BOXROX lists 3 sled exercises

HYROX is a running race with a strength problem hiding inside it. You cover eight 1 km runs, but the moment that wrecks a lot of people is still the sled push. BOXROX’s new piece, published May 1, makes a simple argument — if you want to get better at that station, more road miles are not the main fix. The fix is building force you can still produce when your heart rate is already high and your legs are half-cooked. (boxrox.com) ### Why does the sled push matter so much? In HYROX, the sled push is the second station, and it comes early enough to expose any weakness fast. The format is always the same basic structure — 1 km run, then a station, repeated eight times — so athletes hit the sled with some fatigue already in the system, not on fresh legs in a weight room. HYROX itself flags the station as one you do not want to meet unprepared. (hyrox.com) ### What is BOXROX actually arguing? Basically, BOXROX is saying “pushing power” is not just brute strength. It is force plus speed, delivered through the hips, knees, ankles, trunk, and upper body in one coordinated effort. The article frames this as a mix of maximal strength, rate of force development, neuromuscular coordination, and muscular endurance — which is a long way of saying you need to hit hard, hit fast, and keep doing it when tired. (boxrox.com) ### So why not just run more? Because the sled push is not mainly an aerobic limiter. Running fitness still matters in HYROX — obviously — but a heavy sled rewards horizontal force production and efficient body position more than extra easy miles. If an athlete can run well but cannot create enough force into the turf, the sled stalls and the whole race plan blows up. That is the gap BOXROX is trying to address. (boxrox.com) ### What were the three exercises? The first was the heavy sled push itself — the most specific option, because it copies the race movement, posture, and force direction almost exactly. The second was the trap-bar deadlift, which BOXROX uses as the big strength builder for lower-body force and leg drive. The third was the plyometric push-up, which looks less (boxrox.com) size. (boxrox.com) ### Why those three together? They cover different parts of the same problem. The sled push gives you specificity. The trap-bar deadlift raises the ceiling on how much force you can produce. The plyometric push-up helps you express force quickly. Think of it like building an engine, then teaching it to rev, then testing it in the exact chassis you will race. Miss one piece, and the transfer gets weaker. (boxrox.com) ### How does this fit the actual race? Pretty directly. HYROX keeps the sled push at 50 metres for all divisions, split into 4 x 12.5 m lengths, while load changes by category. Open and Pro are separated by heavier weights, not a different task, so better force production under fatigue becomes even more valuable as athletes move up. That is why a strength-endurance approach makes more sense than treating HYROX like a pure running event. (hyrox.com) ### What should an athlete take from this? The useful takeaway is not “stop running.” It is “stop pretending the sled is solved by running alone.” HYROX is a hybrid race, and the sled push is one of the clearest places where that hybrid identity shows up. If your training never asks you to produce hard, repeated horizontal force when tired, race day will. (boxrox.com)## Bottom line BOXROX’s list is really a vote for specificity. Train the exact push, build the raw force behind it, then add the explosive piece — because in HYROX, the sled does not care how pretty your mileage looked that week. (boxrox.com)