NSCA COACH 1.4
sport move in most instances. These exercises are dissimilar
in both range of motion, tempo, rhythm, and execution when
compared to full athletic movements. Even Olympic-style lifts
are deficient in reproducing the movement patterns seen in most
sports, as these exercises primarily take place in the sagittal plane
against vertical resistance.
Most coaches waste a lot of time training their athletes in
these areas because it is easy to see immediate improvements
in absolute strength and power, which for a common athlete,
can have a significant, initial positive influence on their sport
performance. However, if the goal is to place the athlete in the
best position for long-term success, a revised approach toward
motor learning should be considered. In order to promote
translation of power application into a sport movement, it is
important to develop absolute power using these gross exercises
but still perform a portion of the actual sport movement (i.e.,
swinging a bat).
The three common sport movements can be further broken into
three movement patterns; hip flexion/extension, trunk rotation
(torque), and a combination of lower body to upper body
summation of force in a rhythmic manner.
Hip flexion and extension are critical to enhance hip displacement
for jumping, stride length, and stride frequency. When trying to
improve an athlete’s speed, every movement of the body is about
hip displacement across space. The faster the hips move for a
given distance, the faster the body travels which is manifested as
higher speed. Quicker velocities of movement translate to higher
levels of competition in nearly every major sport.
Trunk rotation provides a mandatory translation of lower body
power traveling through the spinal column and delivering this
inertia into the trunk, leaving the arms and hands through either a
throwing or swinging motion of an implement. Referred to as the
serape effect, the velocity of throwing an implement or swinging
a club (such as a bat, stick, or racket) is directly correlated to the
amount of force transferred from lower body to upper body about
the spine (3). By rotating the hips ahead of shoulders, an athlete is
effectively “pulling” their shoulders behind their hips in a whipping
motion. This creates a summation of forces, and when timed
correctly, develops much higher velocities than if the trunk and
upper body were used independently.
Finally, developing a slow to fast rhythm promotes maximum
velocity for throwing and striking/swinging of an implement.
This is achieved by initiating movements with the prime movers
of the body (large muscles such as the gluteus maximus,
hamstrings, quadriceps, latissimus dorsi, and pectoralis)
followed by assisting or secondary movers (smaller muscles
of the arms, legs, feet, and hands). Athletes must understand
the timing of a movement to excel.
Recall that in order to create speed of an implement (bat or ball),
maximum velocity must be achieved during the point in time
of release or striking of the implement (i.e., throwing a ball or
making contact with a bat). This happens because the athlete
knows how to coordinate the kinematic chain of their body and
times all of their body movements to achieve max power at
the very moment they are needed. The question to coaches is
what are you prescribing to your athletes to help them learn this
outside of practice? Sled training can provide an invaluable tool
that combines both sport movements with relatively unrestricted
external, horizontal resistance.
PROMOTING ATHLETICISM THROUGH SLED TRAINING
As already mentioned, most strength and conditioning programs
are dominated by sagittal plane exercises. Adding more frontal
and transverse plane exercises, while helpful in promoting
general motor learning, still may fall short of teaching advanced
sport moves. In the context of developing absolute strength and
rudimentary power enhancement, Table 1 provides an example of
common learning progressions for lower and upper body strength
development. While these exercises provide a solid base of
strength, they still do not teach actual sport moves efficiently.
The sled is generally misunderstood as a limited training tool, or
simply not used, primarily because many coaches consider training
in the sagittal plane for straight line, such as with sprinting drills.
This is a very limited application of this training tool and minimizes
the true value. Sled workouts provide a training stimulus that
more closely mimics real-world physical demands of life and sport
because they can create horizontal resistance. Sport demands call
for a combination of both vertical and horizontal requirements,
with the majority being horizontal. Normal weight room exercises
predominantly simulate vertical weight displacement; therefore it
is necessary to develop strength in a horizontal plane.
Sled training also allows for frontal and transverse plane activities
while in locomotion, something not readily available in the weight
room. Injuries in these two planes generally occur due to lack
of physical preparation at the tempos and intensities seen in
competition. Using the sled helps train athletes for these types of
physical stressors. It is in this way that sleds can help decrease the
likelihood of injuries, and help develop strength, power, and speed
that are transferable to performance. Refer to Table 2 for key
coaching points related to sled training.
When utilizing sled exercises, coaches should use a modular
system composed of three parts:
1. The sled where weight is loaded.
2. A length of rope between the harness/handles and sled,
this should be around 6 – 8 ft long.
3. A set of handles tethered to the mid-piece to facilitate most
moves. These can be purchased or constructed using simple
rope and PVC pipe available at any hardware store. The
handles should be at least 10 ft in length to a 66