This Is the Most Underrated Piece of Gym Equipment for Burning Fat and Building Muscle Without Wrecking Your Joints, Trainer Says
Walking past the sled area in your gym can feel a little intimidating, especially if you’ve never tried it or usually stick with free weights. It’s easy to assume sleds are reserved for "athletes only," but who says you can't be one of them? In reality, the sled is one of the most versatile and underrated tools in the gym, capable of helping you build power or strength, or improve conditioning and fat loss.
"While we primarily use it for lower body training and conditioning, we can also use the sled to strengthen our upper body with presses and pulls," says Matt Kasee, MS, CSCS, trainer and owner of Trilogy Fitness Systems. "The sled can be scaled to a complete beginner or a high-level athlete. Plus, it's a fantastic confidence booster for many people because the learning curve is very small, while still providing a tough challenge."
The sled is a powerful tool for building muscle, improving body composition, and boosting aerobic capacity. It may look simple when you see someone else using it, but once you load it up and start moving, sled work quickly spikes your heart rate and leaves you gassed.
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Plus, sled pushes and pulls offer a joint-friendly alternative for anyone dealing with orthopedic issues. For instance, if movement patterns like lunges irritate the knees, the sled can offer an effective substitute for strengthening the legs without such strain.
"For beginners or anyone with knee pain, consistent sled work has almost always allowed us to build enough muscle and strength to comfortably reintroduce more traditional unilateral exercises, like lunges and stepups, into their routines," he adds.
In his personal training, Kasee programs sled work for both athletes and beginners alike. Its versatility is what truly makes it shine. With a simple, easy-to-learn setup, you can effectively train the lower body while adjusting the challenge to fit your goal. Load it heavy for strength, keep it moving for longer durations to build endurance, or go lighter and faster to focus on power and conditioning.
"The sled has no eccentric, or muscle lengthening, phase of the exercise," Kasee adds. "So, we can use it as a primary or supplemental exercise without causing significant muscle soreness. This means we can do more work with less muscle breakdown for bigger results, and the exercises are easier on the joints."