Movement guide
The 8 fitness-race stations explained
Train the demand behind each station—pulling, pushing, carrying, lunging, throwing and repeatable cyclical work—while keeping enough running quality to connect the race.
What are the eight common stations?
The format commonly combines SkiErg, sled push, sled pull, burpee broad jumps, rowing, farmers carry, sandbag lunges and wall balls with repeated running.
Each station stresses a different limiter: cyclical power and breathing, horizontal force, grip, repeated floor contact, loaded locomotion or high-repetition squatting and throwing.
A useful plan does not train the stations as eight isolated tests. It develops technique and capacity, then practises selected stations after running so the athlete learns to control effort while fatigued.
What should I focus on at each station?
Prioritise valid, repeatable movement and controlled breathing before chasing one maximum-effort set.
SkiErg and row reward a sustainable rhythm. Sleds reward position and continuous force. Carries and lunges depend on posture and grip management. Burpee broad jumps and wall balls need a repeatable cadence that preserves the next run.
Movement standards can change by organiser and season. Confirm the current event rulebook; an app cue is not a substitute for the official standard.
What if my gym does not have all the equipment?
Use transparent substitutions that train the same movement demand, then seek occasional exposure to real equipment before race day.
No sled may mean heavy backward drags, leg press work or resisted marches. No SkiErg may mean banded straight-arm pulls combined with a rower interval. Dumbbells can train loaded carries, and kettlebells can load lunges.
A substitution is not identical. Sled friction varies between surfaces, and machine rhythm cannot be copied perfectly with bands. The plan should state the substitution and the gap it leaves rather than hiding it.
How often should I train stations?
Use enough exposure to improve technique and capacity without allowing hard station work to displace running or recovery.
Octalap's rules cap heavy station-strength work at two sessions in a normal week and keep intense running away from heavy lower-body work on the same day.
A deload reduces total stress and can include a light 1 km check plus two controlled weak-station retests. Retests update future targets; they are not additional all-out sessions squeezed into a hard week.
See where to start
Use the two-minute readiness baseline, then explore the sample product before deciding whether to create an account.