Programming Prowler?

[Ice 9 Cobra]

All the articles I've read about Prowlers seem to advocate doing set distances and set weights, with most of them also not being timed. I've seen DeFranco's prowler challenges which seem to be a beat your best time, but he advocates doing them as challenges and not as standard training.

How is the best way to program Prowler pushes? Can you do progressive loading? Is it best to do progressive loading with distance or weight?

Thanks

 

[Tosa]

What is it you hope to get out of pushing the prowler? If it's just something general, like "Have good conditioning", or "Get in shape for X", you need to think about what that means in more specific terms. Then it'd be possible to figure out more specifically how you should use the prowler.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

I am having issues with being able to deadlift/squat healthily due to a diagnosed spinal fusing issue. I'm working on flexibility and hoping that I can eventually work around it (the main issue its created is that my posterior chain is extremely inflexible).

So until I get that resolved, I was hoping to switch to prowler pushes for my leg strengthening exercises. I also have a sled I can pull if I need more posterior work.

 

[Tosa]

Well, here's some brainstorming then:

In that case starting with something like alternating working up to a few, heavier, shorter trips, with longer, lighter, more numerous trips. Like 15m x 2-4, with several trips building up to that, for the heavier day, and 30m x 5-8 for the lighter day. If you're doing if for strength, you'd want to keep the rest periods long, because even if you feel fine at first, the fatigue will catch-up with you fast - it's strength work, so resting several minutes would be fine.

You can vary between the sled and the prowler for variety. You could also vary between heavy walks, and heavy runs.

You could then supplement this with whatever other lower body work you might be able to do - lunges, GHRs, back extensions, step-ups. Also, pushing the prowler from the low handles - they aren't good for heavy work, because you can't get at much traction when your body is down that low, but the ROM is greater, so it could be worthwhile to include.

Also, if you aren't squatting or deadlifting, do what you can to train the abs and lower back hard. I don't know what you can and can't do, but whatever you can do, do it, and take it seriously.

Hope that gives you ideas of what to do, and best of luck in eventually squatting and deadlifting.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

Cool, thanks for the response man. I am hoping this will only be a temporary fix until I can rehab.

So distance is being treated like the reps, and sets are remaining basically the same as a strength workout? Should I measure time to decide when to add more weight, or should it just be based on whether or not I complete the total distance? I was thinking of doing a three day split with a heavy and a light alternating.

Workout A
Prowler 3x15m
Add five pounds (or 2.5?) if completed

Workout B
Prowler 2x50m for time

Something like that?

I've got a s&C coach doing lower body and ab work with me twice a week, but I can't afford to have him enough sessions to work on non rehab stuff