Sled Push
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds drills like this into your personalized off-ice program, week by week. Your first week is free.
How to Do It
Load the sled to a weight you can push for 20-30m with effort. Grip the sled handles low. Lean forward aggressively — body at 45° angle. Drive with alternating leg pushes — full extension at the hip and knee each stride. Stay low — the moment you stand up, force goes up instead of forward. Arms drive along the sled rails — keep pushing powerfully through the full distance. Walk back to start. Full 2-3 minute recovery before the next rep.
Why It Works
The sled push is the safest and most mechanically pure acceleration exercise available — it forces a low, forward-lean drive position with maximum leg extension that directly translates to skating acceleration mechanics. Unlike sprinting, there is no eccentric landing phase, making it extremely low injury risk while allowing maximum force output. NHL strength coaches use heavy sled pushes as their primary acceleration development tool in pre-season.
Hockey Transfer
Overloads hip extension — builds the same force production as a powerful skating stride. Twenty meters out, walk back. If you finish a set fresh, you went too light. Sled push should burn the quads.
Coaching Cues
- "Forward lean"
- "Drive through full extension"
- "Arms push sled low"
Common Mistakes
Standing upright — the horizontal force component is what transfers to skating. Stay low. Load too heavy — if you can't maintain drive mechanics, reduce the weight. Short steps — full hip extension on every push. No shuffling. Short rest — sled pushes are power work. Full recovery between reps.
Progression / Regression
Sprint off the sled immediately after a push — contrast effect for maximum acceleration CNS stimulus.
Empty sled or very light load — master the mechanics before adding weight.
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Alactic/ATP-PC
Put it to work
on the ice.
The Elite Hockey Drills app builds exercises like this into a personalized off-ice program — created by a sport scientist and former national-team coach. Your first week is free.
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