5 Foot Health and Recovery Tips for HYROX Athletes

When I was training for my first HYROX race, I expected my legs, and lungs, to bear the brunt of the training. 

This wasn’t the case; it was my feet that took the biggest beating.

Then I realized something: As a former college basketball player and rower, and then a CrossFit Games athletes, I had tried all kinds of recovery protocols through the years for my quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, shoulders and arms, but I had never thought much about foot recovery.

Since then, I have made foot recovery part of my routine, and it has made a world of difference.

And the good news is that foot recovery doesn't have to be complicated. Here are five simple strategies that can help:

1. Pre Workout Foot Love

It sounds obvious, but the feet are one of the most commonly skipped parts of most people’s warm-up.

We mobilize our hips and shoulders before training, and maybe get into the glues, all the while overlooking preparing our feet and ankles that are about to absorb all of the impact during a run and 100 lunges.

Stretching the calves and ankles is a great place to start, but my favourite exercise is the towel pull.

Here’s how to do it: Place a towel flat on the floor, put your bare foot on top, and use only your toes to scrunch the towel toward you.

  • This small movement activates the many intrinsic muscles in the foot that provide stability and support during running and functional movements. (And if you have heel pain, or plantar fasciitis, this exercise is particularly effective at reducing pain). Just a minute or two per foot helps wake everything up before training begins.

 Three other foot warm-up ideas:

 

2. Post-Workout Foot Love

Similarly, after a training session, it’s worth spending a few minutes moving your feet through their full range of motion, if nothing else to help prevent injury by reducing the stress you place on your ankles, plantar fascia, Achilles tendon etc.


Consider this 5 minutes routine:

3. Actually Rest Your Feet

Sometimes the best recovery strategy is also the simplest: Get off your feet.

That being said, HYROX athletes aren't known for sitting still. Even after finishing a tough workout, they usually continue standing around the gym, running errands, walking the dog, or spending the rest of the day on their feet. (That was me, and because I have an almost 3-year-old, sitting just wasn’t happening much).

But true foot recovery doesn’t happen until you finally give your feet a break, which becomes especially important after long runs on concrete or pavement, where every step creates repetitive impact through the feet and lower legs. Giving your feet time off allows tissues to calm down before the next session.

So take that bath and feel the water between your toes, head out for a sauna or hot tub and chill, or just plant yourself on the couch and elevate your feet and actually rest. That brings me to my next tip.

4. Compression Technology

Again, if you’re like me, sometimes laying on the couch and staying there for 30 minutes is harder than it should be. Because two minutes into your forced rest, you hear the washing machine finish its cycle and the clothes aren’t going to jump into the dryer on their own. 

What saved me here was investing in Hyperice’s Elite Legs, compression pants that work their way down from your upper thighs all the way to your feet. Once I’m in them and you set the timer for 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, I’m kind of stuck on the couch, and it becomes my husband’s job to pour my kiddo a glass of milk.

Best of all, the compression really does feel relaxing, albeit sometimes a bit painful (but a good kind of pain), and my muscles, and especially my feet, always feel restored after 30 minutes in the Elite Legs.

One more thing: Another great Hyperice option is the Hypervolt 3 massage gun. I have tried all kinds of budget massage gun options, and they often don’t hit the right places, and sometimes they cause pain that doesn’t feel like good pain. Such is not the case with this one. It’s like magic on the bottom of your feet.

  • Pro tip: Try the U-shaped attachment for an Achilles massage (As someone who tore my Achilles long ago, it’s particularly useful).

 

5. Velous, Velous, Velous

What you wear after your workout matters almost as much as what you wear during it. For me, that's Velous recovery sandals every time. 

Before I found Velous, traditional flip-flops always forced me to grip with my toes just to keep them on, aggravating my Achilles in the process. Velous sandals, on the other hand, stay securely on my feet without that constant gripping. Their comfort is unmatched and they let my feet breathe. 

Further, I have comfortably walked 15 kilometres a day on vacation wearing them, and they're stable enough that I have even jogged short distances in them. No, I wouldn't recommend doing a full HYROX race in the sandals, but for everything before and after training, they have become a staple in my recovery routine. 

And, in case you missed it, as of September 2026, Velous also has a clog. Created for cooler weather and a cozy feeling—thanks to its warm fleece lining and premium micro-fiber upper—it’s your perfect winter version of a Velous sandal. 

One Big Thing

It's worth noting that Dr. Zac Cartun, MD, who is also the founder of Stride Soles—a company that offers custom orthotics built from 3D scans of an individual's feet—says he regularly sees plantar fasciitis among HYROX athletes.

While it's still only a theory, Dr. Cartun believes the growing popularity of highly cushioned running shoes may be contributing to the problem.

  • “It's all the rage right now," he said, "but what happens is that because the sole is so squishy, it can move around more, but then the band of tissue on the bottom of your feet—the plantar fascia—is also able to move around more, which can cause heel pain and plantar fasciitis.”

He added: "I'm not suggesting cushioning is unimportant, but it needs to be targeted and with the right rigidity."

Take his theory with a grain of salt, but it’s a reminder that what might work for one person in terms of footwear won’t necessarily work for another.

The Bottom Line

HYROX training and racing puts enormous demands on your feet, but looking after them doesn't have to be complicated.

Preparing your feet before training, making time to truly rest afterward, using simple recovery tools, and wearing supportive recovery footwear can all help you stay healthier and continue training, and racing, to your potential.

- Written by Emily Beers

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