Hyrox Sled Push & Pull: Women's Weight Guide

The Sled is the Station That Defines Your Race

No station in HYROX^® separates women more sharply than the sled. Not Wall Balls. Not the SkiErg. The sled push — Station 2 — arrives early, when athletes are still managing adrenaline from the SkiErg and the first kilometre of running, and it demands something that most female athletes have not specifically trained for: sustained horizontal force production under a load heavier than most gym programmes require.

ROXBASE data across 700,000+ athlete profiles shows the sled push generates more time loss relative to potential for women than any other station in Open division racing. The gap between what women are capable of and what they actually produce at this station is the single largest performance lever available in HYROX^® preparation.

This guide covers everything women need to know about the sled: exact weights across divisions, how the weight compares to training standards, technique adjustments specific to female athletes, and how to build the strength and confidence to treat the sled as a controlled effort rather than a survival challenge.

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Exact HYROX^® Sled Weights for Women

HYROX^® uses two competitive divisions for female athletes at standard events. The weights below are the full loaded sled weight — meaning the sled itself plus the weight plates added to reach the target load.

Sled Push

Division	Total Sled Weight	Distance
Open Women	72 kg	25 m × 2 laps (50 m)
Pro Women	102 kg	25 m × 2 laps (50 m)

Sled Pull

Division	Total Sled Weight	Distance
Open Women	57.5 kg	25 m × 2 laps (50 m)
Pro Women	102.5 kg	25 m × 2 laps (50 m)

The sled push and sled pull use different weights in Open — 72 kg and 57.5 kg respectively — because the movement patterns make different demands. Pushing requires horizontal leg drive and shoulder stabilisation; pulling relies more on the posterior chain and grip. Pro Women reach near-parity at just over 102 kg for both, reflecting the higher absolute strength baseline required at elite level.

For full details on technique and how each station fits the race structure, the HYROX^® sled push guide is the complete reference.

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Why 72 kg Demands Specific Training

The Open Women's sled push weight of 72 kg sounds manageable in isolation. At Station 2 of a HYROX^® race, it is a different proposition.

Consider the context: you arrive at the sled push having completed a 1,000 m SkiErg effort and a 1 km run at near-race pace. Your aerobic system is already working at high output. Your quads are warm but not fresh. Your respiratory rate is elevated. At that moment, you must accelerate a 72 kg sled from rest and sustain horizontal force output across 50 metres of track.

The issue for most women is not the absolute weight — it is the specific pattern of force required. Gym-based lower body training (squats, lunges, leg press) develops vertical force production. The sled push demands horizontal force. The muscles are the same — quads, glutes, calves — but the angles, coordination patterns, and sustained output requirements are different enough that strength built in the gym does not fully transfer without specific sled work.^[1]

ROXBASE data consistently shows that women who rank in the bottom third for sled push times are not unfit athletes. They are athletes whose training did not include enough horizontal loading to prepare for this specific demand.

The practical implication: if you are training for HYROX^® and your gym does not have a sled, this is the station most worth finding equipment for.

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Women-Specific Technique Considerations

The fundamental mechanics of sled pushing — 45-degree body lean, locked arms, short high-cadence strides — apply identically to all athletes. Several execution patterns are, however, more likely to cause problems for female athletes based on where the typical strength gaps appear.

Shoulder Stability Under Sustained Load

The sled handles transmit horizontal force from your legs through your arms and into the sled. This requires the shoulder complex — specifically the rotator cuff and periscapular muscles — to act as a stable bridge. Women on average have narrower shoulders and less absolute shoulder muscle mass than men, which means the structural demand of holding position across 50 metres can be proportionally greater.^[2]

The practical effect: women are more likely than men to see their shoulder position collapse — rounding forward, losing scapular retraction — during the final 20 metres of the push when fatigue accumulates. When this happens, the force transmission chain breaks. Power generated at the hips bleeds out through a loose upper body rather than driving the sled forward.

The fix in training is to include direct shoulder stability work: face pulls, band pull-aparts, and scapular rows. These are not glamorous exercises, but they build the specific structural integrity needed to hold sled position under fatigue.

