carry over very well to the wall ball movements.
When training for wall balls in isolation, there are obviously a variety of options in terms of sets, reps, and weight of ball you could use. Periodisation and progression in your training is important. An example session might be to do 5 sets of 20 reps with the heaviest ball you can manage that for (unbroken each set), with a 2-minute rest between each set. This can then progress over time (perhaps in terms of rep, sets, or less rest) over time.
You’ll also want to be doing some compromised training with your wall balls. As you need to do these at the end of the race – when you’ll be fatigued – it is worth practicing your wall balls under fatigue as that’s when your technique is more likely to go out the window.
As you get closer to the event itself, it can be worth having some sessions where you try to work out how you want to break down the reps for the race itself (if you’re unable to do them completely unbroken – which applies to most people). Many people make the mistake of doing as many as they can at the start, but end up needing to take a lot of rest between sets after that initial blast (which eats into their finishing time). Instead, more frequent, but very quick rests, may help your overall time. For example, if you can complete 40 reps unbroken from the start, but that leaves you exhausted and unable to complete the remaining 35 / 60 reps (depending on your category), you should have paced yourself a bit better. 15 reps each set with a short rest in between might be a better strategy. This is an exercise you mustn’t let ego get in the way. Everyone is different obviously with what they can manage so your training sessions should be a time when you work out the best approach for you. You may then find, with the adrenaline of the day, that you don’t need a planned rest as you get close to the total rep target, but you are better off to start a bit slower and finish strongly, than vice versa.Â
For further HYROX training tips, check out this article.
HYROX Wall Balls Technique
Your technique with the wall balls can be very important. At a minimum you’ll need to ensure you are adhering to the standards and, in particular, are squatting deep enough with each rep. As already mentioned, if you struggle with this in the event, they can provide a box for you to make contact with on each rep. However, this is obviously something you want to be working on in training as much as possible if you do struggle with a deep squat.
Aside from the depth of squat you should:
– try to maintain neutral spine position.
– position yourself approximately the length of one arm away from the rig
– widen your stance to give you a nice strong base to work from and allow for a deeper squat
– aim to not move your arms more often, or higher, than they need to for you to hit the target with the ball (the thinking here being that, for many people, the arms and shoulders are the weak points of the movement and likely to fail before the legs, though this will vary by athlete).
– with each rep, on the concentric part of the movement, rather than just straightening your legs, also go up on to your toes slightly, lifting your heels off the floor. This adds a little extra power and preserves energy elsewhere in the body. Note – this is a personal preference – I’ve heard other people say they don’t like this – so test it out in training.
– when you have the ball in your hands, you want to keep it as close to the body as possible. Holding it out away from you will put extra pressure on the shoulders, and waste valuable energy.
– when catching the ball, try to have already just started the squat movement downward. This is much more efficient than catching the ball with straight legs, and then beginning your squat.
– do your best to control your breathing throughout. I like to breath in at the bottom of the squat (which almost happens fairly naturally), and then breath out at the top of the rep, as you release the ball.
What Balls are Used?
The weights of the balls are shown above. The actual ones used are similar to these.
I really hope that helps. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out, and please remember to sign up to our mailing list below so we can keep you up to date with any new articles on the site. If you need any help with your training for HYROX, check out our personalised coaching plans here.
