The sled pull is the most technical station in Hyrox. You are pulling a weighted sled (103kg men / 78kg women) toward you using a rope, then walking/running it back 50 meters. This station has the widest time variance between trained and untrained athletes because technique makes a massive difference. The rope pull phase is where most time is won or lost — efficient hand-over-hand technique with a low center of gravity is the unlock.
Your legs are your anchor. Sit deep, lean back, and use your bodyweight as counterforce. If you are standing upright, you are fighting the sled with just your arms and will gas out in seconds.
Find a consistent pull cadence. Each hand grabs, pulls to hip, releases while the other hand is already reaching. No pauses, no readjusting. Smooth is fast.
Pulling to your hip engages your lats and back. Pulling to your chest isolates your biceps. Your lats have 10x the endurance — use them.
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Once the sled reaches you, immediately turn and walk it back. The drag-back is just moving bodyweight — use this phase to recover your breathing.
Zero mechanical advantage. Your arms fight the full weight of the sled. Forearms blow up in 10 seconds.
Frantic pulling creates slack in the rope. Every slack moment means the sled stops and you lose momentum.
Many athletes focus only on the rope pull in training. The 50m drag-back with the sled is essentially a reverse sled pull — train both phases.
Some gloves actually make the rope slippery. Test your race-day gloves in training. Many pros go bare-handed with chalk.
| Level | Target | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Elite (sub-60 min total) | Rope pull sub-30s, drag-back sub-50s | Total station time 1:15-1:40. The rope pull is a sprint. Drag-back is a fast walk. |
| Competitive (60-75 min total) | Rope pull 30-45s, drag-back 50-70s | Total station time 1:30-2:00. Controlled aggression on the rope, steady drag-back. |
| Open (75-90+ min total) | Rope pull 45-90s, drag-back 60-90s | Total station time 2:00-3:00. Focus on consistent hand-over-hand, steady breathing. |
Wear a weight belt or place a towel on the ground to sit on during the rope pull. The lower and more stable your base, the faster the sled comes in. Some athletes even sit on the ground for the pull phase.
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