Quad Dominance vs. Glute Drive

A common pattern in female athletes — driven partly by typical movement habits and partly by gym training emphasis — is quad dominance: generating most of the push power through knee extension rather than hip extension. On the sled, this produces a distinctive movement pattern: athletes drive powerfully through the first few steps, then slow significantly because the quads cannot sustain high-output, short-stride contractions for 50 metres at race pace.

Effective sled technique splits the workload: quads control the stride loading and push-off, glutes drive full hip extension on every stride. Athletes who consciously think "drive through the hip" on each step recruit their glutes and access the larger muscle group for sustained power output.^[3]

Exercises that build glute-dominant pushing patterns: hip thrusts, cable pull-throughs, and — most specifically — reverse sled drags that load the hip extension pattern directly.

Height and Centre of Mass

Women on average have a lower centre of mass relative to height than men, due to differences in hip width and body proportions. On the sled, this is a mechanical advantage: maintaining the 45-degree lean requires less compensatory adjustment when your natural centre of mass already sits closer to the angle of push. Shorter female athletes in particular often find the sled push position feels more natural once they have learned to set it correctly.

Tall female athletes face the inverse challenge: the geometry requires a longer forward reach to the handles, which can create a tendency toward excessive elbow bend. If you are above 175 cm, pay extra attention to arm position during your first sled push training sessions.

For more on how technique interacts with body geometry, see the sled push technique guide.

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Training Progressions for Women's Sled Push

Phase 1: Position and Pattern (Weeks 1–3)

Before adding weight, establish correct mechanics. The goal of this phase is to make the 45-degree lean and high-cadence stride feel automatic, not effortful.

Training prescription: 6 × 25 m at 40–50 kg (well below race weight), full recovery between sets. Focus entirely on body angle and stride cadence. Film from the side every session and check your lean.

If you do not have sled access, use the wall lean drill: face a wall at arm's length, place palms flat at hip height, walk your feet back until your body reaches a 45-degree angle, and hold for 30–60 seconds. This builds the feel of correct position without any load.

Phase 2: Build to Race Weight (Weeks 4–6)

Incrementally increase load while maintaining the mechanics established in Phase 1. Add 10 kg per session or every two sessions, depending on how well technique holds under each new load.

Training prescription: 5 × 50 m at progressive weight, 90 seconds recovery between sets. The target at the end of this phase is completing 5 clean 50 m pushes at race weight (72 kg Open, 102 kg Pro) with technique intact.

Key marker: your second 25 metres should be equal to or faster than your first. If you are consistently slower in the back half, your starting intensity is too high or your mechanics are breaking down under fatigue.

Phase 3: Race Simulation (Weeks 7–8 Pre-Race)

Train at 120% of race weight to make race-day load feel sub-maximal.^[4] For Open Women, that means pushing 86–90 kg in training. This is the phase that converts sled push from a survival event into a controlled effort.

Training prescription: 4 × 50 m at 86–90 kg, incorporating fatigue context. Do sled push sets after a 1 km run or a SkiErg effort to simulate arriving at Station 2 pre-fatigued. The sled push workouts guide includes specific interval structures for building this race-simulation training pattern.

This phase also conditions the nervous system to what 72 kg feels like after you have already been working. Athletes who only ever push the sled fresh are genuinely unprepared for the race experience.

For a full structured programme incorporating these progressions, the HYROX^® training plan for women and the 12-week HYROX^® training plan both include periodised sled push progressions with race-day taper.

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The Sled Pull: A Different Challenge

The sled pull — Station 3, after the sled push and another 1 km run — presents a different physiological demand. At 57.5 kg for Open Women, it is lighter than the push, and it loads the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, upper back) rather than the quads and shoulders.

Women who have trained deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, or kettlebell swings generally approach the sled pull with a meaningful strength advantage. The hip hinge pattern used in those movements directly translates to the rope-over-shoulder, backward-stepping pull technique.

