Meet the newest member of our training arsenal for athletes in the Elite Sports Clubs AMP program—TANK, by Torque Fitness. The Tank is a new sled to aid in the training of the athletes, not only in their strength but also speed and explosiveness. Besides having wheels, this piece is unique from other sleds in its variable resistance as well.
TANK vs Standard Sleds:
Most other sleds you put the weight on the sled and it remains constant, although it may not feel like it sometimes. The weight on the Tank stays the same, but there is also accommodating resistance via magnets. What is accommodating resistance you ask? Easily stated, the harder you work the heavier the Tank seems to get. Tank has 4 levels: neutral, 1, 2, and 3. At each level the accommodating resistance will get harder based on how hard you move the sled.
The beauty of using sleds for training is it can help benefit any athlete. Due to the nature of the motion, an athlete can strengthen the legs quite effectively without the soreness that usually accompanies lots of squats, lunges, or other lower body exercises. Plus, with the different levels of accommodating resistance of the Tank you can focus on specific components of the athlete’s speed.
TANK Levels:
- By using level 1 we can emphasize speed endurance as the accommodating resistance does not grab quite as hard and the athlete can cover a lot of ground.
- With level 2 we start to work on an athlete’s acceleration as the resistance grabs a little quicker and a little heavier, distances covered here start to get a bit shorter.
- Level 3, is the toughest and really helps give an athlete the explosive power needed in almost all sports in some fashion. The second you begin pushing the accommodating resistance kicks in and gets real heavy so with these we cover very short distances, typically less than 10 feet.
TANK & Planes of Motion:
Another awesome benefit to using the Tank in training is that we can train the athlete through all planes of motion which is needed in every sport. Not only can we train an athlete to move straight ahead, but we can also train them to move backwards or back pedal. While backpedaling is not a primary motion in sports, it is important to help balance out the muscles of the lower body and helps teach the athlete about their center of gravity. Lateral movement can also be trained with a multitude of different moves with the Tank. Here again we can help teach the athlete proper body position as well as load up the Tank and work on an explosive first step.
TANK Exercises:
Here are few of the many exercises that can be done with the Tank. This piece is so versatile that we’re excited to keep discovering new ways of incorporating it into our training programs.
Interested in learning more about the TANK or the AMP program. Please feel free to contact Jason Liegl or Luke Lewitzke at Elite Sports Club – Mequon.
Written by Jason Liegl, Certified Personal Trainer & AMP Program Director at Elite Sports Club – Mequon.
Jason re-joined Elite Sports Club-Mequon in 2008. He holds a BS in Fitness Management from UW-Parkside. Jason is a certified personal trainer through ACE. He is also certified by Titleist Performance Institute as a level 1 Golf Fitness Instructor, Functional Movement Specialist level 1, Functional Movement Systems level 1, Kettlebell Athletics level 1, and Precision Nutrition level 1 nutrition coach. Jason has experience in training athletes from almost every sport. His belief is that with a solid foundation and hard work, any athlete can get better!
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