Sled Pull — Pull Rate (Squat-Row)

Why this matters

The squat-row sled pull is a hand-over-rope pull driven from a quarter-squat: you load the legs, row the rope in, reset, and repeat. Pull rate captures the rhythm of that cycle, and — unlike a row or a run — there is no universal "right" number, because rate is dictated almost entirely by sled load and floor friction. A heavy sled on carpet forces a slow, powerful, deliberate pull; a light sled on turf lets you snap pulls quickly. That's why this metric is informational: it describes pacing, it doesn't grade it.

What it is good for is consistency and fatigue. A pull rate that holds steady across the 50 m means the athlete found a repeatable rhythm that their legs can sustain; a rate that decays means the legs are fading and the pull is becoming an arms-and-back effort. Comparing windows from the start and end of the pull is the useful read, not the absolute figure.

How it's measured here — and the slow-motion trap

This is a windowed count. Scrub to the start of a clean pull to open the window, scrub to the same point of a later pull to close it, count the pulls between. Rate = pulls ÷ window-seconds × 60.

If the clip is phone slow-motion (120/240 fps captured, 30 fps timestamps), an uncorrected rate reads several times too low. Set Capture FPS in the Clip Inspector to the true capture rate so the tool rescales to real time.

What good looks like

A steady, repeatable pull rate that holds across the 50 m, each pull showing a clear leg drive into a rowed handle rather than a back-and-arms heave. The number itself matters less than its stability.

Common faults

• Slow / heavy (low rate) — usually just a heavier sled or a deliberately power-favoured pull. Not a fault in itself; pace by feel. It only matters if the rate is dropping across the effort (leg fatigue).
• Fast / light (high rate) — fine on lighter sleds, but confirm each pull still reaches full leg drive rather than degenerating into a short arms-only tug.

Coaching cues

• "Legs start every pull." Keeps the rhythm powered from the floor as fatigue sets in.
• "Same tempo, first metre to last." Defends a repeatable rate rather than fading.

Related measurements

• Sled Pull — Pull Rate (Hand-Over-Hand) — the alternating-grip variant, which is grip- rather than leg-limited.
• Hip Extension at Push-Off — the leg-drive power the pull rate is spending (on the push sled).