How to train using sleds — Pembrokeshire Health Hub

In our last post we discussed the benefits of using sleds and eluded to the fact that there are many goals the sled can be beneficial for. This post is going to get into the nitty-gritty of sled training – how to use it based on your goals and how to use the many exercises in the sleds’ arsenal. The 3 main goals the sled can be used for is power, strength and hypertrophy.

Technique of the Sled drag

Now I know I mentioned in my last post that it requires little to no technique, and whilst that is true, there are a few things worth mentioning;

Body position – In order to move the most amount of weight in the sled, we must have a forward body lean and almost be at a 45-degree angle with the floor. The common mistake I see here is many people just hinging from the hips just like in the picture right and not creating the angle with their whole body. This means that you’re not fully able to drive the floor away, which is zapping your strength.

As you can see, I’m just hinging from the hips, not changing my whole body angle.

Feet positioning – One thing I see when people are pulling the sled is that they sometimes change their normal running gait and almost criss-cross their legs as if they’re running on a narrow balance beam. You’d never run or walk like this normally! So why do it once we introduce the sled? Keep your gait the same as always and you’ll be able to produce more force.

Weight – When loading the sled, it’s important to keep in mind your goals for using the sled and the quality of those reps when it comes to technique. We’ll discuss loading considerations below.

Power Training using the Sled

Power training is very important for athletes competing in almost any sport, the ability to produce force quickly is paramount. Although opportunities to fully express power in team sports may only make up a very small percentage of the game, often these periods of high-power output are game deciding, weather that being the ability to score a try/goal – or prevent one.

Now training power using the sled can be done with a variety of different exercises – all for different goals. The forward sled drag is a great option for team athletes and sprinters. The sled can have a great carryover to running as we can mimic the exact joint angles found. It can also be a great teaching tool for proper body position and forward lean when accelerating – which is something many athletes struggle with. The athlete doesn’t have to actually think about leaning forward – as the sled won’t move anywhere quickly if you are too upright.

Sled rows can be great options for all power athletes, but they are especially useful for those who participate in rowing or swimming where force is being produced concentrically – not eccentrically, and especially those who compete in shorter distance races within those disciplines.

Sled punches can also be a great option for all power athletes but can also transfer over well to sports like boxing or MMA where like rowing, you produce force concentrically, and not generally eccentrically.

Now how do we use the sled for power training? Well we want to ensure that we can move the sled quickly, which means we must be conscious about the amount of weight we put in – too much load will turn it into less of a power exercise and more into a slower strength exercise. Anywhere from 10% to 40% bodyweight is a good place to start with forward sled drags. Also, as with all power training we want to keep the work duration low, anywhere between a 10m and 40m sprint or 5 to 20 seconds work on those other exercises. Keep the rest intervals high, around 2 minutes, to ensure we can give 100% each repetition.

Strength Training using the Sled

The sled can be a great teaching tool for forward body positioning when accelerating.

Now as I mentioned in my last post on sled training, it can be great for training when you have a bad back or are carrying some sort of upper body injury which can prevent you from being able to load using dumbbells/barbells. We can also use a harness that attaches around the waist instead of the shoulders if it causes issues. It is also just a great strength builder in its own right and as we know, strength underpins power, so if we want to become more powerful, we may have to get stronger.

Now strength training using the sled is going to be done almost exclusively using a forward sled drag and it’s going to be done heavy, very heavy. You want the weight to be as heavy as you can handle, you don’t however want it so heavy that you have to stop halfway through your rep. It is going to be done for a short period of time – anywhere from a 5 second to a 20 second drag or 10m to 40m drags. The rest period will be high, anywhere from 90 seconds to 3 minutes.

The heavier the sled becomes, the greater the body angle will become in order to move it. This makes heavy sled drags the best choice when using it for acceleration body position training than any of the other types.

Muscle building using the Sled

This is where it starts to get fun and we can utilise the full versatility of the sled and all the exercises it has hidden in its locker and start using them together.

The sled is great for packing on muscle and getting you lean. The fact that it is all concentric in nature makes it a great method for adding volume to workouts without adding in the need for extra recovery. It can also be used for the dual purpose of metabolic conditioning, what’s not to like? Now unlike strength and power training, we are going to be working for longer durations – anywhere between 30 seconds to 90 seconds. With low rest – 30 to 60 seconds.

I wouldn’t necessarily use the sled as the main movement in a hypertrophy-based session unless injury limits your choice of exercises, however they make great finishers and accessory exercises.

Full body finishers are great to be done with the sled, they will build strength and endurance. Try this workout next time you’re looking for a whole-body finisher, you’ll need an interval timer or training partner for this one;

3 sets;

30 seconds forward sled drag

30 seconds backwards sled drag

30 seconds sled row

Rest 30 seconds

Backwards sled drag - Keep a half squat the whole time and fully extend your knees every step.

Using the sled for antagonistic supersets is one of my favorite uses for it. This can be done using just the sled itself – pairing a forward sled drag with a backward sled drag – but it can also be done with many other exercises than just the sled. Try pairing a KB swing with a backwards sled drag or a narrow stance Bulgarian Split Squat with a forward sled drag.

Try these antagonistic supersets at the end of your next leg session and feel the full power of the sled as a lung and muscle burner;

4 rounds for time;

80m backwards sled drag (50-70% BW)

15 barbell hip thrusts

Or

4 rounds for time;

40m heavy forward sled drag

10 narrow stance Bulgarian Split Squat each leg

Now that you are educated and armed on the uses and applications of sled training, go out there and give it a go! Training isn’t all fun and games, the sled can be humbling and brutal, but it can also be great fun and a way to breaking up the boredom of your regular gym routine! Experiment with your own finishers and workouts and let me know how you get on!