How much lateral sled drag should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 4 to 6 trips of 15 to 20 yards each way, light enough that you can stay low and controlled the whole distance. Add weight to the sled before adding more trips, since more distance with poor position just grooves the shuffle.

What can I do instead of a sled for the lateral sled drag?

Loop a heavy resistance band around a rack or pole at hip height and shuffle laterally against it, or do banded lateral walks with a mini-band above the knees. Both load the same frontal-plane hip pattern without a sled.

What does the lateral sled drag train and when is it not worth doing?

It builds hip abduction strength and control under continuous tension, which carries over to lateral speed and change of direction for athletes and to hip stability for anyone prone to knee cave. It is not worth the setup for someone training at home with no sled, band anchor, or turf to drag on, since the substitutes cover the same pattern more easily.

Intermediate

Lateral Sled Drag

Dragging a sled sideways is one of the few ways to load the frontal plane with heavy, joint-friendly tension and no eccentric to recover from. On each step the trailing leg's abductors push you away from the sled while the lead leg's adductors pull you toward the planted foot, so both the outer glute and the inner thigh get worked hard. Athletes love it for building lateral power and groin durability, and the continuous drag makes it a great conditioning finisher too.

Equipment: Sled
Body part: Glutes, Thighs
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Gluteus Medius, Adductor Longus, Adductor Magnus
Browse by movement: Hip Abduction, Hip Adduction

How to do it

1
Attach a strap or belt to a loaded sled and hold the handles or clip it around your hips.
2
Turn side-on to the sled and set an athletic half-squat stance.
3
Keep your chest up, core braced, and knees driven out.
4
Step the lead foot out to the side, then drag the trailing foot in behind it.
5
Keep steady tension on the sled and stay low the entire length.
6
Work down and back, then repeat leading with the other side.

Tips

Stay in a low athletic stance rather than standing tall between steps.
Keep your torso square to the front; do not let your hips twist toward the sled.
Take controlled steps and keep the sled moving smoothly rather than jerking it.

Variations

Common mistakes

The steps shrink to a shuffle that never really separates the feet, so the hip abductor barely has to work through any real range.
Facing the sled instead of staying side-on turns the frontal-plane drag into a forward walk, and the outer hip loses most of its job.
The lead leg takes one long stride while the trailing leg barely moves, so the stance just widens, the trailing hip never pushes you across, and the lead leg's adductors never pull the feet back together.
Rushing the tempo to cover the distance faster shortens the time each hip spends under tension, trading the point of the drill for a faster clock.

Frequently asked

How much lateral sled drag should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 4 to 6 trips of 15 to 20 yards each way, light enough that you can stay low and controlled the whole distance. Add weight to the sled before adding more trips, since more distance with poor position just grooves the shuffle.
What can I do instead of a sled for the lateral sled drag?: Loop a heavy resistance band around a rack or pole at hip height and shuffle laterally against it, or do banded lateral walks with a mini-band above the knees. Both load the same frontal-plane hip pattern without a sled.
What does the lateral sled drag train and when is it not worth doing?: It builds hip abduction strength and control under continuous tension, which carries over to lateral speed and change of direction for athletes and to hip stability for anyone prone to knee cave. It is not worth the setup for someone training at home with no sled, band anchor, or turf to drag on, since the substitutes cover the same pattern more easily.

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