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. 2019 May 20;7(5):119.
doi: 10.3390/sports7050119.

Sled-Pull Load-Velocity Profiling and Implications for Sprint Training Prescription in Young Male Athletes

Micheál J Cahill  1   2 , Jon L Oliver  3   4 , John B Cronin  5 , Kenneth P Clark  6 , Matt R Cross  7   8 , Rhodri S Lloyd  9   10   11
Affiliations

Sled-Pull Load-Velocity Profiling and Implications for Sprint Training Prescription in Young Male Athletes

Micheál J Cahill et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of individual load-velocity profiles and the between-athlete variation using the decrement in maximal velocity (Vdec) approach to prescribe training loads in resisted sled pulling in young athletes. Seventy high school, team sport, male athletes (age 16.7 ± 0.8 years) were recruited for the study. All participants performed one un-resisted and four resisted sled-pull sprints with incremental resistance of 20% BM. Maximal velocity was measured with a radar gun during each sprint and the load-velocity relationship established for each participant. A subset of 15 participants was used to examine the reliability of sled pulling on three separate occasions. For all individual participants, the load-velocity relationship was highly linear (r > 0.95). The slope of the load-velocity relationship was found to be reliable (coefficient of variation (CV) = 3.1%), with the loads that caused a decrement in velocity of 10, 25, 50, and 75% also found to be reliable (CVs = <5%). However, there was a large between-participant variation (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) in the load that caused a given Vdec, with loads of 14-21% body mass (% BM) causing a Vdec of 10%, 36-53% BM causing a Vdec of 25%, 71-107% BM causing a Vdec of 50%, and 107-160% BM causing a Vdec of 75%. The Vdec method can be reliably used to prescribe sled-pulling loads in young athletes, but practitioners should be aware that the load required to cause a given Vdec is highly individualized.

Keywords: acceleration; horizontal strength training; reliability; resisted sled sprinting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An example of the athletes starting stance and setup for resisted sled pulling.
Figure 2
Figure 2
An example of the load–velocity relationship for one subject. The raw data (▲) shows the maximum velocity (Vmax) collected during resisted and un-resisted sprints. Using the linear relationship between load and velocity, the plotted Vdec (■) shows the calculated loads corresponding to a 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100% decrement in velocity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The linear mean load–velocity relationship for a group of n = 70 youth athletes with the loads that correspond to a decrement in velocity of 10, 25, 50, and 75 representing technical competency, speed–strength, power and strength–speed training zones.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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