Boost Your Leg Power With The Nike SPARQ Parachute Trainer

Want to boost your leg power? Nike has just the ticket:

It’s called the Nike SPARQ Parachute, and it’s one that you wear while running to create extra drag - kind of like the brake parachute on a drag race car. I wouldn’t recommend using it for jumping off buildings, but for building leg power, I’d seriously consider one of these.

I used one in high school football practice and I’m sure many track teams, football teams, and plenty of other teams use them for training. The training is probably best for sports that require sprinting, but endurance cyclists and marathoners could benefit from some sprint training, too.

The thing that really excites me is the price - $50. Normally these are really expensive and not the most economical purchase for a recreational athlete, but this one is within reach.

According to Nike, this chute will create a maximum drag of 25 lb of force, and the “floating metal tri-ring reducing belt” will keep it centered behind you during use. (I think that’s the feature I left out back when I tried to build one of these on my own!)

It’s also supposed to be heavy duty and durable enough for team training.

It might not work that well for skinny climbers though - the waist belt fits waists 32-56″ and is designed for athletes 170-210 lb. But considering cyclists have oversize quads compared to the rest of our bodies, you can probably handle it.

If I get my hands on one I’ll definitely review it here in the future.

Check out Nike if you want to buy one, or browse all the products in the SPARQ training line.