The £50 Equipment Upgrade: What Resistance Bands and One Kettlebell Actually Unlock for Hyrox Training (No-Gym Series, Part 3)

The £50 question

Pure bodyweight training (covered in Part 2) gets you to the start line of a Hyrox. But there are three specific pieces of equipment that, for under £50 total, dramatically improve what you can train at home — particularly for the upper-body pull work and the loaded carry stations that bodyweight training cannot fully address.

This is the first equipment purchase you should make as a no-gym Hyrox athlete. After this, additional equipment provides diminishing returns until you can access an actual gym.

The full 6-part No-Gym Hyrox Athlete series

New parts drop every 2nd day. Bookmark the No-Gym Hyrox Athlete hub to follow along.

1. Part 1 — Training for Hyrox Without a Gym: What You Can Actually Achieve
2. Part 2 — The 12-Week No-Equipment Hyrox Training Plan
3. Part 3 — The £50 Equipment Upgrade: Bands and a Kettlebell (you are here)
4. Part 4 — Park and Outdoor Training for Hyrox
5. Part 5 — Hotel Room Hyrox Training While Travelling
6. Part 6 — The Race-Week No-Gym Taper

What to buy

1. One resistance band set with door anchor (£15–25)

A resistance band set with multiple resistance levels (light, medium, heavy) and a door anchor attachment. Look for sets that include flat bands or tube bands rated to at least 30–40 kg of resistance at full stretch. Most generic sets on Amazon or sports stores meet this spec.

The door anchor is critical. Without it, the band’s usefulness drops by half. The anchor lets you attach the band at three heights — overhead (for SkiErg simulation), waist (for rowing), and floor (for sled pull simulation).

2. One kettlebell, 16–20 kg (£25–35)

For most recreational athletes, a single 16 kg kettlebell is the sweet spot. It is light enough to use for high-rep work, heavy enough for meaningful strength stimulus, and matches the women’s Hyrox farmers carry weight (so you can train with race-relevant load).

If you are a stronger athlete or specifically training for men’s Hyrox stations, 20 kg is a better choice. Check second-hand listings — kettlebells often sell used at 50–60% of retail price.

Avoid adjustable kettlebells in this price bracket. They are usually poorly balanced and the handle width feels different from a standard cast iron kettlebell, which is what you will encounter at the race.

3. Skipping rope (£5–10)

Almost an afterthought purchase, but a good rope provides excellent aerobic conditioning, particularly when you cannot run (bad weather, hotel rooms, late evenings). Five minutes of fast-cadence skipping is roughly equivalent to a 10-minute easy run for cardiovascular stimulus.

A speed rope is the best choice — light, fast, and the cable lets you maintain higher cadence than a cheap PVC rope. Decathlon and Amazon both sell decent options under £10.

Total: £45–70 depending on brand and exact specs.

What each piece unlocks for each station

SkiErg → Resistance band overhead pull-downs

Setup: Anchor the band overhead (top of door, around a beam). Stand facing the anchor, grab the band ends with both hands above your head.

Movement: Hinge from the hips while pulling the band down past your thighs, keeping your arms straight on the descent and finishing with a short triceps snap. Identical to the SkiErg drive pattern.

Programming: 50 reps continuous = roughly equivalent to a 1000m SkiErg in cardiovascular demand. For race simulation, use a heavier band and aim for 60-100 continuous reps.

Transfer quality versus pure bodyweight: Bodyweight training cannot replicate this pattern at all. The band brings transfer to roughly 85% of the actual SkiErg.

Sled Pull → Resistance band rows + walking-back drills

Setup: Anchor the band at floor or low height. Stand facing the anchor, walk backward until the band is taut.

Movement: Pull the band toward you with both hands, hand-over-hand if you have a long enough band, while taking small steps backward. This replicates the sled pull’s combined upper-body pull and backward-walk pattern.

Programming: 8–10 sets of 30-second efforts, or continuous pulling for 90 seconds at a time, replicates the cardiovascular demand of the sled pull.

