Station three, straight after the sled push, and the one where good technique makes the biggest difference to your time. Open women pull 78kg, Open men and Pro women 103kg, Pro men 153kg, all over 50 metres.
The mistake
Standing upright and pulling with your arms. It works for about ten metres and then your grip and biceps are gone, with 40 metres still to go and a farmers carry later in the race.
Use your bodyweight instead
Sit back into the rope. Lean your weight backwards, keep your arms relatively straight, and let your bodyweight and legs do the work while your hands simply hold position.
-
Sit low. Hips back, knees bent, weight through your heels.
-
Hand over hand, close to your body. Keep the rope low, around waist height, not up at your chest.
-
Short pulls. Rapid, controlled, continuous. Big dramatic heaves stall between reps.
-
Drive with your legs as you pull, then reset your feet.
Keep the sled moving
Same principle as the push: an already-moving sled takes far less force than a stationary one. A continuous rhythm of small pulls beats big pulls with pauses, even if the big pulls feel more productive.
Where it sits in the race
You arrive with quads already burning from the push. The good news is the pull is a posterior chain and grip station, so it uses different muscles. The bad news is the grip cost carries forward to the farmers carry at station six.
Reset your feet properly
Most events have a marked area you must stay within. Shuffling forward as you pull and then having to reset costs time. Set your stance once, pull from there, and only move when you have to.
Training it
If your gym has a rope and a sled, practise the actual movement. If not, the best substitutes are heavy seated rows, RDLs and any hand-over-hand rope work. Add dead hangs for grip.
Practise it immediately after a heavy sled push so your legs are in the right state.
Frequently asked
Can I use a harness? Formats vary by event, so check your race information for how the pull is set up.
Gloves? More useful here than on the push. Test them in training first.
Why does my back hurt afterwards? Usually pulling with a rounded spine. Sit back and keep your chest up.
Racing soon? Our compression tights for Hyrox use 15-20 mmHg graduated compression in a 225 GSM knit built to hold shape through sled and sandbag work, and our compression race socks run at 25-30 mmHg. Free UK delivery over £50.
Hyrox Sled Pull: The Technique Most People Get Wrong
Station three, straight after the sled push, and the one where good technique makes the biggest difference to your time. Open women pull 78kg, Open men and Pro women 103kg, Pro men 153kg, all over 50 metres.
The mistake
Standing upright and pulling with your arms. It works for about ten metres and then your grip and biceps are gone, with 40 metres still to go and a farmers carry later in the race.
Use your bodyweight instead
Sit back into the rope. Lean your weight backwards, keep your arms relatively straight, and let your bodyweight and legs do the work while your hands simply hold position.
Keep the sled moving
Same principle as the push: an already-moving sled takes far less force than a stationary one. A continuous rhythm of small pulls beats big pulls with pauses, even if the big pulls feel more productive.
Where it sits in the race
You arrive with quads already burning from the push. The good news is the pull is a posterior chain and grip station, so it uses different muscles. The bad news is the grip cost carries forward to the farmers carry at station six.
Reset your feet properly
Most events have a marked area you must stay within. Shuffling forward as you pull and then having to reset costs time. Set your stance once, pull from there, and only move when you have to.
Training it
If your gym has a rope and a sled, practise the actual movement. If not, the best substitutes are heavy seated rows, RDLs and any hand-over-hand rope work. Add dead hangs for grip.
Practise it immediately after a heavy sled push so your legs are in the right state.
Frequently asked
Can I use a harness? Formats vary by event, so check your race information for how the pull is set up.
Gloves? More useful here than on the push. Test them in training first.
Why does my back hurt afterwards? Usually pulling with a rounded spine. Sit back and keep your chest up.
Racing soon? Our compression tights for Hyrox use 15-20 mmHg graduated compression in a 225 GSM knit built to hold shape through sled and sandbag work, and our compression race socks run at 25-30 mmHg. Free UK delivery over £50.