Don’t worry—the sled push at your local fitness center only looks intimidating. But once you’ve mastered your proper form and learned all the ways you can use this piece of equipment, you’ll quickly realize that it’s a great tool for a full-body workout, one that’s great for overall conditioning, building speed, and developing strength. Plus, it takes a lot of energy, so it’s great for fat burning.
The sled push, also known as a prowler press, helps you develop what’s often called functional fitness, the type of physical prowess you need in everyday life when you’re trying to push, pull, lift, squat, or bend. For anyone who is trying to break through a fitness plateau, functional exercises like the sled push can help you challenge your body in new ways.
You don’t have to be in great shape to start with a sled push—it’s easily adaptable to any fitness level. You’ll find that the movement of pushing it works your quads and glutes just as much as it does your abs, chest, and arms, and once you get comfortable with moving an unweighted sled, you can mix it up. Adding more weight for greater resistance will help you develop strength. On the other hand, a lighter load that you push faster will help you focus on gaining speed.
Ready to master the push? Here’s what you should do:
The Basic Push
Approach the sled push and take a sprinting stance, one foot in front of the other, extending your arms out in front so you can lean into the weight.
Grip the handles and press forward on the balls of your feet.
As you move the sled forward, be sure to keep your back straight and engage your entire posterior chain, which encompasses your glutes, hamstrings, calves, lats, and rear shoulder muscles).
Note: Keep your upper body at a 45-degree angle leaning downward toward the handles. The lower the handles are to the ground, the easier it will be for you to push. As you gain strength, you can raise the handles and hold your body at a 90-degree angle, giving you a greater challenge.
To Push for Strength: Determine your maximum load by adding weight to the sled. Your maximum should fully fatigue you within 10 yards. Use your own weight as a starting point and adjust accordingly. Use three-quarters your maximum weight and push for 10 yards, followed by 1 minute of rest. Repeat 4 times.
To Push for Speed: Load the sled with one-quarter your maximum load and push for 20 yards as fast as you can. Rest for 1 minute and repeat 4 times.
To Really Test Yourself: Set a timer for five minutes. Begin by pushing an unweighted sled for approximately 20 yards and back. Add weight to the sled and repeat. Keep running the full 20 yards and adding more weight until time is up or you reach fatigue. Starting with a lower weight and gradually increasing will help you develop endurance, strength, and hypertrophy with the same workout. As you progress, you can perform this routine with a greater starting weight.