Transfer quality: Pure bodyweight training cannot replicate this station meaningfully. The band brings transfer to roughly 70%.

Rowing → Resistance band seated rows

Setup: Sit on the floor, loop the band around both feet, hold both ends in your hands.

Movement: Lean back slightly with a tall spine. Pull both band ends toward your hips, driving with your back. The leg drive is missing (your feet are stationary), but the upper-body pulling pattern matches.

Programming: 100 continuous reps at moderate resistance is roughly equivalent to 800m of rowing for the upper-body conditioning component. For full rowing simulation, alternate 30 seconds of band rows with 30 seconds of bodyweight squats — this approximates the leg drive missing from the band-only version.

Transfer quality: Roughly 60% of an actual rower.

Farmers Carry → Single-arm kettlebell carries

Setup: Hold the kettlebell in one hand at your side, arm fully extended.

Movement: Walk a measured distance (20–40m one-way) with the bell, focusing on tall posture, packed shoulder, and braced core. Switch hands and walk back.

Programming: 4–6 sets of 60m total (30m each arm) approximates the cumulative grip and posture demand of a Hyrox farmers carry.

Note on single-arm vs double: With one kettlebell, you cannot do double-arm carries identical to the race. Single-arm carries provide most of the same benefit (grip endurance, postural stability) but biased to one side. Always alternate hands. For double-arm load, two suitcases or shopping bags filled with weight provide a workable substitute alongside the kettlebell.

Transfer quality: With one kettlebell, roughly 75%. With two matching kettlebells (a £60–80 upgrade later), 95%.

Wall Balls → Kettlebell goblet squat to overhead press

Setup: Hold the kettlebell at chest height, both hands cupping the bell like holding a goblet.

Movement: Squat below parallel, drive up explosively, and press the kettlebell overhead at the top. Lower it back to the goblet position and immediately drop into the next squat.

Programming: 100 reps continuous (or in a planned break strategy of 25-25-25-25) closely simulates the wall ball station’s leg and shoulder demand.

Transfer quality: Mechanics 95%. The catch-and-drop rhythm of an actual wall ball is the only meaningful gap — and it is small. This is one of the best substitutions in the no-gym setup.

Sled Push → Loaded backpack hill sprints

A kettlebell does not help with sled push. The closest substitute remains hill sprints with a heavily loaded backpack (15–25 kg of books, water bottles, or whatever weight). Walk-jog up the hill driving from your hips, focusing on forward lean and hip extension.

Transfer quality: Mechanics 50%, leg power development 70%. Still the weakest no-gym substitute.

Sandbag Lunges → Loaded backpack lunges

A backpack works better than a kettlebell for lunges (the kettlebell creates an asymmetric load that does not replicate the centred sandbag position on the upper back). Load a backpack to 15–25 kg and lunge for 200 reps.

The kettlebell can be used for goblet-position lunges (held at chest) for variety, but the backpack should be your primary lunge load.

A sample week using the £50 setup

Tuesday — Run + station session:

• 5 min easy jog warm-up
• 5 rounds: 500m run + 30 band pull-downs + 20 walking lunges per leg + 15 push-ups
• 5 min cool-down

Thursday — Aerobic + carries:

• 35 min steady run
• After run: 4 sets × 60m single-arm farmers carry, alternating hands
• 100 band seated rows (broken into sets of 25)

Saturday — Power session:

• Warm-up: 5 min jog
• 100 goblet squats to overhead press (in 4 sets of 25)
• 80 burpee broad jumps
• 4 × 30m loaded backpack hill sprint
• Cool-down: 1 km easy jog

Sunday — Long easy run:

• 50–60 min Zone 2

This structure provides all eight stations represented across the week, with proper running volume and recovery built in.

What’s next

Part 4 takes the training outside — how to use parks, hills, and outdoor space to build Hyrox fitness without spending another penny.

→ Part 4: Park and Outdoor Training for Hyrox