Sled exercise

CrossFit is a sports discipline rich in a variety of exercises and an extraordinary approach to sports equipment. A striking example of this is a completely unique and not used in other sports exercise with a sled in CrossFit. This is an extremely unusual way to train many muscle groups, capable of developing enormous explosive strength and strength endurance in the muscles of the legs, back and shoulder girdle. The exercise is not without its technical subtleties and pitfalls. It is a kind of indicator of the functional abilities of the body, therefore pushing or pulling the sled is a mandatory element in many major crossfit competitions.

In this article, we will look at how to use a crossfit sled in your training process and how to get the most out of this exercise without harming your body.

What is a CrossFit sled?

The design of this projectile is extremely simple. The first part is a metal frame, the lower part of which has a rectangular shape (disks from the bar or other additional burden are located on it), and the upper part consists of two vertically arranged metal handles of the same length and thickness (they are necessary to push the sled in front of you). The second part is a pin for weights (disks are mounted on it). A rope is attached to the bottom. It has a carabiner at the end so that you can attach any convenient handle.

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As you can see, the design of the simulator is completely uncomplicated. If it is not possible to purchase such sleds in sports stores, a good welder can cope with the task of making them. By the way, in many gyms you can find a homemade version of a crossfit sled.

The benefits of working with a sled

The CrossFit power sled can be used in a variety of ways. Each of the types of work with this equipment brings the athlete its own benefit. Let's see what effect an athlete can get by performing similar exercises in different variations.

Development of the muscles of the legs and back

• Pushing the sled in front of you puts stress on the muscles in your legs and back. The movement is a kind of resistance sprint. The training sled acts as resistance, preventing us from developing high speed. The movement consists of two stages: starting from a stationary position and accelerating continuously as you move forward.
• Such work tremendously increases the strength and endurance of the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles, which makes it easier and more efficient to perform basic leg exercises and develop maximum speed in running over short distances. The explosive strength of the legs also increases, which helps to better do speed-strength exercises like high jumps on the box, squats with a barbell with a pause at the bottom, and many others.
• Biomechanically, this movement is very similar to the pull of a sled behind itself, moving face forward. The athlete fixes special straps on the shoulders or on the belt and tries to run forward. At the same time, sledges greatly complicate the task, since they do not allow to develop speed. This exercise is recommended for athletes for whom incredible explosive leg strength is important, for example, for maximum explosion at the start in a sprint race or for long and high jumps.

Back and shoulder workout

• When pulling the sled behind you with your back forward, the emphasis of the load shifts more to the muscles of the back and shoulder girdle. The effect of pulling behind oneself is approximately the same as that of rowing in a simulator: the strength endurance of all muscles of the torso increases, the grip becomes stronger, it becomes easier for the muscles to overcome the pain threshold arising from anaerobic glycolysis.
• In addition, all crossfit sled exercises combine elements of aerobic and anaerobic activity. This leads to an improvement in the work of the cardiovascular system and the expenditure of a large amount of energy (calories), which will be especially important for athletes who are at the stage of fat burning and strive to get rid of excess subcutaneous fat.

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Harm and contraindications

Crossfit sled is an effective but rather specific trainer. In addition to recommendations for use, they also have a number of contraindications.

Risk of aggravating old injuries

Both pushing the crossfit sled in front of you and pulling the sled behind you carry a strong axial load on the spine (especially on the lumbar spine). For this reason, working with a sled is not recommended for athletes with scoliosis, excessive kyphosis or lordosis, hernia or protrusion.

Pushing the sled in front of you also has a strong effect on the elbow and shoulder joints and ligaments. Pushing sleds is not recommended for athletes with elbow and shoulder injuries, and for powerlifting and bench press athletes whose training process focuses on free weights press exercises (lying on a bench or sitting). The load on the elbows and shoulders will be too great, the ligaments and tendons will simply not have time to recover, and sooner or later this will lead to injury. It's a similar story with the knees: regularly doing sled pushing and heavy barbell squats or leg presses will gradually wear out the joint tissue, which will prevent you from continuing to exercise at a serious level in the future.

Injury risk

Pulling the sled towards you is less traumatic than pushing the sled in front of you, since the load is evenly distributed over all the muscles of the torso. But beware: Overly intense sled training combined with voluminous deltoid workouts can lead to hypertonicity of the middle and rear deltas. This can result in muscle tears, sprains, or damage to the rotator cuff.

