Sled Pull · Global Lean (Step-Back)

Why this matters

The step-back technique wants gravity, not muscle, to be the engine. The athlete leans away from the sled and walks backward, letting bodyweight fall against the rope while the arms stay locked. Get the lean right and the pull costs almost nothing; get it wrong and the lats and biceps do the work — and they fatigue long before the sled crosses the line.

The lean is a whole-body angle — a single line from ankle to shoulder — not a hip hinge. 25°–40° back is the sustainable window where bodyweight carries the load.

What good looks like

From the side, a straight line runs from the ankle up through the hip to the shoulder, tipped 25–40° back off vertical. The arms hang as rigid cables; the athlete is falling away from the sled and catching that fall with their feet.

Reading the result

• Insufficient (<25°): the pull is muscle-dominated and will fatigue before 50 m. Cue "fall away from the sled"; practise on lighter load.
• Moderate (≈25°): acceptable in the early metres, but it should deepen mid-pull.
• On target (25°–40°): bodyweight is the engine — the efficient pull.
• Excessive (>40°): so far back that balance and foot placement get precarious.

Coaching cues

• "Fall away from the sled" — the single most useful cue for the whole technique.
• "Arms are cables" — reminds the athlete the lean does the work, not the pull.

How to mark

1. Use a lateral-view clip. Pause mid-pull with both feet on the ground — avoid the single-leg moments during the step itself.
2. First point: lateral malleolus (ankle). Second point: acromion (shoulder).
3. The tool reports the line's angle from vertical.

Common mistakes: lining up to the heel instead of the malleolus; picking a bent-knee frame — the lean is a whole-body angle, not a hip hinge.

Related measurements

• Knee Anchor (Step-Back) — the stance that supports the lean.
• Elbow Extension (Step-Back) — the locked arms the lean depends on.