There are many benefits to incorporating a weight sled into your fitness routines, but the bottom line is that they’re simple, practical, and effective.
That’s not to say that a sled pull is an easy workout, though. In fact, the opposite is true – and that’s the point. They can be difficult, but they’re a basic exercise that require a minimal amount of technique to work. This is why a sled pull can be great for both beginners and advanced athletes alike.
If you’re an individual that’s still starting to build strength and power, using a weight sled is a great alternative to doing squats while you’re still building muscle mass and endurance.
A prowler sled is a type of weight sled, and can be used for many of the same exercises. The terms are often used interchangeably, though you may find variations between each type, depending on the manufacturer.
No matter how you refer to them, a prowler sled or weight sled is basically a sled that allows an athlete to stack weight on top of and to push or pull for exercise. Because of the variety of exercises you can do with a prowler sled, it’s a pretty incredible strength and conditioning tool.
It depends on how you use it and what your goals are: strength vs. speed. If you routinely do sled pulls with 75% of your body weight or more, you will start to see greater acceleration when sprinting. However, if you exceed this percentage, you’ll likely only see increased gains in overall and absolute strength, but not as much impact on your sprinting speed.
While using a prowler sled can qualify as a cardio exercise, sports medicine experts agree that this is a relatively low-impact cardio exercise. That’s good news for runners looking to cross train during off-days.
As the experts point out, pushing a weight sled mimics the movement of running, and it activates the same muscle groups, but doesn’t put quite as much stress on your joints while doing so.
Unsurprisingly, using a sled pull (whether pulling or pushing) works all of the main lower body muscles—the calves, glutes, quads and hamstrings—and also engages your core.
When you exercise properly, you will develop these muscles, but depending on how much weight you use and the distances traveled, the amount of muscle mass you’ll actually build will vary.
Sled pushes and pulls are exercises that you can safely do every day, as long as you are not overextending yourself. Because they are low impact and not too taxing on the joints, there’s no reason you couldn’t make one part of your daily routine. However, you’ll likely want to mix up the resistance and number of reps. However, if you want to incorporate it into your overall fitness plan, you’ll definitely see benefits from using a weight sled almost right way.
Determine the amount of weight that’s right for you and load it onto the sled. If you’re pushing the sled, stay in a low, crouched athletic position: your back flat, your core engaged and your chest up. Then push the sled for as fast as you can for around 30 seconds. For an extra challenge, you can also hold a front plank (with your knees off the ground) in between reps.
If you’re pulling the weight sled, use the straps or harness to connect to the weight sled and drive forward, keeping your feet moving. Some sled pull kits will allow you to pull in either direction: facing away or toward the sled pull.
Top 5 Weight Sled Options:
Not sure which weight sled or prowler sled might be best for you? Keep checking out all of the tips we’ve got throughout the site to get more guidance on how to choose the best weight and prowler sleds!
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