HYROX Coach Shares an Efficient Sled Pull Technique That Can Cut Minutes Off Your Race Time
Training for a HYROX race? Whether it’s your first race or you’re chasing a faster finish time than your last one, there's always room to adjust and improve. With eight different exercise stations to tackle, it’s natural to have a few you feel confident in, and a few you absolutely dread getting to. For many athletes, the sled pull happens to be their biggest opponent.
The sled push is tough enough. But by the time you reach the sled pull, you’ve already run a few kilometers with your heart rate through the roof. No matter how strong you are in the gym, raw strength becomes irrelevant, especially for a race that demands muscular endurance under fatigue. Of course, building that foundation should be first on the agenda. But once it’s there, the technique on each station is what can truly cut your finish time down.
Jackson Harding, a HYROX trainer and 12-time competitor, managed to cut his sled pull time from upwards of seven minutes to under four in the pro division. If your social media feeds are inundated with HYROX advice, you’ve probably seen all kinds of sled pull strategies. But Harding stands by the idea that squatting, pulling with the arms, and keeping the rope between your legs are all huge time wasters.
"Lock in first. Keep your arms fully extended out in front, lats locked, gripping the rope. Load your entire body as one unit before the pull starts," he shared in a recent Instagram post. "You are not pulling with your arms, you are leveraging your whole body from position one."
Instead of dropping down into a squat, think about hinging at the hips. Stay tall, push your hips back, and aim to get a full extension on every rep. Squatting will only cost you power and break your rhythm.
As far as rope positioning goes, Harding suggests keeping it on your dominant side rather than between your legs. From there, stay connected to the rope’s tension and use its natural elasticity to your advantage.
"Know your steps. Train walking backwards and count your steps to the line," he says. "You’ll never need to look back during the race. Stay in rhythm, stay efficient, and always look composed."