A station standard has three jobs. It tells athletes what counts, it tells a volunteer judge what to watch, and it defines the exact moment the station is finished so the split can be tapped. If any of those is vague, you get arguments.
This guide gives a generic standard for 14 stations used in fitness races and simulations, the no-reps judges see most often, and how to set loads for your own gym. These are not the official rules of any race. The official race publishes a rulebook each season with its own standards, distances and loads; if you want to mirror it, read the current edition rather than a forum summary.
SimDay is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by HYROX or DEKA (Spartan).
Comparison table
| Station | Measured by | Key standard | Common no-rep | How to set your load |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run | Distance or laps | Follow the marked route | Cut corner, missed lap | Measure the route, set laps |
| Rowing erg | Monitor distance or calories | Stay seated until done | Leaving the seat early | Damper setting |
| Ski erg | Monitor distance or calories | Feet stay on the platform | Stepping off to the floor | Damper setting |
| Sled push | Lengths of a lane | Whole sled crosses each line | Turning short | Total weight incl. sled |
| Sled pull | Lengths of a lane | Athlete stays behind the line | Stepping over the line | Total weight incl. sled |
| Burpee broad jumps | Distance | Chest to floor, two-foot jump | Staggered take-off | Bodyweight only |
| Farmers carry | Distance | Arms straight by the sides | Rolling a weight forward | Matched pair of bells |
| Sandbag lunges | Distance | Back knee touches, full stand | Knee misses the floor | Weighed, labelled bag |
| Wall balls | Reps | Depth plus target hit | Shallow squat, low ball | Ball weight and target height |
| Air bike | Monitor calories or distance | Seated, monitor shows target | Stopping early | Target number per division |
| Box jump overs | Reps | Both feet on top, clear the box | Hands or knees on the box | Box height |
| Med-ball sit-ups | Reps | Shoulders down, sit up to target | Shoulders not touching | Ball weight |
| Dead ball over shoulder | Reps | Ball passes over the shoulder | Ball goes round the side | Ball weight |
| Kettlebell swings | Reps | Hips extended, bell to height | Bell short of height | Bell weight |
How to choose loads for your gym
Set loads per division in SimDay before you build heats. The defaults are there so the tool works; they are not a recommendation. A few principles apply to every station:
- Weigh everything. Sleds, sandbags and medicine balls often weigh more or less than their label. Put each item on a scale and write the real figure on tape.
- Use total load for sleds. Record the sled plus plates, and mark the plates for each division in a different tape colour so the reset crew can load them quickly.
- Test on your floor. A load that is fair on one surface can be far harder on another. Have two members try each sled load before you publish.
- Offer tiers. Two or three divisions with different loads let first-timers finish and experienced athletes race.
- Mirror a race deliberately. If your members want an exact rehearsal of a specific race, take the loads from its current rulebook and say so on the entry page; do not rely on figures from a previous season.
Station by station
Run
Mark the route with cones and tape, measure it with a measuring wheel, and turn the target distance into a lap count; 1 km is 0.62 mi. The standard is simple: complete every lap on the marked route. The usual no-reps are cutting a corner and losing count of laps. The official race makes racers responsible for counting their own laps; in a gym sim, many organisers make the lane judge count instead, which is fairer to first-timers.
Rowing erg
The judge resets the monitor to the target distance or calories before the athlete sits down. The athlete stays seated until the monitor shows the target and the judge confirms. Getting off early is the main fault. Choose a damper setting and publish it. Concept2 suggests starting a RowErg between 3 and 5, and notes that the same setting can feel different on two machines; compare drag factor (More Options, then Display Drag Factor) if a rower feels off. See rowing erg for set-up.
Ski erg
Same reset routine as the rower. The athlete’s feet stay on the platform throughout; stepping onto the floor is the common fault. Concept2 suggests starting a SkiErg at a damper setting of 3 or below, and gives a typical drag factor for a new SkiErg of 55 or less at setting 1 and 150 or more at setting 10, at sea level.
