Hyrox Racing: The Ultimate Stress Test for Fitness Watches
A smartwatch comparison between the Garmin Forerunner 970 and the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro in a Hyrox race evaluates how well each watch tracks performance, supports in‑race decisions, and presents data for serious hybrid athletes who care about both running and strength. Hyrox is a structured race format that alternates eight 1 km runs with eight workout stations such as sled pushes, rowing, burpee broad jumps, walking lunges, and wall balls, so any fitness watch must juggle continuous GPS tracking, shifting heart‑rate demands, and frequent transitions. In this real‑world test, one runner wore the Garmin Forerunner 970 on one wrist and the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro on the other for the full 01:36:48 event, turning the race into a controlled, side‑by‑side trial of fitness watch performance, accuracy, and usability under fatigue. This context makes Hyrox race training a sharp lens on what endurance‑focused smartwatches can deliver.
Setup and Race Modes: Native Hyrox vs Workaround
Before the first kilometer, the two watches already felt different. Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro offers a built‑in Hyrox race mode: you open the workout menu, select Hyrox, and the watch preloads the entire run‑station structure. That means it is ready to tag each run and station with the right labels and icons without extra configuration. Garmin Forerunner 970, by contrast, does not have a native Hyrox profile. To mirror the race structure, the tester had to install Roxfit, a third‑party app that integrates with Garmin Connect and adds Hyrox‑specific intervals. It works, but it demands advance setup and attention to detail. When one configuration step was missed, Garmin logged every segment as a run, undercutting the structured view later. Amazfit’s approach removes that risk by baking the format in from the start, which is important when you are already juggling pre‑race nerves and pacing plans.
In‑Race Experience: Icons, Laps, and Mental Load
Once the Hyrox race started, both watches kept up with core metrics like heart rate, but the user experience separated them. Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro’s Hyrox mode shows small icons for upcoming stations right on the screen, so you can see at a glance whether you are heading to a rower, sled, or wall balls. That visual cue matters when fatigue sets in and mental bandwidth shrinks. Lap transitions also felt more natural on the Amazfit: manually switching between run and station segments matched the flow of the course, so the athlete could tap and go without thinking about menu logic. The Garmin Forerunner 970, despite being a more technically sophisticated running watch overall, felt clunkier to operate mid‑effort. When your hands are sweaty and your breathing is ragged, fewer button presses and clearer prompts become a real performance advantage, not a minor convenience.
Post‑Race Data: Zepp vs Garmin Connect for Hyrox Analysis
The post‑race breakdown highlighted another key difference in fitness watch performance. Amazfit’s Zepp app organizes the Hyrox effort as a clean timeline: alternating run segments and stations, each marked with clear icons in chronological order. For athletes fine‑tuning Hyrox race training, that structure mirrors how the event feels in your head, making it easy to review pacing, heart‑rate spikes, and where technique slipped. Garmin Connect, fed by the Forerunner 970, treated the same race as a series of running intervals because of the earlier setup issue, forcing the user to cross‑reference timestamps with heart‑rate graphs to reconstruct which interval matched which station. According to Lifehacker’s comparison, the Zepp app is “significantly better than Garmin Connect for analyzing Hyrox data” because it respects the unique format rather than treating it like a standard run with laps. For this race style, that clarity counts more than extra running dynamics.
Accuracy, Durability, and the Surprising Winner
In terms of raw tracking, both watches held their own. Previous comparisons by the same tester found that the Garmin Forerunner 970 and Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro are closely matched on core metrics like heart rate in endurance settings, and this Hyrox effort did not reveal glaring discrepancies. One caveat was wrist‑based heart‑rate reliability during heavy station work: exercises such as sled pushes and rowing can confuse optical sensors, so pairing a chest strap with the Amazfit in future races is a smart move. Durability and comfort were non‑issues for both devices through 01:36:48 of mixed effort. The real separator was practical usability in a chaotic environment. Despite the author being a self‑described “die‑hard Garmin fan,” the verdict was clear: for Hyrox day, the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro’s native mode, intuitive controls, and Zepp analysis made it the unexpected winner, especially given its lower price of USD 449.99 (approx. RM2,115) versus the Garmin’s USD 749.99 (approx. RM3,523).
