HYROX Without a Sled: Push and Pull Substitutes, Ranked

Sled push: 50 m

What it taxes. The biggest leg-strength bill in the race, and the station that surprises people most on the day. Competition carpet is slower than any gym floor; athletes who moved race weight comfortably on turf find the same sled barely moves on carpet. It is also the station that most directly rewards being strong. See our HYROX strength training guide.

Technique that survives fatigue. Hips low, arms locked out or bent and braced (pick one and keep it) and the body in a straight line from heel to shoulder. Short, driving steps with the whole foot pushing into the floor, not a jog. The sled must not stop: the force needed to restart a stalled sled on carpet is far higher than the force needed to keep it crawling, so slow down before you have to stop. Turn at the line with the hands already on the uprights, no reset.

Where the seconds go. Stalls. A sled that stops in the middle of a length costs several seconds and a lot of leg each time. Going out too hard on length one and standing up on lengths three and four is the usual pattern. The other leak is the surface: if you have only ever pushed race weight on rubber or turf, you have not pushed race weight.

How the app trains it. The sled block on a strength day runs three rungs: a technique rung at 65 % of race load for fast, clean steps; race weight for continuous 50 m efforts; and an overload rung at 120 % where each 15 m length is meant to take 20 to 30 seconds of slow, driving steps. The kilograms are rounded to 5 and treated as a start: the feel check overrides them on a fast floor. In the Peak block, the sled also sits on the last rounds of the compromised-run sessions, so you practise running off it. Pro athletes ramp Open → midpoint → race load through Base. Our HYROX sled weight calculator gives you every rung for your division and your sled.

What to do about the load

When you do get on a sled, the sled push trains in three rungs (technique, race and overload): Women Open 65, 102 and 120 kg; Men Open 100, 152 and 180 kg; Women Pro 100, 152 and 180 kg; Men Pro 130, 202 and 240 kg. Until then the substitute is matched for time, so hold it for as long as your 50 m takes.

Sled pull: 50 m

What it taxes. Posterior chain and grip: hamstrings, glutes, the whole back, and forearms that have to hold a rope for four lengths. It exposes two weaknesses people rarely train: pulling horizontally with the hips, and grip endurance under fatigue.

Technique that survives fatigue. Sit back against the rope so your weight, not your biceps, moves the sled: hips behind the heels, chest up, arms long. Pull hand over hand in a rhythm, stepping backwards within the pull zone, and keep the rope taut the whole time: slack means the sled stops and you pay to restart it. Stay inside the box; stepping over the line is a penalty.

Where the seconds go. Standing tall and pulling with the arms, which fatigues the grip in two lengths and lets the sled stop between pulls. Walking the rope back to the sled with no tension in it is the other one: every metre of slack is a metre you pull twice.

How the app trains it. The sled pull shares the sled block with the push: 65 % technique lengths, race-weight 50 m efforts, and 120 % overload sets. Pro programming tilts the block toward the pull and finishes on race-distance pulls. The pull is also one of the four timed pieces in a benchmark week (SkiErg, sled pull, sandbag lunges, wall balls, each with full rest), so the plan tracks it directly. Without a sled, the closest the engine has is a hard-pull row for the same time, then heavy bent-over rows.

What to do about the load

When you do get on a sled, the sled pull trains in three rungs (technique, race and overload): Women Open 50, 78 and 95 kg; Men Open 65, 103 and 125 kg; Women Pro 65, 103 and 125 kg; Men Pro 100, 153 and 185 kg. Until then the substitute is matched for time, so hold it for as long as your 50 m takes.

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