One thing you can basically always expect to find on Brie Larson’s Instagram profile is workout inspiration. The Captain Marvel star always seems to challenge herself with new types of exercises. She’s taken up rowing, turned her core moves upside down, and done weighted push-ups, to name a few recent examples highlighted on her social media. Most recently, she’s added an intense sled push to her routine. (
Larson posted a series of images of her pushing a four-wheel Torque Fitness sled on Instagram last week. The massive piece of equipment appears to be stacked with weights, and the look on Larson’s face in the photos tells you everything you need to know about how much of a challenge it was for her to push the sled forward. In a zip-up hoodie, leggings, and a white baseball cap, the actress grits her teeth as she leans forward into the handles of the sled.
"Hey, Siri – play 'Push it' by Salt-N-Pepa," she wrote in the caption.
Curious why Larson would take on this type of exercise? “Implementing a weighted sled push into a training program is a safe and effective way to increase both performance and overall conditioning,” says Marty Miller, DHSc, NASM regional master instructor and vice president of education and training at Technogym North America. The action of pushing a sled forward requires producing a lot of force quickly, and it targets the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves he explains. “It develops unilateral lower body strength and power, enhances hip and ankle mobility, sprint mechanics, maximum running speed, core activation and metabolic conditioning,” adds Miller.
Larson isn’t the only celebrity adding sled workouts to their fitness regimen. Kate Hudson recently shared a clip on Instagram of her pushing a sled with trainer Brian Nguyen. Sled pushes and pulls “work everything,” Nguyen previously told Shape. “It’s also just great for separating the legs and hips — your legs have to independently work,” he added. Plus, the exercises also require upper body strength, he said. (FYI: Here’s how to do a backwards sled pull.)
Kate Upton has also gotten into weighted sled exercises while working with her trainer Ben Bruno. “When I started training with him, he would say, ‘Let’s put 500 pounds on the sled,’ and I would immediately say, ‘I can’t do that,'” Upton previously told Shape. “So he started standing on the sled so I couldn’t see how much weight was on there,” she added. “Now my attitude has changed completely, and I’m always pushing myself to do more.”
If you've been looking for a way to spice up your strength training routine and have access to a gym with a sled, let these celebrities inspire you to give the full-body exercise a try. Just make sure to ask a trainer for help if you're new to the move.
