HYROX Without Wall Balls: Thruster Substitutes, Ranked
By Threshold
You can train for HYROX without a wall ball. The Threshold engine swaps the wall balls for a substitute matched for time: for the wall balls (100 reps) the closest is db thrusters, rated closest, which needs dumbbells, then sandbag thrusters. The app picks the closest match for your kit, and the race estimate still uses the real station.
Stations that need a wall ball
Substitutes ranked, closest first
| Station | Rank | Substitute | Match | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall balls | 1 | DB thrusters | closest | dumbbells |
| Wall balls | 2 | Sandbag thrusters | good | a sandbag |
| Wall balls | 3 | Light barbell thrusters | good | a barbell |
- DB thrusters for the wall balls: a closest match at 75% engine fidelity, ranked 1 of 3, needing dumbbells.
- Sandbag thrusters for the wall balls: a good match at 65% engine fidelity, ranked 2 of 3, needing a sandbag.
- Light barbell thrusters for the wall balls: a good match at 65% engine fidelity, ranked 3 of 3, needing a barbell.
"Closest" means the movement taxes the same system in roughly the same way; "rough" keeps the time and the effort but not the pattern.
Wall balls: 100 reps
What it taxes. The finisher. Legs, shoulders and breathing fail together, and the no-rep judge is watching squat depth and target height on every rep. A hundred reps is the same in Women Open and Men Pro; only the ball and the target change.
Technique that survives fatigue. Catch the ball high on the chest, drop below parallel, and let the ball leave your hands as the hips finish extending, so the throw is powered by the legs throughout. Breathe out on the throw, in on the catch. Decide your sets before you start (say 25 / 20 / 20 / 15 / 10 / 10) and take short, fixed breaks rather than going to failure.
Where the seconds go. Throwing with the arms once the legs are tired, which produces shallow squats and short throws: no-reps at exactly the moment you have nothing left to repay them with. And breaks the judge chooses: sets you choose cost seconds, sets failure chooses cost minutes.
How the app trains it. Wall balls close the station circuits: sets of 15 in the normal rounds, and a final round that builds from 50 to 75 to the full 100 as the block progresses, on legs the earlier rounds have already tired. Pro programming raises the working sets to 25. The 100-rep piece is also a benchmark, timed after full rest. Without a ball, dumbbell thrusters for the same reps are the closest the engine has.
What to do about the load
The race load is 4 kg Women Open, 6 kg Men Open, 6 kg Women Pro and 9 kg Men Pro. The substitute is matched for time rather than kilograms, so work for as long as the 100 reps wall balls takes you, and keep the movement honest before you add weight.
Where to go next
The full race order and every station section live in our guide to the HYROX stations in order. For sled loads on your own sled, use our sled weight calculator. To put the substitutes into a week, follow our 8-week HYROX training plan, and if you train mostly at home, read our guide to HYROX training at home.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best HYROX substitute without a wall ball?
For the wall balls: db thrusters, rated closest.
What equipment do the substitutes need?
DB thrusters: dumbbells. Sandbag thrusters: a sandbag. Light barbell thrusters: a barbell.
Which station needs a wall ball in HYROX?
Wall balls (100 reps). Every other station can be trained without it.
How heavy is the wall balls in HYROX?
4 kg Women Open, 6 kg Men Open, 6 kg Women Pro and 9 kg Men Pro.