Hyrox’s Wall Ball Controversy: A Fitness Race Under Scrutiny

In 2001, Greg Glassman, a personal trainer based in Santa Cruz, California, was asked to leave the upscale fitness studio where he had been coaching clients for several years. Having already trained at most local gyms, he relocated to a jujitsu academy owned by Brazilian martial artist Claudio Franca. Over the following year, Glassman developed and taught his distinctive fitness system, which he named CrossFit.

Since Franca’s academy was tailored for jujitsu, its floors were covered with smooth, padded mats. This setup required Glassman’s clients to train barefoot, and instead of traditional Olympic weightlifting with heavy steel barbells, they practiced with medicine balls to refine their techniques.

One of the drills involved picking up a medicine ball, performing a squat, then throwing the ball at a target positioned about 10 feet high on the wall. This exercise, known as the wall-ball shot or simply wall balls, became a hallmark movement as CrossFit’s popularity surged.

Over time, this seemingly straightforward movement has sparked controversy within the fitness and sports communities, largely due to social media critiques scrutinizing its execution at Hyrox competitions. This growing debate is influencing how the sport is judged.

Hyrox, a widely followed fitness race originating in Germany, combines eight kilometers of running with eight functional fitness challenges. Most of these exercises are simple and nearly impossible to perform incorrectly, including a one-kilometer row, a 200-meter farmer’s carry with kettlebells, and a 100-meter lunge while carrying a heavy sandbag over the shoulders.

The final segment of a Hyrox race centers on the wall-ball station, where participants must complete 100 wall balls as quickly as possible. It is this station that has become the focal point of controversy and passionate discussion.