HYROX Sled Push: Technique, Weights and the Mistakes That Cost Minutes

Station 2 is where races are quietly lost. You come off the SkiErg with your heart rate high, grab a sled that weighs more than you do, and discover what the carpet feels like. The good news: the sled push is mostly technique, and technique is free speed.

The numbers

Division	Sled push weight (incl. sled)
Open women	102 kg
Open men	152 kg
Pro women	152 kg
Pro men	202 kg

The distance is 50 m, which guides describe as four 12.5 m lengths. It’s the second station, right after the SkiErg, so you start it already breathing hard. Weights are from the HYROX rulebook standards; confirm them against the current season’s rulebook before you race.

Technique: five cues that move the sled

1. Get low and lean in

Your body should make a strong diagonal line from your heels to your hands. Coaching guides often describe something close to a 45-degree angle. Too upright and your legs push the sled down into the floor instead of forward.

2. Flat back, braced core

A neutral spine transfers force from your legs into the poles. If your back rounds, you leak power and your lower back pays for it on the lunges later.

3. Pick an arm position and own it

There are three common options:

• Arms extended with hands high on the poles. The most common setup and easy to hold.
• Arms bent, chest close to the poles. Lower and more powerful for some athletes, harder to hold.
• Forearms or shoulders against the poles. Locks you in, but can be awkward on the turns.

Test all three in training at race weight. The best one is the one you can hold for all four lengths.

4. Short, fast steps through the balls of your feet

Long strides lift your hips and lose contact with the floor. Think choppy, quick steps and drive through the forefoot.

5. Never let it stop

A sled at rest needs far more force to start moving again than to keep moving. A slow, steady push beats a fast push that dies twice. If you need a break, take it at the end of a length, not in the middle.

Pacing the four lengths

• Length 1: controlled. Find your posture and rhythm.
• Lengths 2 and 3: hold the rhythm. This is where most people stall.
• Length 4: empty the tank, because you get a 1 km run to recover before the sled pull.
• The turns: get around the sled fast and get your hands set before you push. Turns are free time if you’re efficient.

The mistakes that cost minutes

1. Sprinting the SkiErg. You arrive at the sled redlined. Pace station 1 for station 2.
2. Standing too tall. The most common technique error, and the most expensive.
3. Stop-start pushing. Every restart burns energy you need for the next 7 km.
4. Only training on turf. Race-day carpet can feel slower. Many coaches suggest training at heavier than race weight to compensate, building up gradually.
5. Neglecting the run after. The legs-on-fire 1 km after the sled is a skill. Practise it.

How to train it

• Heavy pushes, race posture: 4–6 × 12.5–25 m at or above race weight, full recovery. Quality over fatigue.
• Compromised pushes: 500 m on the SkiErg or rower, straight into 2 × 12.5 m at race weight. Teaches you to push tired.
• Push plus run: 25 m push into a 400–1,000 m run at goal pace. Builds the hardest transition in the race.
• Strength: squats, split squats, sled drags and calf work, once or twice a week.

Why does the same weight feel different between gyms? Worn sleds are one reason, which is why Centr now makes replaceable sled blades. No sled at your gym? That’s a reason to find a HYROX training club. Our Las Vegas gym directory is growing, and a free sample training week shows where sled work fits.

Your sled push in one line

Low, flat, short steps, never stop. Then use the split planner to set a sled push target for your goal time.

Next station: the sled pull. Read our sled pull guide.