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Cardio & conditioning

Sled workout: pushes, drags and rows for speed or fitness

Choose one track. Speed: short, fast pushes with a light sled and full rests, as in the one sled-push training trial, where pushes twice a week for 8 weeks improved schoolboys' 5 to 20 m sprints. Fitness: steadier pushes with the walk back as your rest. Both tracks finish with backward drags and sled rows. Set the load by how fast the sled moves, not by the plates: the same sled feels very different on different floors. We found no trial of a whole sled workout, so the doses are our starting points.

40 minIntermediate13 movesCardio machine · A wall · A sledQuads · Glutes · Back · Hip flexors · Hamstrings · Calves
Follow along: a timer, a cue and the next move, one step at a time.

Warm-up

  1. Indoor rowing (rowing machine)3 to 5 min easy
    Beginner · Quads, Glutes, Back · 3D demoOr a brisk walkHarder: Stair climbing
  2. Walking lunge6 steps each leg
    Intermediate · Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings · 3D demoUprightEasier: Split squatHarder: Split squat with dumbbells
  3. Knee-to-wall ankle rock10 slow rocks each side
    Beginner · 3D demoKeep your heel down
  4. Acceleration wall drill3 rounds
    Beginner · Hip flexors, Glutes, Hamstrings · 3D demo3 single drives, then 3 to 5 s of fast switches: the same lean and knee drive as the pushHarder: Overhead dumbbell swing
  5. Prowler sprint (light sled push)2 easy pushes of 10 m
    Beginner · Quads, Glutes, Calves · 3D demoA light sled: learn the lean and the short stepsHarder: Sled push

Pushes (pick your track)

Rest Speed: walk back, then 1 to 2 min. Fitness: the walk back

  1. Prowler sprint (light sled push)4 to 6 pushes of 10 to 20 m
    Beginner · Quads, Glutes, Calves · 3D demoSpeed track: light enough to move fast. If the sled slows to a walk, take weight offHarder: Sled push
  2. Sled push6 to 8 pushes of 15 to 20 m
    Intermediate · Quads, Glutes, Calves · 3D demoFitness track: a load you can keep moving briskly for the whole lane; straight arms, one line from head to heels, short driving stepsEasier: Prowler sprint (light sled push)Harder: Alternate-leg box push-off

Drags (pick the one for your track)

Rest 1 to 2 min

  1. Fast backward sled drag3 or 4 drags of 20 m
    Beginner · Quads, Calves, Glutes · 3D demoSpeed track: brisk, short, quick steps backwards. Clear the lane behind you firstHarder: Backward sled drag
  2. Backward sled drag3 or 4 drags of 20 m
    Intermediate · Quads, Calves, Glutes · 3D demoFitness track: light to moderate, steady, soft knees. Clear the lane behind you firstEasier: Fast backward sled dragHarder: Poliquin step-up

Pull

Rest 60 to 90 s

  1. Sled row2 to 3 × 8 to 12
    Beginner · Back, Biceps, Shoulders · 3D demoStay standing; row with your arms and back, then step back to take up the slackHarder: Bent-over dumbbell row, palms in

Finisher (optional)

  1. Bear crawl sled drag2 or 3 crawls of 10 m with a light sled
    Intermediate · Quads, Shoulders, Abs · 3D demoHips level with your shoulders; slow down if they swayEasier: Fast backward sled drag

Cool-down

  1. Treadmill walking3 min easy
    Beginner · Quads, Calves, Glutes · 3D demoOr walk outdoorsHarder: Treadmill jogging
  2. Half-kneeling hip flexor stretch30 s each side
    Beginner · Quads, Glutes · 3D demoHarder: Couch stretch
  3. Wall calf stretch (gastrocnemius)30 s each side
    Beginner · Calves · 3D demoEasier: Seated calf stretch with a towelHarder: Heel-on-step calf and hamstring stretch

Tips

  • Once or twice a week, when your legs are fresh, not the day after hard leg training. Give the speed track 6 to 8 weeks at twice a week before you judge it, as the trial did.
  • Set the load by speed. Speed track: light enough that you still move fast; in schoolboys, loads that slowed them by a quarter ran from about a quarter to two fifths of body weight. Fitness track: a load you can keep moving briskly. The same plates feel far heavier on a grippy floor.
  • Keep breathing through every push, and keep loads moderate if your blood pressure is uncontrolled. If you're inactive and have heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms when you're active, check with your GP before hard intervals.
  • Wear shoes that grip and use a clear lane, and check behind you before every backward drag.
  • No sled? Step-ups, 2 × 8 to 10 each leg, in place of the pushes, and hill sprints (6 to 8 runs of 8 to 10 s, walking down) in place of the speed track.
  • Progress one thing at a time: a push, then less rest, then more load.
  • Sore knees the next day? Use lighter drags: rushing the load is the usual cause.
  • Racing Hyrox? The race sled is 102 kg for women and 152 kg for men, including the sled, over 4 lanes of 12.5 m; our Hyrox strength workout builds towards it.
  • Muscles far sorer, more swollen or weaker than the session explains need a same-day check, with or without dark pee: it can be rhabdomyolysis. Stop for chest pain, dizziness, unusual breathlessness or a racing or irregular heartbeat.

The doses are suggested starting points, not a prescription. Choose a range you can control and stop for sharp or increasing pain, numbness or tingling. Get individual advice after an injury or surgery, or if you are pregnant or managing a health condition.

Guides that recommend it

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Questions people ask

How long does the sled workout: pushes, drags and rows for speed or fitness take?

About 40 minutes, including any warm-up and cool-down listed. Shorten it by doing fewer rounds; lengthen it by adding one.

What equipment do I need?

You need: Cardio machine, A wall, A sled. Each move links to its guide, where you can find an alternative if you are missing something.

Is it suitable for me?

It is written at intermediate level. 5 of its 13 moves have an easier option listed beside them; use them freely.

How do I make it easier or harder?

Use the easier or harder option listed under each move, change the number of rounds, or adjust the rest. Progress one change at a time.