Sled push
The whole sled must cross each line before the athlete turns it, and it stays in its lane. Turning short is the classic no-rep; the fix is an immediate re-do of that length. Set a total load per division and test it on your actual floor. More detail at sled push.
Sled pull
The athlete pulls the sled with a rope while staying behind a marked line or inside a marked box, then walks to the other end and pulls it back. The whole sled must cross the line. No-reps: stepping over the line while holding the rope, or turning before the sled is fully across. Decide whether athletes may sit or kneel to pull, and brief it.
Burpee broad jumps
Chest touches the floor at the bottom of each burpee, then the athlete jumps forward with both feet taking off and landing together. Common faults are a staggered or stepping take-off, a shuffle between reps and placing the hands well forward of the feet to gain distance. Decide whether stepping back into the plank is allowed. Published standards treat chest contact strictly: CrossFit’s 2025 Open burpee required chest and thighs to touch the floor. See burpee broad jumps.
Farmers carry
Two kettlebells or dumbbells, one in each hand, arms straight by the sides. Athletes may put the weights down to rest, but must not roll or drop them forward to gain ground. The station ends when the weights are back in the marked area. Use matched pairs and label them by division.
Sandbag lunges
The bag sits on the shoulders. Each lunge ends with the back knee touching the floor and the athlete standing tall with hips and knees extended, legs alternating. No-reps: knee misses the floor, no extension at the top, or the bag rests on the floor. CrossFit’s 2025 Open walking-lunge standard used the same knee-touch and full-extension checks, with a no-rep meaning the whole section was repeated. Weigh and label bags.
Wall balls
Squat until the hip crease is below the knee, then throw the ball to hit the target above a marked height. No-reps are a shallow squat, a ball that hits low or misses, and catching a ball on the bounce. For reference, CrossFit’s 2026 Open Rx division used a 6 kg (14 lb) ball to a 2.74 m (9 ft) target for women and a 9 kg (20 lb) ball to a 3.05 m (10 ft) target for men, with the ball’s centre required to hit above that height. Mark target heights clearly; more at wall balls.
Air bike
The judge sets the monitor to zero, the athlete rides until it shows the target calories or distance, and the judge confirms. The common fault is stopping or dismounting early. If your bikes are different models, do not assume they count calories the same way; put each division on one model, or race the bike for time instead.
Box jump overs
Both feet land on top of the box, then the athlete steps or jumps down on the far side, going over the box rather than round it. CrossFit’s 2026 Open listed touching the box with hands or knees as a no-rep, used 51 cm (20 in) and 61 cm (24 in) boxes for its Rx divisions, and required a box top of at least 38 by 38 cm (15 by 15 in). Decide whether a two-foot take-off is required or step-ups are allowed in each division.
Med-ball sit-ups
Lying on the floor holding a medicine ball, the athlete sits up and touches or throws the ball to a target, then returns until the shoulders touch the floor. No-reps: shoulders not touching at the bottom, ball not reaching the target. DEKA FIT, which runs ten zones with a 500 m run before each, includes a medicine-ball sit-up zone; agree your own target and ball weight.
Dead ball over shoulder
The ball starts on the floor. The athlete lifts it and passes it over one shoulder so it lands behind them, then turns to the ball for the next rep. The fault to watch is the ball rolled or tossed round the side rather than over the shoulder. Use a ball that does not bounce, and weigh it.
Kettlebell swings
Decide the target height before the day: eye level or overhead. At the top, hips and knees are extended and the bell reaches the agreed height; a bell that falls short is a no-rep. Brief one version only, so judges are not mixing standards.
Using the standards on the day
Print the standard for each station on the judge and rep sheets, and walk judges through the no-reps at the briefing. The judging guide covers calling no-reps, re-dos and penalties. Then set your loads per division in SimDay, free during the beta.