The global fitness competition landed at Olympia London for its second event, bringing together athletes from across the world for a 10-event test designed to measure total fitness.
Think you’re fit? XENOM wants to find out. The global fitness competition made its London debut at Olympia London on 30 August, bringing its unique take on competitive fitness to the UK following its inaugural event at the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters earlier this year.
Dubbed the Decathlon of Fitness, XENOM puts athletes through a fixed 10-event format spanning strength, endurance and technical disciplines. Rather than specialising in one area, competitors are challenged to prove they can do a bit of everything with every performance contributing towards an overall Elite Performance Index (EPI) score. The 10 events of XENOM can be viewed here.
And that’s the point. XENOM isn’t simply looking for the strongest athlete in the room or the person who can run the fastest. It’s designed to measure the full spectrum of athletic ability, giving competitors a score they can take away, work on and attempt to improve at their next event.
Following its Dallas debut in June, London marked the next step in XENOM’s growing global competition series, with athletes competing across Elite, RX and Compete categories, alongside the introduction of its 005K format.
A New Take On Fitness Competition
At the heart of XENOM is the idea that competitive fitness shouldn’t be reserved for the world’s elite.
While the Elite division provides a stage for high-level athletes to test themselves against the best, the wider competition is designed to give everyday fitness enthusiasts the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of a major sporting event.
The EPI is central to that proposition. Each of the 10 events is scored against an established elite benchmark, allowing competitors to see exactly where they stand across different aspects of fitness. The result is a single number that represents their overall performance rather than simply rewarding one particular strength.
It also means there’s always another target to chase. An athlete might excel in strength but discover they have work to do on endurance, while another could find themselves naturally suited to the more technical events. The idea is to create a competition that rewards being well-rounded rather than simply being exceptional at one thing.
More Than Just A Race Weekend
For XENOM founder and CEO Keith Barlow, however, the ambition extends beyond creating another fitness competition.“London has shown us exactly why we built XENOM,” says Barlow. “We are in the business of the suspension of disbelief, of helping people step into a world where they become athletes.”
That idea was evident throughout the London event, with XENOM positioning the competition as an experience as much as a sporting test. Athletes weren’t simply turning up, completing a workout and going home; they were given a stage, a score and a reason to return.
That repeatability is one of the biggest differences in XENOM’s model. Because the event structure remains consistent, athletes can use their EPI as a long-term benchmark, returning to future competitions to see whether their training has translated into measurable progress.
From Dallas To London, And What’s Next?
The speed of XENOM’s expansion is perhaps just as notable as the competition itself.
Having launched in Dallas in June, London is the second stop in a growing international calendar, with Miami scheduled for 19–20 December and Paris also forming part of the upcoming series. Further cities and countries are expected to be announced as XENOM builds towards a full 2027 calendar.
XENOM has found a unique spot in the market. To compete you need to be fit and strong, however for those athletes who aren’t quite elite at crossfit but are not challenged quite enough in stations at Hyrox, XENOM has provided them a home. Its clear to see the interest and excitement around this developing an ecosystem around its events, with global partners including Rogue Fitness, Reebok, Grenade, Momentous and pliability supporting the series.
For Barlow, the next stage is about taking the concept to more athletes without losing what made it work in the first place. “We’ve now seen two competitions play out and the demand for more is clear,” he says. “Athletes want more opportunities to compete, improve their EPI and come back stronger, and that’s what we’re building towards.”
And that’s perhaps where XENOM’s biggest opportunity lies. Rather than asking athletes to train for a single race and move on to the next challenge, it is attempting to create something closer to a season-long sport one where your performance today becomes the benchmark for what you can achieve tomorrow.
London was only the second chapter. If XENOM gets its way, there will be plenty more numbers, cities and athletes to come.
If you have been inspired you can check out the next XENOM HERE
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