Sled Push

A conditioning and leg-strength exercise: leaning into the uprights of a loaded sled, you drive it across the floor with short, powerful steps. The legs and glutes push the load while the arms and trunk stay braced, and there is no weight on the spine.

How to do it

1. Load the sled and stand behind it, holding the uprights with your hands at about chest height.
2. Lean forward so your body forms a straight diagonal line from your head to your back heel, with your arms extended.
3. Brace your trunk and drive one knee forward, pushing the floor away with the ball of your back foot.
4. Keep taking short, powerful steps, driving each leg back hard to move the sled forward.
5. Keep your hips low and your back flat, and look a short distance ahead of the sled.
6. Push for the planned distance or time, then stop under control and rest before the next push.

Tips

• Stay low with your arms locked or slightly bent; standing up tall makes you lose drive and push the sled with your arms.
• Push through the balls of the feet with short, quick steps rather than long strides.
• Pick a load you can keep moving at a steady pace; if the sled stops, the load is too heavy for the set.

Muscles

Primary: Calves (gastrocnemius), Glutes (max), Quadriceps

Secondary: Hamstrings, Abs, Triceps