Jump to the routine

The Prowler Workout Challenge for Strength and Stamina

Test your strength, explosiveness, and stamina with these brief but brutal sled sprints.

Jump to the Routine
  • 0

  • Yes

Woman Working Out With Sled Pushes
pixdeluxe / Getty
Woman Working Out With Sled Pushes
pixdeluxe / Getty

Four weeks of 10-yard sprints with a Prowler sled with descending rest periods. “This is a true measure of strength, speed, and power,” says Jim Smith, C.P.P.S., owner of Diesel Strength & Conditioning. “The goal is to perform as many ‘repeats’ as possible without any loss of speed or diminished quality of movement. Forward torso lean, positive shin angle, and full extension of each drive leg should be maintained throughout.”

HOW TO DO IT

Record an initial 10-yard Prowler sled sprint with a stopwatch. Multiply your time by 1.1 to get your goal time for each subsequent push. For example, an initial 10-yard sprint performed in five seconds will produce a goal time of 5.5 seconds. You’ll then perform 10-yard Prowler sprints until you’re no longer able to match or beat 5.5 seconds.

You’ll do one “challenge” workout per week for four weeks. Each week, rest periods will drop by 15 seconds. In Week 1, rest one minute between sprints; in Week 2, rest 45 seconds; in Week 3, 30 seconds; and in Week 4, limit rest to 15 seconds.

WHEN TO DO IT

If you’re using this challenge for conditioning (aka cardio), do it at the end of a lower-body workout as a finisher. If you’re using it for speed training, implement it at the beginning of a lower-body workout immediately after a thorough warmup.

PERFORMANCE TIP

Aside from the aforementioned parameters, weight selection is key. “Load the Prowler with enough weight so you feel the resistance and have to lean forward into it but not so heavy that your sprinting speed is slow,” Smith says. If you want to extend the challenge, increase the weight on the sled after four weeks.

Routine

Want a copy on the go?
Print

The Workout to increase Your Speed

To sprint with optimal form, you need adequate strength in the posterior chain (calves, hamstrings, glutes, core, lats). Here’s a workout to help you prep this area for the Prowler challenge. Perform the four exercises as a circuit.

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 2 of 0

Romanian Deadlift

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
4
Reps
6
Rest
--
Exercise 4 of 0

Plank

Equipment
Sets
4
Reps
10 sec.
Rest
--
*High-tension
See all of our tutorials