For American football
For American football, the two are close. Lateral bound rates slightly higher: more injury protection, easier to learn and fit in.
Sled push carries over more directly to American football.
Both are good choices that build different things for American football, so a plan can use both.
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Lateral Bound. Side-to-side power and landing control for cuts and changes of direction.
Sled Push. Driving low against resistance, like firing off the line.
For soccer, lateral bound rates well ahead on our research criteria: easier to learn and fit in, more carry-over to soccer.
For American football, the two are close. Lateral bound rates slightly higher: more injury protection, easier to learn and fit in. Sled push carries over more directly to American football. Both are good choices that build different things for American football, so a plan can use both.
About the same: both are easy to learn.
Lateral bound needs no equipment, so you can do it anywhere. Sled push needs a sled, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Lateral bound: it rates Good for injury protection in our research rubric, against Fair for sled push.