Sled-Pull Load–Velocity Profiling and Implications for Sprint Training Prescription in Young Male Athletes
by
Micheál J. Cahill 1,2,*
,
Jon L. Oliver 2,3,
John B. Cronin 2,
Kenneth P. Clark 4,
Matt R. Cross 2,5 and
Rhodri S. Lloyd 2,3,6
Micheál J. Cahill 1,2,*,
Jon L. Oliver 2,3,
John B. Cronin 2,
Kenneth P. Clark 4,
Matt R. Cross 2,5 and
Rhodri S. Lloyd 2,3,6
1
Athlete Training and Health, Plano, TX 75024, USA
2
Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology, 0632 Auckland, New Zealand
3
Cardiff School of Sport, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales CF23 6XD, UK
4
Department of Kinesiology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383, USA
5
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, University Savoie Mont Blanc, 73000 Chambéry, France
6
Center for Sport Science and Human Performance, Waikato Institute of Technology, 3200 Hamilton, New Zealand
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sports 2019, 7(5), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports7050119
Received: 29 April 2019 / Revised: 14 May 2019 / Accepted: 17 May 2019 / Published: 20 May 2019
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.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Cahill, M.J.; Oliver, J.L.; Cronin, J.B.; Clark, K.P.; Cross, M.R.; Lloyd, R.S. Sled-Pull Load–Velocity Profiling and Implications for Sprint Training Prescription in Young Male Athletes. Sports 2019, 7, 119.
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