The primary technique error in the sled pull for women is grip and forearm fatigue. Gripping the rope tightly across 50 metres accumulates forearm fatigue quickly, which can carry into the Farmers Carry at Station 6 and affect overall race performance. The fix: pull from the elbow rather than the wrist. Think of the arm as a lever, hinging at the elbow joint, with the forearm relatively relaxed rather than actively curling. Keep pulling cycles short and rhythmic — three to four rope pulls per cycle, reset, repeat — rather than long erratic heaves.^[5]

The backward-stepping pattern also means you cannot see where you are going, which disrupts rhythm for athletes who have not practised it. Include dedicated sled pull sessions at race weight in preparation.

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How the Sled Fits Into Your HYROX^® Race

Station 2 (Sled Push) arrives after the SkiErg and the first 1 km run. Station 3 (Sled Pull) arrives after another 1 km run. These three stations — SkiErg, first run, Sled Push — form the opening sequence that sets the tone for your entire race.

The compounding effect of a poor Sled Push is why ROXBASE identifies it as the single biggest time-loss station for women. An athlete who goes too hard on the SkiErg and the first run arrives at the sled already in respiratory debt. She pushes the 72 kg at near-maximal effort, accumulates more lactate, and then faces a 1 km run immediately after. That run split — affected by residual sled fatigue — is typically 20–45 seconds slower than the athlete's aerobic capacity would suggest. The sled does not just cost time at the station. It costs time on the run that follows.

The ROXBASE-recommended approach for women: treat the first run as a controlled effort — RPE 7 or approximately 10–15 seconds per kilometre slower than your target run pace — so you arrive at the sled with aerobic reserves available. A slightly slower first kilometre produces a faster total race time because the sled and the subsequent run both execute better from a position of controlled effort rather than early oxygen debt.

For a full breakdown of race execution strategy, the HYROX^® workout guide covers how to pace each station within the full eight-station structure.

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Strength Training Priorities for Women Targeting Sled Performance

The highest-value strength work for women specifically targeting sled push and pull improvement falls into three categories.

Horizontal pushing strength. The sled push is one of very few gym movements that loads horizontal pushing. Direct substitutes when sled access is unavailable: prowler pushes, band-resisted horizontal push-offs, heavy landmine presses at 45-degree body angle. These build the motor patterns and muscle conditioning the sled demands.

Hip extension under load. Bulgarian split squats, hip thrusts, single-leg Romanian deadlifts. Each of these develops the glute-drive pattern needed for sustained sled push output and reduces quad dominance. Include at least two sessions per week in the 8 weeks before race day.

Grip and posterior chain endurance. Farmers carries, dead hangs, kettlebell suitcase carries. These address the grip durability required for the sled pull and carry forward into Farmers Carry at Station 6.

The HYROX^® strength training for women guide covers how to build these qualities across a full training cycle with exercise selection and loading recommendations.

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What the Pro Women's Weights Tell You About Scaling

The jump from Open to Pro for women is significant: 72 kg to 102 kg on the push, 57.5 kg to 102.5 kg on the pull. Pro Women are pushing 41% more weight on the sled push and 78% more on the pull compared to Open.

This is worth understanding even if you are training for Open, for two reasons.

First, it puts the 72 kg Open load in context. It is not an easy weight by any standard, but it is substantially below the level required at the top tier of the sport. Women who complete HYROX^® Open and feel the sled was manageable — technique held, time was competitive — are not yet near their ceiling at this station.

Second, it shows the training ceiling for women aiming to progress through divisions. Moving from Open to Pro requires approximately doubling the sled pull strength and adding 40% to the push. That is a multi-year strength development project, not a 12-week training block. For athletes with longer-term HYROX^® goals, building sled push strength well above Open race weight is a legitimate investment.

For race-day strategy and execution specific to female athletes, the HYROX^® race tips for women guide covers how to manage both sled stations within a complete race plan.

