Build the Pyramid! Training Guide — Speed and Strength

The official instructions for Build the Pyramid! say “train to increase your speed and strength” — and that one line is the game’s entire progression system. This page covers what each stat actually changes about the carry loop, how to train them in a sensible order, and what is confirmed versus community-reported about the gym. For the broader picture of how training fits a session, start with the beginner’s guide.

The two stats, precisely

Speed controls your movement while carrying. Every trip to the pyramid and back gets shorter, which means more trips per minute at the same route. Speed is the stat you feel immediately: the desert shrinks.

Strength controls your carry. Higher Strength means more weight per trip — the game shows it physically, your avatar straining less under the same block. Strength is the compounding stat: it multiplies the value of every trip you will ever take, not just the next one.

The two multiply into the only number that matters: blocks per minute = load per trip × trips per minute. Any training plan that raises one while ignoring the other eventually stalls — which is why tip #2 in the tips and tricks list is “train both together.”

Before you train: claim the free stats

Codes hand out stat boosts that no gym session can match in the early game — WELCOME gives 500 Speed and 500 Strength, UPDATE15 reportedly 25,000 Strength on top of Coins. If you have not redeemed them, stop here and do it: the list is on the codes page and the steps are in how to redeem codes. Training on top of redeemed codes beats training instead of them.

How the gym works

Training happens at the gym — the official description’s “train to increase” maps to gym activities rather than to carrying itself, so training time and carrying time are separate investments. Community reporting describes gym stations and multipliers that scale your stat gains, with tiers unlocking as you progress (reports mention multipliers up to 50x and thresholds tied to completed pyramids). We have not verified those numbers in game — treat specific multipliers and unlock thresholds as community reports, not facts. What is certain from the official description: the gym raises Speed and Strength, and completing pyramids makes you stronger in addition.

A training order that works

Given what is verified, here is the honest recommendation:

1. Redeem codes. Free stats first, always.
2. Alternate Speed and Strength sessions in the early game, keeping neither stat far behind the other. Blocks per minute comes from the pair.
3. Lean Strength as you settle in. Speed saves seconds; Strength multiplies every future trip. When in doubt between the two, Strength compounds harder.
4. Train between carry runs, not instead of them. The pyramid only grows from carried blocks — the how to play loop needs both halves.
5. Re-evaluate after each completed pyramid. Completion makes you stronger (see pyramid completion rewards), which may change which stat feels weaker next.

Getting stronger beyond the gym

“How do I get stronger?” has three answers in Build the Pyramid!: train at the gym, redeem codes, and complete pyramids. Each is a different time investment — the gym is the steady grind, codes are the free lump sum, completions are the structural bonus. If your stat growth feels slow, the answer is usually “you skipped one of the three” — most often the codes. Our page on how to get stronger compares the three in detail.

What is still being verified

Exact gym station names, multiplier tiers, unlock costs and any level requirements are not confirmed here. When we have verified them in game, this page gets the numbers with a dated source — that is the standard described on our about page. Until then, every number you see elsewhere stated as flat fact deserves the same question you would ask us: checked when, by whom?