[Miele-Scott]

Miele-Scott on December 14, 2009 at 5:15 am #16390

Has anyone had any experience with either of these products. I would like to hear about anyones thoughts of using any sled or parachute for training.

[RussZHC]

RussZHC on December 15, 2009 at 8:35 am #92487

Fastest way may be to go through some of the past discussions in “Sprints” such as

https://elitetrack.com/forums/viewthread/8297/

but there are certainly others as well. Don’t restrict yourself to simply those labeled “sled” etc. anything regarding “resisted” or “assisted” could be of some use to your exact situation.

IMO that most resisted work from studies and discussions I have seen, as either of those you ask about, is relatively short i.e. 30m or less,
you want to not overload the sled (if that is what method you end up choosing) it is not a contest to see how much you can move etc. but I am sure you realize that…
the other general topic dealt with in most studies is tracking/close observation of biomech and see what, if anything, changes as you run in most cases what you see will be a change in how upright the body is or a change in the ground contact time, though nearly any feature can change to some degree and it is that gray area to be watching out for.
In the last while we have done sled pulls of a given weight (relative to the body weight of the individual doing the pulling and it may not seem like much, say 10% to 15%), we have done sled pulls of a decreasing amount (again, roughly based on body weight so 20%, 15%, 10%) with all runs 15m or less (so far)…you also tend to use a lesser number of sets and reps compared say to body weight accelerations or speed work.
Sled oscillation can become an issue AND keep in mind the surface you are pulling on…the infield of the track where we train is definitely different than the outer oval though both are supposedly of the same material (though different aged)and very different than grass etc.

Some studies say a disadvantage of a chute is the pull is almost never in a straight line directly behind you (it is hard not to have some side to side and the chute “picks this up” right away and it moves from side to side some with a bit more of a “pull” at each extreme range of motion)

[Miele-Scott]

Miele-Scott on December 15, 2009 at 8:43 am #92488

I have used a sled and a parachute both once before.. but i wasnt very experienced at the time. Ill check out that link thank you

[Chad Williams]

Chad Williams on December 15, 2009 at 9:46 am #92489

I despise parachutes, unless jumping from an extremely high height. When you want the most resistance (at the beginning) there is none and it usually kicks in 1-2 steps down the road. And God forbid there is any wind whatsoever outside because even the slightest cross wind will throw your mechanics.

Stick with a sled about 10-12% of your body weight. I usually don’t have anyone take it past 20m anymore, but that is a personal preference.