It should be noted that all of the above refers, first of all, to cases when the athlete performs exercises with too much working weight, does not follow the correct technique, or is in a constant state of overtraining and does not receive enough resources to recover.

The sled is an excellent multifunctional trainer, and you don't need to try to squeeze the maximum out of yourself every time you work with it. Do not overdo it with additional weights and follow the correct technique, and then you can only benefit from this exercise, and the risk of undermining your health and athletic longevity will tend to zero.

What muscles work?

Three basic exercises are performed with a sled:

• pushing the sled in front of you;
• pulling the sled back to you;
• pulling the sled with a face forward.

Exercises have different biomechanics, and the load on different muscle groups also varies.

When pushing the sled in front of you, work more: gluteal muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps, calf muscles, spinal extensors, anterior deltoid muscle bundles, triceps and pectoral muscles.

When pulling the sled, facing forward, the following work more: trapezius muscles, neck muscles, gluteal muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles and spinal extensors.

When pulling the sled back to you, they work more: the front and middle bundles of the deltoid muscles, the lats and trapezius muscles of the back, biceps and forearms, the extensors of the spine and gluteal muscles.

In all cases, the rectus and oblique abdominal muscles, dentate and intercostal muscles serve as stabilizers in movement.

Exercise technique

Below we will look at the technique of performing each type of exercise with a training sled step by step.

Pushing the sled in front of you

This type of exercise should be performed as follows:

1. Place the sled in front of you, lean forward slightly and rest your palms on the vertical handles. Direct your gaze forward, your back should be straight, one leg extended forward. The triceps and gluteus muscles are a little statically tense, they should be in a "spring" state, ready to push the weight forward.
2. Create an initial momentum of movement. The movement should be performed at 80% due to the work of the muscles of the legs, the shoulders and triceps only help us not to lose the gained speed. Statically tense the buttocks and biceps of the thigh of the leg in front and try to take the first step, at the same moment the sled should budge.
3. Start picking up speed. As soon as the sled has moved from its place, take a step with your back foot and continue forward. Each new step must be explosive and abrupt. Remember to keep your back straight and look in the direction of travel.

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Pulling the sled back to you

The exercise is done as follows:

1. Grasp the handle that is hung from the carabiner at the end of the cable. The longer the rope, the harder this exercise will be. Step back to tighten the cable, from here we will create the initial jerk impulse;
2. Take your pelvis back a little, your back is straight, your gaze is directed forward, your arms are slightly bent at the elbows and stretched out in front of you;
3. Allow the rope to loosen a little and immediately after that pull the sled towards you, simultaneously engaging the muscles of the body (biceps, rear deltas, latissimus dorsi) and legs (quadriceps and hamstrings). At this moment, the sled should move from its place, and while it rolls in your direction, take 2-3 small steps back so that the cable has time to stretch. To make the sled go a greater distance at a time, after each push, bring the shoulder blades together in order to additionally load the back muscles;
4. Without letting the training sled stop, repeat the pulling movement towards you, trying to increase the speed of the projectile with each push, or at least not let it freeze in place. The back should remain straight throughout the entire exercise, rounding the lumbar or thoracic spine is unacceptable, as it is fraught with injury;
5. Many athletes have trouble concentrating as they move backwards. To better focus on the exercise, have a training partner stand behind you a few steps away and correct you if necessary.

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Pulling the sled with a face forward

This version of the crossfit sled exercise is performed as follows:

1. Attach the shoulder straps or attach them to an athletic belt. Move away from the sled so that the cable is fully stretched, lean forward a little, but keep your back straight. The gaze is directed in front of you, one leg is brought forward at a distance of one step;
2. Begin the starting movement. The sled should take off quickly, but smoothly, no sudden movements should be made, otherwise you risk injuring the thoracic spine. We statically strain the leg brought forward, and try to take the first step, trying to press on the floor with the heel in front of the standing leg. At this moment the sled should start moving;
3. Without pausing in movement, we immediately take a step forward with our back foot and transfer the center of gravity to it. After you take 3-4 steps, further steps will be much easier, since the sled will already have time to accelerate, and the rest of the movement will no longer require such a powerful effort of the muscles of the legs and back.

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Crossfit sledges

If your gym is equipped with this equipment, then do not miss the opportunity to train with it. This will bring a useful variety to the training process and give new, incomparable sensations after a good workout.

Attention: the crossfit complexes listed in the table contain exercises that create a strong axial load on the spine and are not recommended for beginner athletes.

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