The Sled Workout for Enhanced Strength, Size, Endurance, & Fat Loss

August 8, 2024

Sled workouts activate your entire body to improve overall fitness parameters.

Sled workouts are a powerhouse addition to bodybuilding and fitness routines. Since 2015, they have surged in popularity, offering a comprehensive full-body workout that fosters muscle growth, enhances speed, and boosts strength (1).

This article delves into the sled workout, detailing its types and critical benefits. It provides insights on how sled workouts can be utilized to build muscle, increase strength, incinerate fat, and refine muscle definition. Moreover, it includes a sample sled workout program to maximize their gains.

What Are Sled Workouts?

Sled workouts are full-body workouts that target multiple muscle groups. They’re popular with athletes in the Strongman community and among NFL players. However, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts can do them to improve conditioning and performance. Below are the different ways you can use a sled to meet your fitness goals:

For Muscle Hypertrophy
To Build Strength
To Burn Fat and Increase Muscle Definition
For Recovery

Sled Workouts for Muscle Hypertrophy

Many athletes scuff at sled exercises, wrongly believing they don’t build muscle. Although sled workouts emphasize concentric movements, research shows you can build muscle with this, too (2). Besides, the force production sled workouts offer is also helpful with recovery, which is crucial for muscle growth.

When using a sled for muscle building, aiming for high volume is essential, as high-volume training is key for muscle hypertrophy. Below are some sled exercises you can use to induce muscle growth.

Sled Push
Sled Pull Through
Sled Chest Press
Sled Row
Sled Triceps Kickback

Sled Workouts for Strength

Pushing or pulling a heavy sled is a great way to build strength. Sled workouts not only help you build upper body strength but recruit your lower body massively, too. As a result, you boost functional strength in your entire body, which is great for performance. You can use multiple sled routines to strengthen your upper and lower body.

Sled Backward Drag
Sled Push Press
Sled Row

Sled Workouts to Burn Fat and Increase Muscle Definition

You can use sleds for high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which studies show effectively burns fat and promotes weight loss (3). Using a sled routine to burn fat is also an effective way to increase muscle definition, especially when paired with resistance training.

To burn fat and increase muscle definition, do exercises like the sled push in high-intensity workouts like sprint interval training. Load up your sled moderately, then sprint while pushing for 30 seconds. Rest for two to four minutes, then sprint while pushing again for 30 seconds. Repeat for six reps and then increase to ten as you become stronger.

Sled Workouts for Recovery

Recovering while doing a workout might sound contrary, but there are routines you can do that help with recovery. Sleds offer a smart way to train while boosting your chances of recovering more easily later. This is because it minimizes eccentric training, which research shows increases DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and micro-damage (4).

Benefits of Sled Workouts

Sled workouts are effective for building your upper and lower body muscles. Depending on your training routine, you can tailor it to work in specific muscle groups. Below are more benefits of performing sled workouts.

Builds Strength

During sled workouts, individuals move heavy loads, recruiting muscles. This helps build total body strength and power.

Burns Calories

Most sled workouts can be used in high-interval intensity training. This helps increase your body’s metabolism and burn fat. Also, the more oxygen you take in, the more calories you burn, which results in fat loss.

Improve Acceleration

Sled workouts can help improve acceleration, quickness, and speed. These are important metrics, especially for athletes, such as track and field events. CrossFit and strongman athletes can also find this useful for routines that require speed and explosive power.

Enhances Functional Movements

Functional exercises mirror your everyday movements and strengthen the muscles responsible for them. Sled workouts are prime examples of functional movements that work the full body. As a result, doing them can improve your daily living.

Sample Sled Workout

You can incorporate sled workouts into your overall training and fitness program. They’ll give you all the benefits above while training your body differently. Below is a sample sled workout you can do twice a week alongside your other workouts. Leave 48 hrs between both sled workouts and load moderately in your first two weeks to aid recovery and prevent overtraining.

Sled Exercise	Set	Distance
Sled Drag	3	20 Meters
Sled Pull	3	20 Meters
Right Lateral Sled Drag	3	20 Meters
Left Lateral Sled Drag	3	20 Meters
Sled Row	3	20 Meters

To progress this workout, you can increase your number of sets by 1, add 5 meters to your distance, and increase the load slightly every two weeks.

FAQs

What are the benefits of sled training?

Sled training has many benefits, including increased strength, agility, and explosive power. It’s also helpful in burning calories. To see more benefits of sled training, check the article above.

What part of the body does the sled work?

Athletes who use the sled during training sessions can work their upper and lower body muscles. However, you can tailor these routines to focus more on specific muscles. For example, sled tricep kickbacks will boost muscle growth in your triceps.

How many sled pushes should I do?

Sled pushes require loading and pushing the sled over a certain distance to see strength and muscle gains. You can do this exercise for about three sets, covering a minimum of 20 meters. Check the article above for more effective sled exercises and a sample workout.

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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
Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D. I., Vigotsky, A. D., Franchi, M. V., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Hypertrophic Effects of Concentric vs. Eccentric Muscle Actions: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 31(9), 2599–2608. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001983
Boutcher S. H. (2011). High-intensity intermittent exercise and fat loss. Journal of obesity, 2011, 868305. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/868305
Hody, S., Croisier, J. L., Bury, T., Rogister, B., & Leprince, P. (2019). Eccentric Muscle Contractions: Risks and Benefits. Frontiers in physiology, 10, 536. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00536