Last weekend I indulged in one of my favourite forms of conditioning work - sled pulling. I like to do my sled pulling early in the morning out in a meadow a short distance from my house. There is a playing field/park closer than the meadow but I don't like the idea of being surrounded by other people and their dogs when I'm having a coronary whilst harnessed to a 70lb sled.
So, on a Saturday morning, Toffee the Staffy (my No.1 training partner) and I are out in the meadow getting in some much needed (me not the dog) conditioning work. I have to carry the sled and weight about 1/3 of a mile to the meadow before the real work can begin. If you check out the photo above this post you can see how I've rigged the sled to a backpack that contains the weights. This way all I've got to do is drop the pack off my back, connect the harness and pull! No messing about loading with weight plates or having to carry an awkward load of gear to the field.
This Saturday the workout consisted of a straight forward harness pull forward for the length of the meadow, sprinting the first hundred yards and then pulling at a brisk walk/slow jog. The meadow is somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 a mile long. Once I got to the far end I turned round and pulled the sled backwards for about 150 yards before completing the meadow length pulling the sled forwards holding the harness behind me. Knackering but awesome.
Then all I have to do is get the whole thing on my back and carry it home (whilst keeping Toffee out of trouble).
I find that although the work itself is very tiring, the recovery is fantastic - no aches or pains or muscle soreness - I think that this is because sled training is general concentric only training. Also, pulling on grass, especially a bumpy, horse trodden track as I do, is way more difficult than pulling on asphalt, concrete or artificial turf.
By way of a coincidence T-Nation published this article on Monday, a fantastic everything you need to start pulling a sled, even how to build one!
What are you waiting for, get pulling.
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