I haven’t done alot of cardio since I started lifting weights, one reason is because I felt I didn’t need to, the other because I have pretty bad shin splints that flare up pretty bad when doing any sort of running or jumping. Haven’t had much luck curing them either.
Anyway, I thought a prowler would be a good choice to do some HIT, although I haven’t heard many things about them so I would like to hear from some people who have used them. I think it might be easier on my shin splints(I’m hoping anyway).
I use a Prowler about 2-3x a week. In terms of shin splints, I too get them w/ ANY sort of running/jumping/pounding (no homo!) of my feet. I have not had this issue with the Prowler.
I am following a general progressive overload approach. Basically, I am sprinting a BB court length w/ a weight for X amount of trips. When I can hit 10 trips, I up the weight.
I know, for me, that I cant stand steady-state cardio (treadmill, bike, stair climber), so this is a great way for me to get my heart rate up w/o the boredom of those other options. Plus, it really does get the heart pumping.
Check out Wendler’s different ideas over on EliteFTS, or just start pushing!
I used a prowler and sled for conditioning/fat loss when I trained more as a strength athlete. Now I am focued on bodybuilding training.
If you’re not in above average shape, the prowler may be very tough for you. I would regularly run hill sprints and interval sprints on a track, so the prowler was not a big deal for me.
I personally haven’t heard of any bodybuilders using the prowler for conditioning. It is more popular with the athlete/powerlifting/strength sport crowd. Nonetheless, it is still a very good tool, if you can afford it.
just go to any local welding shop and describe what you need i guarantee anyone with even basic fabrication skills can make you one for less than half the cost. it amazes me what they charge for a piece of plate steel with some posts welded on it.
[quote]morepain wrote:
just go to any local welding shop and describe what you need i guarantee anyone with even basic fabrication skills can make you one for less than half the cost. it amazes me what they charge for a piece of plate steel with some posts welded on it. [/quote]
exactly. we actually bought a homemade prowler/sled combo for a fraction of the price of the Elitefts model. Worked pretty damn well.
i don’t have one, but they have one at the gym i go to. definitely worthwhile, i try to use it at least twice a week, and have just started dragging a sled as well.
we tie a rope to the prowler now - we pull the prowler about 30 yards towards us, take the rope off and then turn immediately around and push it back to the starting position. sick workout, definitely leaves me gasping every single time.
Way- those cars used to catch fire real easily I hear. But they are still sweet!
/hijack
I would second just building one, or the cheapest option is to grab a plate of some sort, put it on the ground, and just start pushing it. That is a bitch too.
Needless to say tho, I have a love/hate relationship with the prowler. I love it because it works, but I hate it because it takes work!
Oh yea- be careful with how you incorporate it. I consider myself a PL, not a BB, and it can/will burn you out pretty quickly if you dont cycle your usage, which can effect your training. I throw in some stair climber every once in a while to take it easy
I haven’t heard of any BBers using it either, although strength training works better for me(for muscle growth) then BB style splits if it makes any difference.
Its just that my HIIT options are limited and this sounds like it can get the job done in the shortest time possible.
I’ll see if I can find a welder. I’ve never really heard of being able to do that in my city or ever seen a welding shop. Getting it from EFS will probably cost around $400 for me, which is a bit seeing how little material is involved.
Since I work out at a gym without a Prowler, I’ve started to wrap 45 lb plates in a towel and push them in the gym (actual gym surface). Not quite the Prowler, close to the same effect but the dust!
Just make a sled out of a car tire, or if you are pretty strong, a truck tire. Its pretty simple and you should be able to figure it out. It cost me like 10-15 dollars total, and took about 10 minutes to make. This will allow you to pull the sled in the street or on blacktop, and you’ll just need a couple of 45’s for weight.
If you cant figure out how to make it let me know.
But ya, way better than running or traditional cardio; IMO