Push-Up Sled for An Effective Workout

1. Full-body workout When performed correctly, the sled push will work both upper and lower body muscles. More specifically, this exercise will engage your:  quadriceps glutes calves hamstrings abdominals hip flexors chest triceps shoulders All these muscles will be engaged whether you add weight to the sled or not. 

2. Calorie burn If you’ve never pushed a weighted sled, get ready for a heart-pounding, calorie-crushing workout. Whether you incorporate the sled push into a full-body circuit or finish your training with a few sets of sled pushes, you’ll increase the calorie burn of your workout. 

3. Overall conditioning Alternating between heavy and light sled pushes lets you train for both speed and power,.  Load the sled with moderate-to-heavy resistance and you can train for both cardiovascular and muscular strength and endurance. To train for speed, lighten the load and push faster.  You can also ditch the weight and push the sled at a slower pace for longer. This can help boost your endurance and general fitness. 

4. Improved speed Pushing a weighted sled as part of a training program may improve speed.  

5. Functional training While you might not need to push a large sled during your routine activities, you may sometimes need to push a heavy object (for example, pushing a stroller up a hill or moving a piece of furniture).  

6. Adaptability to all fitness levels The sled push is adaptable to all fitness levels. If you’re new to exercise or returning from an injury, ditch the weight and push just the sled. As you get stronger, add weight in small increments.  Athletes and those at advanced fitness levels can challenge themselves by pushing the sled faster and with more resistance.