Sled Push Training Playbook
The race-stopper. Heavy, long, and placed early enough you cannot afford to blow up.
Race standards
| Division | Specification |
|---|---|
| Open Men | 152kg sled (incl. weights) |
| Open Women | 102kg sled |
| Pro Men | 202kg sled |
| Pro Women | 152kg sled |
| Doubles Mixed | Open weights, one partner pushing at a time |
Distance: 50m
What good looks like
Peer benchmark times by performance level and division. Shown as total time at the station.
| Division | Elite | Competitive | Average | Beginner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Men | 2:05 | 2:27 | 2:40 | 3:20 |
| Open Women | 2:01 | 2:23 | 2:35 | 3:14 |
| Pro Men | 2:40 | 3:08 | 3:25 | 4:16 |
| Pro Women | 2:35 | 3:03 | 3:18 | 4:08 |
Top 3 limiters
The biggest reasons athletes are slow at this station. Fix these in order.
Standing too upright
If your shoulders are over your hands, your legs do all the work and quads cook in 20 m. Body angle should be ~45°, shoulders ahead of hands, hips low.
Insufficient unilateral strength
The sled push is essentially a 50 m walking lunge under load. If you can't do 16 walking lunges with a 24 kg dumbbell per hand, the sled will eat you.
Stopping when it slows
A full stop costs 10+ seconds. The fix is technique — drop your hips lower and shorten your steps when momentum dies. Keep moving, even at 5 cm per stride.
Key sessions
The 4 sessions that build sled push fitness most efficiently. Layer these into the recommended training plan below — at minimum one per week.
Sled volume
45 minAfter warm-up: 4×25 m sled push at race weight (152 kg M / 102 kg W) with 90 s rest, 4×25 m sled pull at race weight (103 kg M / 78 kg W) with 90 s rest. Builds technique under fatigue.
Heavy sled day
40 minAfter warm-up, 3×25 m sled push at race weight + 20 kg with 2 min rest, 3×25 m sled pull at race weight + 20 kg. Overloads the system so race weight feels manageable.
Lower-body strength
60 minBack squat 4×5 @ 80%, Romanian deadlift 4×6, walking lunges 3×16 with dumbbells, single-leg calf raises 3×12. Builds the unit-strength that makes sled push and lunges feel light.
Station-specific strength
55 minTrap-bar carries 4×30 m, heavy sled drag 4×25 m at 1.5× race weight, walking lunges with sandbag 3×60 m, weighted plank 3×60 s. Targets the exact muscle groups that fail in the back half of Hyrox.
Drill tips
Race weight or nothing
Train at 152 kg M / 102 kg W (Open) or +50 kg for Pro. Lighter sleds teach the wrong neuromuscular pattern.
Segment the 50 m
Mental cue: 20 m, 20 m, 10 m finish. Three short pushes feel easier than one long slog.
Drive through the balls of the feet
Heel contact = energy leak. Stay on the balls of the feet with short, fast steps.
Common no-reps
- Sled not crossing the finish line before dismount
- Lifting the sled at turns
Combine with these training plans
The plans below already weave the key sessions into a balanced week-by-week build. Pick the one that matches your goal time or schedule.
12-Week Hyrox Training Plan
The complete 12-week build to a Hyrox race. The longest plan most amateurs benefit from — anything more becomes diminishing returns.
Sub-1:30 Hyrox Training Plan
Break 1 hour 30 minutes — top 25-30% of Open Men. The first true 'good time' threshold most Hyrox athletes target.
Sub-1:30 Hyrox Training Plan for Women
Break 1 hour 30 minutes for Open Women — top 15% globally. The competitive 'good time' threshold for Hyrox women.
Read more
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