How Heavy on Sled Work?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

I got my Dragging Sled last week and I’m loving it so far. My sled weighs 60 lbs., whereas the EFS one is only 35. The most amount of weight I have put on it so far has been 45 lbs., and I definitely felt that.

I am pulling it along a straight section of rubber mats used for sprinting at my gym. Maybe 70-80 feet long.

I pull it very strictly. I don’t run with the sled and I try to use as little momentum as possible. I power-walk down the track with the strap attached at the back (for hip extension) and at the front (for hip flexion). My hands are on my belt for stability and my midsection is tight the whole way through.

I would like to know the typical poundages and distances that people use their sleds for so that I can get a sense of what I should work up to. Please post your weight as well, since it obviously makes a big difference in how much you can pull. I’m a tall, skinny guy who trains as a bodybuilder so pulling heavy things is a fine art for me.

Lastly, I love my sled so much that I can’t make a thread about it without posting the ebay link where I bought it for only $110. That’s $90 less than the EFS, and it even came with a band attachment. Sold by some guy in Arizona.

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=009&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=190113252135&rd=1&rd=1

2

Depends on what your looking to do if conditioning work and not trying to effect strenght training then GO light, Better to go a bit light then heavy and feel things out.

If using it for a workout in and of its self Load that sucker up

Personally I have been using around a total load of 100 lbs for conditioning but my sleds a bit harder to pull its a tire and rim grips the ground, Ill drag it for 20 minutes or so.

If im using it as an event work again Ill load it up

Phill

3

I intend to use it for strength and muscular development, but it’s not sport-specific for me. I need to beef up my posterior chain. I train for hypertrophy.

4

Feel it out do it away from leg day or as part of leg day. Just so it doesnt interfere and load that S.O.B. Up and drag away see how you recover

Phill

5

I love good sled work. I usually include it with a leg workout. Most recently I ran with the sled loaded to 170 lb. (30 lb. sled and 140 lb. of plates) for 10 sets of 100 ft. after doing DB step-ups and calve raises.

I’ll sometimes load it heavier for shorter distances but will power walk with heavier loads. (my sled will only allow a 255 lb. max. capacity) Keep sled pulling! I think you’ll find great muscular development in the hams, quads, glutes, and calves with several weeks of pulling (and backward sled walking) under your belt and, at the very least, it will provide a great compliment to your existing leg program. Good luck!!

6

Cardio work
195# @ 17% BF
light = 90# 3x400’ @ 60s rest
heavy = 180# 3x200’ @ 60s rest

7

I think sprint work with a sled is great cardio, a lot like hill training, but you don’t have to go back down, meaning you can do shorter rests or more complete rests and not have to deal with the beating on your knees going down very steep hills.

That being said, I would like to see more conditioning articles covering things like strongman type training, crossfit style training, etc.

8

Just got my sled and was doing every type of drag I could. Zach Even-esh has a great DVD that demonstrates about 15 variations of drags you can do.

I did all the drags for about 30 meters or so in the grass.

I worked up to 6 plates on backwards drags, that was hellacious though. Definitly was a “max effort”, seemed like it took about a year to go the whole distance. I only did that for one drag though, most of the others were with 5 plates.

I couldn’t really go anywhere with 6 plates on a forward drag, I got it started a couple of times, but after about 10 yards it wouldn’t even budge so I was doing them with 5 plates.

For upright drags I didn’t really go that heavy. I didn’t have my belt so I just kind of held them in like a racked clean position and walked. I think I did like 2 plates but not really sure. Honestly didn’t like these that much.

Was doing a shitload of ankle dragging and that was pretty good. Only used one plate but went real strict and definitly felt it, but I dunno… wasn’t really trying to go real heavy so not sure what I could do with this. Probably not that much more.

Was doing a bunch of the row variations with three plates. Those are pretty sweet. I really liked the “arm-over-arm” style but I need to get a longer rope to really make that work. Trying to scavenge for that now.

For reference, I train a bunch of high school (female) volleyball players and the best effort so far with the sleds is 5 sets of 30m with 160 pounds on backwards drags. Most of the girls have been doing 2 plates (so 125#) with the heavy drags for three sets, some a little more and some a little less.

Seriously, instead of doing a strength workout in the gym, just take your sled out and just go balls out on a bunch of the different types of drags. Just pile those plates on and pull like a motherfucker.

It’s fun as hell, every muscle (quads, hams and glutes obviously, but forearms, biceps and calves too and you can even work the upper back, triceps and chest too) gets worked and plus the people on the track look at you like you’re fucking nuts.

9

[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:
I got my Dragging Sled last week and I’m loving it so far. My sled weighs 60 lbs., whereas the EFS one is only 35. The most amount of weight I have put on it so far has been 45 lbs., and I definitely felt that.

I am pulling it along a straight section of rubber mats used for sprinting at my gym. Maybe 70-80 feet long.

I pull it very strictly. I don’t run with the sled and I try to use as little momentum as possible. I power-walk down the track with the strap attached at the back (for hip extension) and at the front (for hip flexion). My hands are on my belt for stability and my midsection is tight the whole way through.

I would like to know the typical poundages and distances that people use their sleds for so that I can get a sense of what I should work up to. Please post your weight as well, since it obviously makes a big difference in how much you can pull. I’m a tall, skinny guy who trains as a bodybuilder so pulling heavy things is a fine art for me.

Lastly, I love my sled so much that I can’t make a thread about it without posting the ebay link where I bought it for only $110. That’s $90 less than the EFS, and it even came with a band attachment. Sold by some guy in Arizona.

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=009&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=190113252135&rd=1&rd=1[/quote]

How did you get the band attachment it says you have to order two of them? Also, what do you pull the sled with? Did it come with handles or anything?