Sled Push Substitutes
No gym access? These sled push substitutes train the same muscles for HYROX® station 2 — with clear notes on what each option can and cannot replicate.
This guide covers the standard Singles and Doubles rules for season 2026/27. Training suggestions below are options to adapt with your coach; they are not competition rules or promises of a particular time improvement.
Distance, weights and rules
The sequence is run 1, SkiErg, run 2, Sled Push, run 3, Sled Pull. The designated running total is approximately 8,000 m; individual running segments can vary with the venue layout. At the push, use your assigned lane, start with both yourself and the sled behind the line, and push the entire sled beyond the opposite line before changing direction. Complete all four 12.5 m lengths without interfering with another lane. HYROX® Singles 26/27 · §1 / §7.2 / §8.2
Weights by division
These are total masses, including the sled. The table covers regular Singles and Doubles divisions; the 2026/27 Doubles table lists one Mixed division, not separate Mixed Open and Mixed Pro divisions. HYROX® Singles 26/27 · §8.2, p.27 HYROX® Doubles 26/27 · §4.1 / §8.2
| Division | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| Singles Open | 102 kg | 152 kg |
| Singles Pro | 152 kg | 202 kg |
| Doubles | 102 kg | 152 kg |
| Doubles Pro | 152 kg | 202 kg |
| Mixed Doubles | 152 kg | |
Open, Pro and Doubles
Doubles partners share the station work using you-go-I-go. Sharing the distance does not halve the weight being pushed, and an equal split is not compulsory. Both partners complete the running sections. A 90-second training push is not an official Pro entry standard. HYROX® Doubles 26/27 · §7.2–7.3
Women’s sled weights
Women Open uses 102 kg and Women Pro 152 kg. That is a 50 kg increase in mass, approximately 49.0% of the Open load; it does not imply a 49.0% increase in required strength or a fixed time penalty. HYROX® Singles 26/27 · §8.2, p.27 HYROX® Doubles 26/27 · §4.1 / §8.2
Technique and position
The movement standard specifies the lane, lines and distance. It does not prescribe a universal 30–45° torso angle, locked elbows or a grip height. Treat coaching cues as choices to test, rather than extra judging requirements. HYROX® Singles 26/27 · §8.2
Body position
Practice with a manageable load and compare positions on the same sled and surface. As an optional coaching exercise, film a short push from the side and discuss your control and comfort with a qualified coach. Do not treat a single camera angle as a pass/fail test.
Low and high positions
Try different comfortable grip heights during controlled practice. This guide does not claim that a low, high or hybrid position is fastest for everyone. Keep the race requirement—moving the whole sled over each line—separate from your chosen technique.
Muscles worked
Sled pushing recruits thigh, calf and trunk muscles. A study in ten resistance-trained men measured quadriceps, hamstring, gastrocnemius and trunk activity, without establishing percentage force shares. Maddigan et al. 2014
Training benefits: what the evidence supports
Brandt and colleagues studied an Open-format HYROX® simulation in 11 recreational athletes. It was an acute observational assessment, not a trial of a 12-week sled programme. It cannot establish a guaranteed 15–25% improvement or a universal heart-rate response in the first 15–20 seconds. Its historical wall-ball protocol is not the current rulebook. Brandt et al. 2025 · Methods / Results
The weighted-vest study cited in the old injury claim examined walking and running in 20 people. It did not compare injury rates of heavy sled pushing with squats. Neither that study nor the older-adult sled study establishes that three weekly sled sessions are free of soreness or recovery costs. Gaffney et al. 2022 Baumann et al. 2024
Sled Push workouts
Choose training distance, total load, repetitions and rest according to your current capacity and the rest of your week. The following are optional practice formats, not validated minimum doses. Record the sled, surface, load and distance when comparing sessions.
Speed and load practice
For technique practice, use short pushes at a manageable load with enough rest to repeat your chosen position. For station practice, build toward four 12.5 m lengths when appropriate. There is no prescribed need here to use 110–120% of race weight or finish 25 m in ten seconds.
Push–run–pull practice
One optional sequence is push, run, then pull. In the race, a running section separates stations 2 and 3. Choose your training distance and number of rounds conservatively; repeating the sequence three times is not a requirement. Use the different push and pull loads shown below. HYROX® Singles 26/27 · §1
Alternatives without a sled
If a sled is unavailable, choose exercises for a clearly defined training purpose and arrange occasional sled practice when possible. The inspected sources do not provide a validated percentage of HYROX® transfer for a machine combination.
Treadmill pushing
Use a treadmill for resisted pushing only when its manufacturer explicitly provides that function, and follow the model’s instructions. Woodway describes resisted sled-style pushing on the Curve FTG, a manual curved model. That is not permission to push the belt of any switched-off motorized treadmill, nor proof that every curved treadmill is suitable. Woodway Curve FTG
Training at home
Avoid treating an improvised tyre, towel or homemade frame as a calibrated race substitute. As a practical choice, use equipment and a surface approved for the intended activity, and agree the setup with your gym or coach. This guide gives no universal tyre mass, build price or equivalence to race loading.
Machine alternatives
Discuss options such as a leg press or squat variation with your coach when selecting general strength work. Manufacturer resistance settings and loaded plate masses are not interchangeable with a HYROX® sled total. No 7/10, 6/10 or 85% transfer score is established by the inspected evidence.
Sled Push versus Sled Pull
Both stations cover 50 m, but the total loads differ. Women Open: push 102 kg, pull 78 kg. Men Open and Women Pro: push 152 kg, pull 103 kg. Men Pro: push 202 kg, pull 153 kg. The corresponding same-sex Doubles loads match; Mixed Doubles uses 152 kg and 103 kg. The pull has its own rope and Racers Box standards. HYROX® Singles 26/27 · §8.2–8.3 HYROX® Doubles 26/27 · §4.1
Linthorne and Cooper tested sled towing on four surfaces in six male rugby players. Their findings show that surface conditions affect resisted-sprint loading. This is relevant context for recording your training setup, not a conversion formula for HYROX® push times or permission to warm up on the competition floor. Linthorne & Cooper 2013
Sled Push FAQ
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