Improve Speed with Very Heavy Sled Training
Author: Matt Couch
Publish Date: Aug 26th, 2019
No we are not talking about Santa’s Sled, the sled we are talking about is a resistance sled were you can add weight in order to help increase pushing and pulling ability in the upper and lower body. Sleds come in all shapes and sizes and are primarily used to help increase speed.
A recent study done in 2017 by Morin and Associates “hypothesised that very-heavy loaded sled sprint training would induce an improvement in horizontal force production,” in layman's term they thought sled training would help make a soccer player sprint faster. The study used 20 amateur soccer players, split into two groups. The very-heavy sled group and a control group. The training protocol called for the very-heavy sled group to do 5 meter and 20 meter sprints with a sled, while the control group performed 5 meter and 20 meter sprints without a sled. The outcome of the study showed that very-heavy sled sprints could increase sprinting ability. The researchers go on to state, “ VHS (very-heavy sled) resistance sprint training is an effective and practical method to improve F0 (horizontal ground reaction force) and RFmax (force application) in soccer players.”
Not only does the VHS have the potential to improve soccer player speed, but it may also help to decrease hamstring injury. The study recommends using 80% of the players body max. I have been using sleds to improve player speed for several years, using precisely the same method as the study. All though the study does not address pushing the sled, I would assume you would be able to achieve similar results.