Fundamental lifts are great but more unusual movements can sometimes be good too. Discover the benefits of prowler sled pushes.
Keep in mind that you can use this exercise for different purposes.
How much weight you put on the prowler workout sled and your number of steps influence what area of your fitness it focuses on.
1. Sled pushes can grow and strengthen muscles
First of all, you can load the workout sled with relatively heavy weights. This would make prowler sled pushes relatively good for growing and strengthening muscles.
Extra muscle mass is not only good for your health but is also considered to be nice from a visual standpoint.
Some of the muscles you work with sled pushes include:
- Glutes (butt)
- Hamstrings (back thighs)
- Quadriceps (front thighs)
- Calves
- Erector spinae
If you want to really grow and strengthen these muscles you want to load the prowler sled up to a point where you can only do about 6 to 25 steps in a row (with each leg).
The stronger you get, the more pounds or kilograms you will have to use to keep the exercise challenging enough to stay within this range.
Besides that, you want to know that you can influence in what ratio you engage the muscles worked with prowler sleds.
For example, pulling backward will focus more on your quadriceps than pushing the sled.
2. Prowler sled pushes can help you lose weight
If you want to lose some excess body fat, you need to make it so you are using up more energy than is coming in from your diet.
You can make this happen in many ways but exercising is a popular choice.
While doing something like sled pushes, your body will burn more calories than just sitting still. This makes it easier to get to the point above.
The number of calories burned with sled pushes can vary a lot due to details like your weight, your speed, how many weight plates you use, etc.
That being said, a rough prediction is that the average person will burn around 236 – 406+ calories per 30 minutes of pushing a prowler workout sled at a vigorous intensity.
Additionally, sled pushes could help you build muscle and offer an afterburn effect. These things add even more long-term results.
In short, when it comes to workouts, prowler sled pushes can be a great option when trying to lose weight. Keep in mind that your nutrition and other lifestyle habits still matter a lot too.
3. It is easy to customize sled push difficulty
The optimal way to get fitter is to challenge your body enough but not too much for your fitness level.
A big benefit of prowler sleds is that most people should be able to at least get close to this point with this equipment option.
First of all, you can choose how fast or slow you walk/run with the sled.
Secondly, you can choose exactly how much weight you put on the sled.
Since weight plates are typically available in small weight increments, the same precise customizability applies to the sled push exercise too.
These features allow you to do prowler sled pushes at a good difficulty level and receive all the benefits that come with that.
4. Sled pushes can improve cardiovascular health
Your body parts need oxygen and nutrients to function. They get these things thanks to your cardiovascular system which includes your heart, lungs, and blood vessels.
The more intense you move, the more your body needs the nutrients above.
Because of that, something like sled pushes will definitely get your heart beating faster.
This is a potential benefit since working your cardiovascular system enough (but not too much) can strengthen or at least preserve it.
In turn, this reduces your risk of a variety of conditions with very negative consequences (1, 2, 3).
It is worth mentioning that you don’t want to overdo it either. If you are new to exercise (again), it can be smart to start with slow sled pushes without (m)any weight plates.
5. Sled push technique is relatively straightforward
Sometimes you have to learn some technique or skill to be able to do exercises and sports optimally.
This can be part of the fun but also something that makes it so you are not able to get the full health benefits immediately.
Additionally, you may have a personal preference for simpler workouts that don’t require too much thinking or practicing.
Prowler sled pushes consist of relatively natural movements that come easily for most people. For certain situations and people, this is great.
Two things you do want to keep in mind during workout sled pushes are keeping your back (at least somewhat) straight and keeping your arms slightly bent.
6. Sled pushes can improve athletic performance
Doing a sport or exercise more often is not the only way you can improve.
In some cases, training fitness components with other workouts can be a more effective way toward your goals.
For example, prowler sled pushes can help you strengthen your leg muscles and your cardiovascular system.
In turn, these things can benefit your performance in sports where you benefit from running fast and long.
7. You can easily do sled pushes outside
Working out inside of a (home) gym has its own advantages but being able to train outside with a prowler sled offers benefits too.
First of all, many people in the modern world do not get a lot of sunlight. For these individuals, outdoor workouts can improve vitamin D levels, mood, sleep, etc.
Additionally, you may struggle to find enough space to work out indoors at home. Instead of having to spend time transporting yourself to the gym, you can take the prowler sled outside.
You still need somewhat of a decent surface and/or quality sled but this benefit can definitely be useful to many people.
8. Sled pushes can improve both endurance and strength
Your muscles contain different types of muscle fibers which have their upsides and downsides.
More specifically, you can divide these fibers into “type 1, slow-twitch muscle” and “type 2, fast-twitch muscle” categories.
This is relevant because you can actually influence the ratio of these categories so that it aligns more with what you are trying to do (4).
A benefit of sled pushes is that this exercise makes it easy to change your focus.
You can train type 1 slow-twitch muscle fibers by pushing the sled for extended amounts of time with slightly lower weights on top of it.
On the flip side, you can also really load the prowler sled heavy and sprint with it for short distances to grow more type 2 fast-twitch muscle fibers.
9. Sled pushes can improve your sleep
More and more people realize just how important quality sleep is. This positively influences your mood, health, and cognitive function a lot.
That being said, the sleep quality and duration of the average person are still not that great. Partly because not everyone knows how to improve these areas.
Interestingly enough, implementing workouts like sled pushes throughout the day can actually improve the quality and duration of your sleep at night (5, 6, 7).
One thing to note is that there is also a suboptimal time to work out for this purpose.
More specifically, heavy prowler sled push workouts in the two hours before you go to bed tend to be suboptimal for your sleep. If possible, you want to do the workouts earlier than that.
10. Sled pushes allow you to change things up
Many people struggle to stick to their exercise routine because they don’t enjoy their workouts.
And even if you do enjoy your workouts already, making them more fun can be a valuable benefit in itself.
Some things that can help you in these areas are switching up your workouts with different equipment options and exercises.
In simpler words, part of the fun of sled pushes is that they are somewhat unusual. This can help improve enjoyment and consistency.
On top of that, sled pushes offer many valuable positive effects too.
11. Sled pushes can improve flexibility and mobility
Flexibility and mobility are basically how far your muscles, joints, and tendons can comfortably move.
You can improve these areas of your health by challenging yourself to safe extents. Doing prowler sled pushes could help you with this. Mostly around your hips.
In turn, having better flexibility and mobility can be helpful because it reduces your risk of falling and injuries.
It could also improve your performance in certain sports and movements.
