IMPROVE · HYROX STATION 3
How to get faster at the Hyrox sled pull
You get faster at the Hyrox sled pull by building the grip, back and biceps that hold the rope, bracing with your legs so your arms do not do all the work, and keeping the rope moving without a pause. Short heavy pulls build the strength, and pulls after a sled push show you how the station feels in a race. Without a sled, rows, pulldowns (pulling a bar down to your chest on a gym machine) and dead hangs (hanging from a bar with straight arms) train the same muscles.
How to get faster at the sled pull
The sled pull is station 3 of 8 in a Hyrox race: you pull a loaded sled 50 m by its rope, as four lengths of your lane. The weight depends on your division, the group you race in. It is 78 kg for Women, 103 kg for Women Pro and Men, and 153 kg for Men Pro, and each weight includes the sled.
The rules shape the training. You must stay standing, you stay inside your Racers Box at each end of the lane, and you may not step on its front or back line while you hold the rope. So the pull is a standing, braced, hand-over-hand movement, and the sled keeps its speed only when the rope never stops.
In the race, do not blow up on the pull, because five runs and five stations still follow it. Our advice: once race weight moves cleanly, add short pulls heavier than race weight, and train the pull at race weight between two runs, the way the race does.
In Doubles, where you race as a pair, the rulebook has you and your partner take turns: one works while the other rests, and you choose when to swap. On the sled pull, the resting partner stays behind the working one and may not help with the rope. If one of you is stronger, our advice is to let that partner start and the other finish.
This page covers what to train, the drills that help, a simple week, a session you can run, and what to do without a sled. The rules, weights and technique are on the station guide linked below.
- HYROX Singles Rulebook 26/27 (official PDF) checked 18 Oct 2026
- HYROX Doubles Rulebook 26/27 (official PDF) checked 18 Oct 2026
What the sled pull asks of your body
Hyrox says the pull uses your glutes, back, biceps and the whole trunk (your torso). The table below rates how much each quality matters. The ratings are coaching judgement, with no measurements behind them.
| Quality | How much the pull needs it | What it does for you |
|---|---|---|
| Back and biceps strength | Most | Drags the sled hand over hand, stroke after stroke. |
| Grip and forearms | High | Keeps the rope in your hands for the whole 50 m. |
| Bracing (legs and trunk) | High | Holds your stance so the sled does not pull you forward. |
| Engine (breathing and heart rate) | Medium | Lets you keep the rope moving, then run 1 km straight after. |
- HYROX: The Fitness Race (official site) checked 18 Oct 2026
Sled pull drills
Rope rhythm. Pull a light sled hand over hand and focus on one thing: the rope never stops. Count the strokes if it helps, and keep the gap between them as short as you can.
Brace first. Before each pull, set your feet wide, sink your hips and lean back, then pull. A braced stance turns the first stroke of each length from a scramble into a normal one.
Box rehearsal. Mark a working space on the floor with tape and pull from inside it, so that you learn where your feet are without looking. In the race you may not step on the front or back line while you hold the rope.
Heavy short pulls. Load the sled above race weight and pull a short distance. Stop the set as soon as your stance collapses or you start to stand tall to pull.
Pulls after a push. Push the sled, run, then pull, as the race does. The station guide has a session that practises stations 3 and 4 together.
A weekly approach for the sled pull
You do not need a separate pulling week. Fit the sled around the pulling you already do, and watch how many sessions in a row ask for your hands.
| Day | What you do |
|---|---|
| Main day | One sled session, such as the one below. Pick a load where your last pull looks like your first. |
| Back day | Rows, pulldowns or pull-ups you may already do. This builds the strength the rope draws on. |
| Grip work | Short dead hangs or carries, kept away from the main day so your hands are fresh when you pull the sled. |
| Race practice | Train a race segment back to back: push, run, pull, then run again. A station and a run back to back is called a brick. |
| Day before and after | Keep these easy for the back and hands. A hard pulling day on either side makes the rope slower and the stance worse. |
A sled pull session to try
This session is built around short, repeatable pulls. Effort runs from 1 (very easy) to 10 (all out). A lighter version is 4 pulls of 20 m at a load that lets you keep the rope moving. A harder version is 8 pulls of 25 m with 90 seconds of rest.
| Block | What you do |
|---|---|
| Warm-up | 2 dead hangs (hanging from a bar with straight arms) of 15 seconds. Wake the grip up without tiring it. |
| Main | 6 rounds, resting 120 seconds between rounds. Each round: sled pull 25 m at effort 8. Brace before each hand-over-hand stroke and keep the rope moving continuously. |
| Cool-down | 1 dead hang of 15 seconds at effort 2. Release the grip, with no need to chase fatigue. |
Train the sled pull without the equipment
Many gyms have no sled with a rope. Use the options below for the weeks in between. Each trains the same muscles. Only a loaded sled teaches the feel, so find one before race day.
| Option | What it trains | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Standing cable row | Back and biceps, with the stance of the pull | Stand tall, brace your legs and pull one hand at a time to your hip. |
| Lat pulldown or pull-ups | Back strength | Use a load you can finish with good form, and stop before your form breaks. |
| Dead hangs | Grip | Hang from a bar for short sets. Stop before your hands fail. |
| Bag drag | The whole pattern at low cost | Pull a heavy bag along a smooth floor with a strap or rope, hand over hand, from a low stance. |
Working on the sled pull in Complete
Complete starts from your long-term goals. Log a pulling session in the app exercise by exercise, with the distance and weight of each pull, or bring it in from Apple Health, and it counts like any other workout. Roads are Complete’s ladders of targets, which you take on next to your friends, and the sled pull has its own, moved by your official race results.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I train the Hyrox sled pull?
One focused sled session a week is a sensible start, plus the pulling work you already do. Keep it apart from your hardest grip day, and add a push followed by a pull now and then.
Is the sled pull a grip exercise?
Grip plays a part. Your hands hold the rope for the whole 50 m, so grip matters, but the pull itself comes from your back, biceps and legs. Train both, and keep the grip work away from the day you pull the sled.
Can I get faster at the sled pull without a sled?
You can build the strength with rows, pulldowns, dead hangs and a bag drag. Try a real sled at least once before your race, because the stance and the rope are specific to it.
Is the sled pull or the sled push harder?
That depends on you. The push leans on the legs, your biggest muscles, and the pull on the back, arms and hands, which tire sooner. The pull sled is lighter than the push sled in every division, and bracing with your legs shares the load.