For those of you using sled dragging as part of your training, I was hoping you could help me out. I did some ankle dragging for part of my workout yesterday. When doing these, are you supposed to keep your legs straight and take small steps to focus on the glutes and hamstrings? Or do you take larger steps, bending your knees? Also, when doing regular sled drags, are you supposed to remain upright or will you be bent forward slightly in order to pull more weight? Has anyone done the bent-over dragging with your hands behind your knees to focus on hamstrings? I tried these, but didn’t feel it in the hamstrings. Actually, doing them in this position made it easier to drag more weight (lower center of gravity).
I did various sled dragging after a rope warm-up and some kettlebell work. I didn’t think the sled dragging did anything, but I did feel a little sore last night and this morning when I woke up. So it must have worked. I started out using the sled (I have one from Dave Tate’s site) along with a 35lb plate.
I think you are supposed to keep your legs pretty straight when doing ankle drags. When doing bent over dragging, imagine you are digging you heels into the ground. Then try to pull your heel back. This blows my hams and glutes up. When my bro and I began doing these, he didn’t feel much in his hams either. After a few sessions he got it down. When doing noraml drags, i think you are supposed to remain as upright as possible. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
Were you dragging for strength or restoration. If you were dragging for strength, you should feel it for sure. It depends on what surface you are dragging on and how strong you are, but you probably need more weight.
Hey Nate Dogg, When doing sled dragging around the ankels you should allow your knee to bend. When pulling around the waste you should stay upright and breath hard into your belt, Each step forward should be an explsoive one. We drag the sled behind the ankles around hear it does a great job at enilating the hamstrings. iF you not sure how to do it properly go to T-mag previous issues and look up the article "dragging your but into shape’ By Dave Tate. Or you can go to his website Elitefitnesssystems.com and look under articles.
You can chage your form depending on what you want to emphasize. I normally bend slightly at the waist with a heavier weight trying to drag with the heels. It seemed to do a good job on the hamstrings. i’ll also backwards drag.
Depending on strength levels, I’ll drag farther with a lighter weight. I’ll use 95 lbs on the sled and do 2-3 reps for 500 feet. I’ll do 150-160lbs. for 4-6 reps of 200 feet. you might have to up the weight. I’ve purchased a westside revberse hyper and glute ham bench and have been using them for a few years, so I do have strong hams. I’ve done 22 reps with bodyweight on the glute ham, for example. You might want to hit those to exercises if you have access to the equipment. I normally do the dragging as a finisher exercise.
Thanks for the response. From what you said, I think I’m leaning too far forward when doing the regular sled dragging. But I did feel it in my abs right away! What a great workout! As for the ankle drags, I think I bent my legs too much, as I was trying to take bigger steps. I’ll try to keep a slight bend and smaller steps when I do them tomorrow. And yes, I did read Dave Tate’s article on sled dragging, it just wasn’t specific enough for the small details. I think I have it right now. I’ll let you know when I do them tomorrow!
i keep my legs fairly straight when ankle dragging. i also take long strides. really feel it in hip flexors. i lean forward when i forward belt drag. i can use much more weight and i feel it improves strength more than when i am upright.