Every day more and more people are turning away from the boring old tradional gym weights and machines, and turning to the more primitive methods of training for massive strength gains. This can include sandbag training, tire flipping, carrying and hoisting heavy objects, and pulling with ropes. In my opinion, the most versatile training tool is the sandbag.

The benefits of sandbag training are quickly being realized by combat athletes, sports teams, fire departments, the military as well as Cross Fitters and Seal Fitters. With sandbag training the lift is never truly “linear.” For example, in a clean and press, lifting a barbell is easier with the weight balanced and centered. This is not so with an ever shifting sandbag. It requires the load to truly be muscled up, activating the large muscles as well as the small stabilizing muscles. The sand is also spread out over a wider surface area. To illustrate this point, the next time you visit a hardware store, grab a 50 lb bag of sand and hoist it over your head. It feels almost double to that of a loaded 50 lb barbell.

The versatility of the sandbag is also what makes it such a great training tool. They take up virtually no space, and can be stowed in the corner of a room or the trunk of your car. No more missing workouts on the road, or when you are pressed for time. A 15 minute circuit will absolutely blast your muscles unlike a workout with weights at the gym. One of my favorite circuits with a sandbag looks like this:

-5 minute jump rope warm up

5 rounds

– 10 SANDBAG BURPEE PRESSES (Drop down with the sandbag in your hands, do a push up, clean and press the sandbag)

-10 EACH SIDE SHOULDERING (hold sandbag on each side of head, and lift and bring down to other shoulder)

-10 SANDBAG SQUATS (hold sandbag behind your head on shoulders, and squat down as low as you can and come back up- Be sure to manitain good form)

-10 SANDBAG PICKUPS (lay sandbag vertically in front of you, bend down and pick up the sandbag, hoist it to your shoulder, and put it back down. Do it again on the other side.

-Sandbag Ruck (2-5 minutes, pick up your sandbag, put it on your shoulder, and walk or jog with it. Trust me, this is much harder than it sounds!)

With sandbag training, much can be accomplished with almost no equipment and a very small amount of time. A virtually indestructible 1000 denier cordura sandbag will give you many years of killer training and faithful service. Please feel free to email me for a free sandbag exercise pdf file at- [email protected]

Happy training!