Whether you’re a sprinter, athlete or someone that just wants to improve your leg drive, the power sled is an awesome tool for you. The power sled is an ideal piece of equipment to improve your acceleration and maximum speed because you are able to put more force into the ground when you’re running.
The sled efficiently develops highly specific strength and is great for converting power from the weight room onto the field. The optimal sled load for speed is a load that does not slow you down more then 10%. On a synthetic track this will be around 10% body weight on the sled. If you’re a sprinter you don’t want to get carried away with putting too much weight on. If you go too heavy you can alter your sprinting mechanics. That being said, I have spoken to some sprinters that use much heavier resistance then 10% bodyweight over short distances to work on their power in the off season.
If you’re not a track athlete you don’t have to freak out about the 10% body weight load. In lots of sports acceleration is more important then maximum speed because maximum speed is normally reached between 30m-50m. For instance if you have to run through people like in mixed martial arts or rugby you have a lot more leeway for loading than if you were a track athlete and you can therefore get away with increasing the load. Just know what you’re trying to get out of the training, more resistance, less velocity and more force or vice versa.
A commonly overlooked variable when sled training is the surface. If you’re not running on the track you may need to take in to account the surface, just experiment and find a weight that slows you down by about 10%. One way you can do this is to rope in a few friends with stops watches. Try to find an even surface because it’s not the best when the sled gets stuck in a pothole or you take it off a jump and it hits you in the back of the head.
Speed work can be easily incorporated in to your training session because it does not take that long. Always do speed work at the start of a session, after a good warm up.
If you have not done much speed training start off with doing the drills at 90% intensity and build to 95%+ intensity. Starting at 90% intensity is particularly important if you have not done much speed training. A beginner’s speed program could look like this at the start of a training session:
Week 1 @ 90% intensity
Sled sprints for acceleration
5X 15m, 20-50 seconds rest
Sled sprints for maximum speed
5X 10m jog, 30m sprint, 60-120 seconds rest
Week 2 @ 90% intensity
5X 20m, 20-50 seconds rest
Sled sprints for maximum speed
5X 10m jog, 35m sprint, 60-120 seconds rest
Week 3 @ 95% intensity
5X 20m, 20-50 seconds rest
Sled sprints for maximum speed
5X 10m jog, 35m sprint, 60-120 seconds rest
Week 4 (rest week and retest)
2X 20m, 20-50 seconds rest
Sled sprints for maximum speed
2X 10m jog, 35m sprint, 60-120 seconds rest
Some helpful hints for your sled training:
- When you’re accelerating you should lean forward with your whole body, keeping your head still and your elbows flexed to around 90 degrees and swing them from your shoulders.
- A comfortable, safe harness is a must. This will not only ensure optimal performance by allowing ideal sprint mechanics and avoid painful pinching or rubbing which can interfere with your workout.