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FAQ

Q: What is the sled push weight for women in HYROX^® Open? The total sled weight for women in HYROX^® Open is 72 kg. This is the combined weight of the sled itself plus the weight plates loaded onto it. Women push this 50 metres (two laps of 25 m) at Station 2. In Pro division, the women's sled push weight increases to 102 kg — a 30 kg jump that reflects the significant additional strength required at elite competitive level.

Q: Is the HYROX^® sled pull weight different from the sled push weight for women? Yes. In Open Women, the sled push is 72 kg and the sled pull is 57.5 kg — a difference of 14.5 kg. The pull uses a lighter load because the movement pattern (rope pull while walking backward) taxes the posterior chain and grip rather than the quad-and-shoulder drive of the push. In Pro Women, the loads converge: push is 102 kg and pull is 102.5 kg, essentially equal. This distinction matters for training — preparing for both stations requires different emphasis in your strength programme.

Q: Why is sled push harder for women than the data suggests it should be? The sled push demands horizontal force production, which is a relatively uncommon movement pattern in most gym training programmes. Most women's lower body training — squats, lunges, leg press — loads vertical force patterns. The quads and glutes are present and trained, but the coordination pattern for horizontal drive is not. Women also tend to arrive at Station 2 underspecialised for this demand compared to men, who are more likely to have done sled or prowler work in strength-focused training backgrounds. The result is a station where fitness does not fully predict performance, and where technique and specific strength training create disproportionate improvements.

Q: How often should women train sled push in preparation for HYROX^®? Two dedicated sled push sessions per week in the 8 weeks before race day is a practical and effective frequency. One session focuses on technique and moderate load (70–80% of race weight, high quality reps). The second session focuses on race preparation: higher load (race weight or above), incorporating pre-fatigue from running or SkiErg efforts. Athletes with limited sled access can supplement with horizontal push alternatives on non-sled days and prioritise sled sessions when equipment is available.

Q: Does training with heavier weights than race weight actually help for the sled? Yes, and this is one of the most reliably effective training strategies for HYROX^® sled performance. Training at 120% of race weight (86–90 kg for Open Women) for several weeks before a race creates a recalibration of perceived effort — 72 kg on race day feels sub-maximal rather than near-maximal, because it is. The nervous system and muscles have adapted to handling more. This translates directly to better technique maintenance across all 50 metres and faster recovery before the next running split. The principle applies regardless of your current strength level: push above race weight in training so race weight feels controlled.

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Sources

1. Horizontal vs vertical force production: the sled push requires force directed parallel to the ground surface, loading hip extension and ankle push-off in a lean-forward position. Standard gym movements (squat, lunge, leg press) load the same muscles but in a vertical force vector. Transfer between the two is partial but not complete — specific sled or horizontal push training is needed to prepare for race loads. ↩

2. Shoulder girdle demands in sled push: the trapezius, rhomboids, and rotator cuff muscles stabilise the shoulder complex and maintain scapular position under sustained horizontal load. When these muscles fatigue, the shoulder rounds forward, breaking the force transmission chain between the legs and the sled handles. Proportional shoulder stability relative to total load is typically lower for female athletes than male at matched body weight. ↩

3. Glute contribution to sled push propulsion: hip extension (posterior movement of the femur relative to the pelvis) is the primary driver of forward propulsion in the sled push. The gluteus maximus is the largest and most powerful hip extensor. Athletes who do not actively cue hip extension on each stride default to quad-dominant knee extension, which fatigues faster and produces lower sustained output across 50 metres. ↩

4. 120% race weight training principle: training with a load 20% above competition weight to shift the perceived effort of race weight from near-maximal toward a sub-maximal level. This does not build maximal strength per se, but it conditions the neuromuscular system and the athlete's subjective sense of effort, making race-day execution more controlled and consistent. ↩

5. Sled pull rope mechanics: pulling from the elbow joint (using the elbow as the primary hinge) keeps the forearm muscles in a less contracted state than curling through the wrist. Reduced forearm tension across 50 metres of pulling decreases the rate of grip fatigue, which has carry-forward effects on subsequent stations requiring grip strength: Farmers Carry (Station 6) in particular. ↩