Prowling the frozen tundra of Watertown!

My Prowler in Watertown. (Straps from Home Depot!)

I finally got my Prowler weight sled in the mail! I had been considering it for months, and a change in my training venue (i.e. the old gym closed) spurred me on to just go ahead and do it. And I am so glad that I did. For those of you who don’t know, the Prowler is a metal sled that allows you to stack weight plates on it. You can then push or pull it across the ground. It takes strength and cardiovascular endurance. It’s a heck of a full body workout! This morning I took her out for a ride in a public park right here in Watertown.

It was about 25 degrees, and the field was covered in semi-solid snow. This made dragging the sled quite the challenge: sometimes I’d hit slick ice and it would be easy. Then I’d hit slush and the sled would sink a few inches and I’d get buried. Other times I’d step forward and suddenly find myself a foot deep. But I found that the air, the sunlight, and the lack of  “gym atmosphere” kept me energized, and I’ve felt great all day since.

I did a series of pulls and pushes, and then proceeded to pull the sled the entire length of the field (about 100 yards or more) and then drag it all the way back. Going away from my water bottle and the car, I was leaning back; on the way back towards the car, I was leaning forwards, holding the straps in front of me. The second time back, I was getting some serious frozen lungs. But it’s amazing how much incentive there is to finish when (a) the only water is at the finish line and (b) I’m the only one out there, so nobody else is going to bring it back to the car for me!

I had 150 lbs. on there today. I can definitely do a lot more for the short pulls and the long drags. For pressing and forward dragging it was a challenging starting number.

I will definitely be taking some clients out there soon.