Sled pulls are a brutal functional exercise that hits the upper body, developing both aerobic and anaerobic capacity and targeting the back, shoulders, biceps and grip muscles.
| Primary Muscle | Back |
|---|---|
| Secondary Muscle(s) | Biceps, Shoulders, Forearms |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Also known as | Sled Pulling, Sled Dragging, Sled Drag, Hand Over Hand Sled Pull, Rope Pulls |
| Equipment | Climbing Rope, Weighted Sled |
View Sled Pulls guide
Notes:
The sled pull is a true functional exercise that really exhausts the upper body, focusing on the back, shoulder and biceps, whilst developing a crushing grip.
Essentially, this exercise involves pulling a heavy, weighted sled toward you, that's tied to a rope. If you don't have a plate loading fitness sled (or even better, a prowler) you can fashion your own using an old tire, or loaded pallet. The amount of friction you get from the exercise will greatly differ between your sled and surface combo choices.
How you train with the sled should depend on your fitness goals. Loading the sled with a minimum amount of weight and training for longer distances will help build endurance and cardiovascular capacity, whereas using heavy weights over shorter bursts will develop strength and power skills.
As your strength and power develops through sled training you can progressively add more weight to the sled to increase difficulty.
Set yourself challenges and when the sled reaches your feet, job backwards until the rope is pulled tight again and repeat the process until you hit a certain distance or complete the set in a fixed time.
This is also an effective exercise when combined with pushes as well as pulls. If you're sled is suitable, or you have a prowler available, you can push the sled away to the end point, jog back to the start and pull it back towards you, repeating the exercise as required. This is a real test of strength and endurance both physically and mentally!
Take a look at this video to see what we mean -
When you're proficient with the sled and pulling weights that are approaching your own bodyweight, why not start training for the rope climb. This supreme upper body exercise puts you well on your way to bodyweight mastery.
Always consult your GP before undertaking any form of weight loss, fitness or exercise.
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