May 30, 2026 · 4 min read
Hyrox Sandbags: Weights, Standards, and the Lunge Station Explained (2026)
Exactly how heavy the Hyrox sandbag is for every division, what makes the race-day lunge bag different, and how to train the sandbag lunge so station 7 stops wrecking your legs.
Hyrox Sandbags: Weights, Standards, and the Lunge Station
The sandbag lunge is station 7 of 8, and it shows up when your legs are already cooked. Most athletes go in not knowing two basic things: exactly how heavy their sandbag will be, and why the race-day bag feels nothing like the one they trained with. This guide fixes both.
How heavy is the Hyrox sandbag?
The sandbag weight depends on your division. You carry it on your shoulders / upper back through 100 meters of walking lunges (4 x 25m).
| Division | Sandbag weight |
|---|---|
| Open Men | 20 kg (44 lb) |
| Open Women | 10 kg (22 lb) |
| Pro Men | 30 kg (66 lb) |
| Pro Women | 20 kg (44 lb) |
Doubles and relay athletes lunge with their division’s standard weight, split across partners by station rules. Weights are occasionally adjusted season to season, so confirm yours against the official rules at hyrox.com before race day - but the numbers above have been stable for several seasons.
Why the race-day bag is different from your training bag
This is where people get caught out. A Hyrox-spec sandbag is not the cylindrical bag most home gyms own:
- Long and rectangular (roughly 32” x 9”), not a tube
- Dynamically weighted - the sand shifts as you move, so every lunge demands a fresh micro-stabilization from your core and shoulders
- Sits across the upper back / traps, held in place by squeezing it down onto the shoulders, not gripped in the hands
If you train with a cylindrical bag, a barbell, or a heavy dumbbell held at the chest, you are training a different exercise. The on-shoulder, shifting-load feel is the whole challenge - and it is exactly what you cannot fake on race day.
What “sandbags for hyrox” should actually mean
When people search “sandbags for hyrox” or “lunge bag,” they usually want one of two things:
- A bag that replicates the race-day feel for training - rectangular, handled, fillable to your division weight.
- To know the weight so they can plan training loads (answered above).
For the buying decision - which specific bag survives a 16-week training block and matches the race shape - I tested five of them: see Best Sandbags for Hyrox Lunge Training. The short version: the Rep Fitness Sandbag is the smart default, and the GoRuck Sandbag is the buy-once-cry-once option.
How to train the sandbag lunge
The station rewards two things: lunge-specific leg endurance and a stable, braced upper back under a shifting load.
- Train the exact distance. Do 100m sets (4 x 25m) at your division weight. If you can only do 50m unbroken at first, that’s your honest baseline - log it and build.
- Lunge under fatigue. Station 7 comes after the farmer’s carry and before wall balls. Practice sandbag lunges after a hard row or run so your legs are pre-fatigued, the way they’ll be on race day.
- Brace, don’t grip. Set the bag across your traps, pull your elbows down and in to pin it, and brace your core hard. A loose bag rides up your neck and bleeds energy every step.
- Knee to the floor, every rep. Hyrox judges require the trailing knee to touch the ground. Practice the full range - half-reps in training mean no-reps on race day.
- Find your unbroken number. Most age-groupers can do 100m in 1-2 stops. Know yours so you can plan the station instead of guessing mid-lunge.
Track your sandbag-lunge baselines - unbroken distance, weight, and how your legs feel after the farmer’s carry - in the Hyrox Training Logbook. Station-by-station PR pages are exactly what keep this honest.
Common sandbag mistakes
- Training too light. “I’ll be fine at 20kg” - until 100m of lunges on dead legs. Train at weight.
- Cylindrical-bag carryover. It doesn’t transfer. Get a rectangular, race-shaped bag.
- Ignoring the pickup. Getting the bag onto your shoulders cleanly (a squat clean to the traps) is a skill. Practice it; fumbling it on race day costs 10+ seconds and spikes your heart rate.
- No grip on the floor. Convention-center flooring can be slick. Your shoes matter here too - see Best Shoes for Hyrox.
Related reading
- Best Sandbags for Hyrox Lunge Training
- Hyrox Sandbag Lunges Technique
- Hyrox Essential Gear List
- Best Shoes for Hyrox 2026
- What is Hyrox?
Part of the Kitaborn Hyrox series. Books born with purpose.