Both the sled push and pull exercises are full-body movements to build strength and power.
The gym isn’t just for lifting weights to build muscle and strength — there’s so much more you can do to enhance your fitness. From boosting strength and endurance to improving speed, explosive power, and even burning fat, the possibilities are endless. One standout exercise that delivers on all fronts? Sled push and pull workouts.
You’ve probably seen people in the gym pushing or dragging weighted sleds across the floor — those are sled push and pull exercises. While they may look simple, they’re anything but easy. However, the benefits they offer make them well worth the effort. In this article, we’ll dive into why sled push and pull exercises are such a game-changer.
Overview — Sled Push & Pull Exercises
Sled push and pull exercises are functional routines that improve your endurance, speed, strength, and explosive power. They are also effective forms of exercise that can be used to burn calories (1). So, people looking to burn fat and improve their body composition can do the routine.
Whether you’re pushing or pulling, a sled enables you to do this routine across a particular distance or for some time. A sled is a weighted platform designed for pushing and pulling on a surface that allows it to slide conveniently.
Depending on your training demands or training goals, you can place weights on the sled for a more challenging workout. The goal is to improve your conditioning and athletic performance. To understand the benefits of this movement, let’s divide the sled push and pull into two separate movements.
Sled Push
The sled push is a full-body compound routine that requires pushing a sled across a particular distance or for some time. You do this by grabbing the sled handles and applying the necessary pressure to push.
Now, the platform you’re sliding the sled on must be a smooth one to get the most from your exercises. With this routine, you can build speed, explosiveness, full-body strength, and endurance. The sled push is also beneficial for your cardiovascular health, as it burns excess fat and enhances your body composition (2).
Sled Push — Muscles Worked
Though the sled push is a full-body workout, it places a special emphasis on the lower body muscles. Here is a list of its target muscles.
Glutes, Lower Back, & Hamstrings
The hinging during the exercise places a lot of force on the glutes, lower back, and hamstrings. These muscle groups come together to generate a tremendous amount of force to push the sled across a distance.
Quads
Leaning and pushing forward activate the quads through the knee and hip extension. This drives the extra force when pushing.
Adductors
The adductors help to stabilize the knee and flex the hips when the foot is on the floor.
Calves
The calf helps to flex the foot and the ankle, enabling the legs to move during the sled push.
Core
The abs and obliques that make up the core keep the mid-section stable and provide proper form during the sled push.
The upper muscles, such as the chest, shoulders, and arms, play a crucial role in stabilizing the upper body during sled propulsion.
How to Do the Sled Push
- Load up the sled with your preferred weights and position yourself behind it.
- Set your feet at hip-width distance and grab the sled handles with your elbows flared or arms straight.
- Hinge at your hips with a slight bend in your knees and keep your spine neutral while your head and chest are up. This is your starting position.
- Next, drive your knees into the floor, engage your core, lean into the sled, and push forward. Make sure you keep your arms straight and keep that strong forward lean.
- While pushing, place one foot in front of the other and maintain a proper breathing pattern.
- Push the sled for a desired distance, rest, and repeat.
Sled Pull
The sled pull, just like the sled push, is a full-body compound exercise that requires you to pull a sled across a particular distance. The mechanics are quite different, but you can perform it by walking forward or backward with a pulling strap.
While the sled push is a more anterior-focused workout, the sled pull focuses more on the posterior chain. It is an excellent exercise that builds your strength, endurance, and explosiveness. It is also really good for your cardiovascular health.
Sled Pull — Muscles Worked
Just like the sled push, the sled pull is a full-body workout but places a special emphasis on the lower body. These muscles include the following.
Glutes
The glutes help stabilize and extend the core and hip muscles when walking backward.
Hamstrings
The hamstrings assist in extending the hips/thighs and flexing the knees as you walk backward during this exercise.
Quads
During the sled pull, your quads help stabilize and extend your knee.
Calves
Your calves play a crucial role in flexing the foot and ankle, which enables the legs to move during the sled pull.
Core & Erector Spinae
The core muscles act as stabilizers during the sled pulls. They help keep the back and the erector spinae straight and rotating side to side.
The upper body muscles, such as the arms, forearms, and upper back, play a crucial role in stabilizing the upper body during sled pulling. The forearms help strengthen your grip and pull when performing this exercise.
How to Do the Sled Pull
- Load up the sled and attach the straps to the base of the sled.
- Next, face the sled and grab the handles with a tight grip.
- Slowly lean your upper body backwards and take a step back while fully extending your arms.
- You could also stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and slightly bend your knees. Then, with your back and arms, pull the sled towards you like you’re doing a row movement.
- Whatever method you use, pull the sled for a certain distance, rest, and repeat.
Benefits
Full-Body Workout
Sled push and pull exercises are full-body workouts that hit every muscle. They involve pushing and pulling heavy loads across a distance, which tasks every muscle group. So, they are not just lower body routines; they also work your upper body muscles.
Burns Calories
Trainers implement various fast-paced, high-intensity routines like HIIT and cardio to burn fat, reduce calories, and improve body composition. Sled push and pull exercises fall into this category, and they are relatively easy to do. They increase your body’s metabolism and ability to take in more oxygen.
Improves Speed
The sled push and pull routines are a great way to improve your acceleration and speed. This is an exercise for athletes and is a very popular workout with strongmen, NFL players, and CrossFit competitors. If you can push and pull as much as possible with resistance, imagine how quickly and fast you can be without any load.
Enhances Functional Movements
Your everyday movements are important for mobility, stability, and overall health. Doing sled push and pull exercises enhances your functional movements. This helps improve your daily routines and general health.
Lower Chances of Injuries
There isn’t any weight placed on you, just you pushing a sled across a distance. It is a routine that is easier on your joints, making it beginner-friendly for all fitness levels and ages.
Sled Push & Pull Workout Programs
The sled workout to do and how you do it depend on your training goals. Below are some sled push and pull training techniques to try.
Warm-Up
Sled push and pull exercises can be effective full-body warm-ups. You can do them for about 10 minutes, then begin your major workouts. This study shows that doing warm-ups before your major exercises can help improve your exercise performance (3).
Endurance Focused
For endurance, place a weight of about 20-50% of your body weight and push at half your fastest speed. Doing this for 10 sets with one to two minutes of rest between each set.
Speed Focused
Place about 10-25% of your body weight and use your fastest speed all through for 20 yards. Rest for about one to two minutes, then repeat this routine for five more sets to build your overall speed.
Power Focused
Place 95-100% of your body weight on the sled and push as fast as you can for 20-45 yards. Rest for about one to two minutes, then repeat this routine for five more sets to increase your power.
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References
- Martínez-Valencia, M. A., Romero-Arenas, S., Elvira, J. L., González-Ravé, J. M., Navarro-Valdivielso, F., & Alcaraz, P. E. (2015). Effects of Sled Towing on Peak Force, the Rate of Force Development and Sprint Performance During the Acceleration Phase. Journal of human kinetics, 46, 139–148. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2015-0042
- Baumann, M., Hill, C., Camic, C., Chomentowski, P., Siqueira, V., Petruzzello, S., & Sebastião, E. (2024). An Investigation of the Sled-Push Exercise Using a Resisted Sled Machine in Apparently Healthy Older Adults: An Exploratory Study. Journal of aging and physical activity, 32(3), 416–427. https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2023-0071
- Fradkin, A. J., Zazryn, T. R., & Smoliga, J. M. (2010). Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(1), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0
