The One Piece of Gym Equipment with No Downside

We’ve discussed the greatest strength tool in the world at length. There’s no debate. The incremental loading of the barbell makes it the obvious choice. But, it’s far from the only tool we use around here. 

What comes to mind is the often quoted maxim:

“There are no solutions; only tradeoffs.” 

With certain advantages come other disadvantages. While you won’t catch me talking trash about the barbell, it would be silly to say there are zero trade offs to using a loaded barbell. Injury potential (form user error) aside, I’m going to make an insane claim:

The sled has no down sides. 

Excuse me as I search for a downside to sled work. It’s almost impossible to find one. There is incredible loading potential, but it’s not mandatory. Light sled work is wonderful, too. If I reach for a downside, I can only say the potential opportunity cost of not doing something else instead. Other than that, the sled is virtually impossible to hurt yourself with and has unlimited application and loading potential. 

If you can, add sled work to your life and your life will only improve. Drag on!