‘Sports’ is an international, peer-reviewed, open access Journal. In the year 2022 they published, The Acute Effects of Heavy Sled Towing on Acceleration Performance and Sprint Mechanical and Kinematic Characteristics. The study concluded, “Heavy sled towing appeared to be an effective post-activation potentiation stimulus to acutely enhance sprint acceleration performance with no effect on the athlete’s running technique.”
In the same year the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research published, Acute Effects of Progressive Sled Loading on Resisted Sprint Performance and Kinematics, they concluded, “Lighter sled loads (<40% of body-mass) seem to be more adequate to improve speed ability without provoking drastic changes in the unloaded sprinting technique, whereas heavier loads may be more suitable for optimizing horizontal force production and thus, acceleration performance.”
In 2023 the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance investigated the effects of heavy sled towing as well, their findings were similar “these data suggest that a sled overload corresponding to 12.6% of body mass can induce positive effects on both acceleration and speed performance in recreational active rugby players.”
The number of studies on sled pulling are numerous and their findings are very similar. The bottom line is that the addition of this towing exercise added to your program is an important tool in achieving maximal athletic performance. The Speed Sleds, V-Line and Pulling Harnesses are all available at Rogers Athletic.
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