Whether you are jumping out of an airplane or drag racing, a chute is designed to slow you down; but in the case of the Speed Chute, it is designed to actually make you go faster. The Speed Chute, from MuscleDriver USA, is a chute that attaches to your waist and is to be used while running sprints. The concept behind the Speed Chute is that you are building strength through resistance – wind as opposed to weight resistance. Strap the waist band on, face the wind and sprint. It is a pretty simple concept, so we had to give it a try.
The Speed Chute that we were testing was owned by a friend, Sean Fekete. He purchased the chute to aid his training and break-up the routine of cycling and weight lifting. MuscleDriver USA sells three different sizes – 40-inches, 48-inches and 56-inches. Sean had selected the middle, 48-inch model as there is no accurate way to determine the correct size. MuscleDriver does not even have a way to really recommend the correct size as stated on their website, “Sizing recommendations: varies based on athlete size and training level.”
Sean explained that there were certain criteria that needed to be met before using the Speed Chute: a predetermined distance to sprint; a fairly smooth, grassy surface so that the chute did not catch or tear on foreign objects; and a minimal amount of headwind to aid in inflating the chute. A local soccer field was the perfect course.
The SpeedChute uses a wide, 2-inch Velcro belt to attach to your waist. The Velcro is used so that the chute can actually be detached as you are running to allow you to accelerate without the resistance towards the end of your sprint. Once at the soccer field we determined which way the wind was blowing, I attached the chute to my waist, turned towards the wind to inflate the chute and started my sprint.
Though the chute does not appear to be that large, the resistance is evident. It varied, but over the length of a soccer field, my sprint times were slowed one average 3-5 seconds. In mid-sprint, the large waist strap made releasing the chute very easy. Once the chute was released, the lack of resistance allowed the running pace to be increased towards the end of the sprinting distance. Every once in a while the end of the Velcro strap would catch on the belt loop so the chute did not detach on those sprints. When it did release and the chute was picked up off of the ground after the sprint, the Velcro hook on the waist band sometimes became entangled in the red mesh on the chute – the biggest complaint while using this product.
The chute has a tendency to stay low to the ground even while inflated. This is why a manicured, grass field is the best place to use this training aid. I could not even image trying to run on a path or trail with this chute – not only would you catch objects, but you would probably hook a squirrel or two.
The Speed Chute from MuscleDriver USA is an effective resistance aid for a training regiment that includes running. It does require a fairly smooth course and wind to use, and other than the Velcro hook catching the chute mesh, it performs as advertised. For $30 or less, depending on the size, the Speed Chute offers a compact training aid to add to your routine. This is one chute that will certainly not slow you down!
Pros:
– Effective tool in adding resistance to your workout
– Fairly inexpensive at $26-$30
– Compact and easy to transport
Cons:
– Velcro strap catches on chute mesh
– Requires a smooth course free of foreign objects
– Difficult to determine correct size