Push and pull sleds have moved from athletics tracks into home and garage gyms, where they are sold as one-piece conditioning and speed equipment. Whether a loaded sled makes sprinting faster than sprinting unloaded, and how heavy it needs to be, are questions for controlled trials rather than product listings. This article summarises the abstracts of three systematic reviews with meta-analysis, published in 2025 and 2026, and states what they can and cannot support. Most participants were male athletes, so the results should be read with that in mind. It is general information about training and equipment, not medical advice.
Review one: 49 studies and the question of load
Xu and colleagues, in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports (2025), included 49 studies of resisted sprint training (RST) with 1,281 participants, of whom 1,153 were male and 160 female, with 64 unclear. Studies used horizontal resistance such as sleds and were included when RST was the main difference between training groups. Pooled results showed RST was more effective than unresisted sprint training (UST) at improving sprint performance (effect size -0.30, rated moderate certainty).
The details on load mattered. Moderate loads, defined as 20% to 50% of body mass or a 10% to 30% velocity decrement, and very heavy loads were more effective than UST, whereas light loads and heavy loads (over 50% to 80% of body mass) were not. The benefit was linked to the early acceleration phase, especially the first 0 to 5 metres. The authors reported that effects were more pronounced in trained and highly trained individuals, with negligible improvements in recreationally active participants, and concluded that light RST or unresisted sprinting is probably sufficient for recreational groups. They also described an inverted U-shaped relationship between total sprint distance and training effect.
Review two: 16 studies in athletes
Li and colleagues, in Frontiers in Physiology (2025), pooled 16 studies with 404 athletes. Resisted sprint training improved linear sprint performance, vertical jump and change-of-direction ability, while unresisted training improved sprinting and change of direction but not vertical jump. Compared with unresisted training, resisted training gave a greater gain in change of direction, with no significant difference for linear sprint or vertical jump overall, and larger benefits for the first 0 to 10 metres and in youth athletes. The authors suggested prioritising resisted work when initial acceleration and direction change are the goal, and pairing it with vertically oriented strength or plyometric work for broader explosive power.
Review three: resisted movement and change of direction
Zhang and colleagues, in the Journal of Sport and Health Science (2026), examined 24 studies with 744 recreationally active and trained individuals. Their network meta-analysis covered vertically resisted plyometric and sprint training, such as wearing weighted vests, horizontally resisted sprinting such as sleds, and combinations. Resisted movement training improved change-of-direction speed compared with active controls (Hedges’ g -0.28, 95% confidence interval -0.40 to -0.16), and it outperformed unresisted versions of the same exercises. Vertically resisted plyometric training ranked highest, and the turning angle of the test did not appear to matter. The size of the average effect is small.
What the reviews agree on
- The clearest gain is early acceleration. Two of the three reviews tie the benefit to the first few metres.
- Load matters, but not simply more. Light and heavy loads did not beat unresisted sprinting in the first review, while moderate and very heavy loads did.
- Training status changes the answer. The largest review reported little benefit for recreational participants.
What the evidence cannot show
The included studies are mostly of male athletes in team sports and athletics, so the findings do not automatically apply to someone using a sled for general conditioning in a garage. None of the abstracts compared surfaces, harness types, brands or models, so no sled can be recommended over another from this evidence. The reviews measured sprint times, jumps and direction change, not fat loss, general fitness or muscle growth. A recreational user may find the exercise valuable for conditioning, but the reviews do not test that use.
What this means when buying a sled
The research is about resistance loads and sprint outcomes, so the buying questions are practical ones. A sled needs a suitable surface and a straight run of space, and the load range on offer should cover the light-to-moderate loads discussed above. The guide to weighted vests and wearable resistance covers the vertical alternative, while the article on small-space home gyms helps judge whether a bulky item earns its floor area.
Frequently asked questions
Does sled training make you faster? The 49-study review found resisted sprint training more effective than unresisted sprinting for sprint performance, mainly in early acceleration.
How heavy should a sled be? In that review, moderate loads of 20% to 50% of body mass and very heavy loads outperformed unresisted training, while light and heavy loads did not.
Does it help recreational lifters? The same review found negligible improvement in recreationally active participants and suggested light resistance or unresisted sprinting is probably enough.
Does it help with changing direction? Two reviews reported improved change-of-direction performance, with small to moderate effects.
The bottom line
Three meta-analyses agree that resisted sprint work with sleds can improve early acceleration and change of direction beyond unresisted sprinting, but the largest review found the benefit concentrated in trained athletes and negligible in recreational participants. Load matters, and more is not always better. For a home gym, a sled is a specialist speed tool whose value depends on the user’s goal, and the evidence does not support paying for one as a general fitness upgrade.
Sources
- Xu K et al., “Effects of Resisted-Sprint Training on Sprint Performance and Mechanics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Focusing on Load Magnitude,” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 2025
- Li C, Chen L, Zhang Q, “Effects of resisted sprint training on sprint, jump, and change-of-direction performance in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” Frontiers in Physiology, 2025
- Zhang M et al., “Effects of resisted movement training on change-of-direction speed in recreationally active and trained individuals: a systematic review with network meta-analysis and meta-regression,” Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2026