Heaving a sandbag up off
the floor with one arm and catching it is basically
this exercise. It's not fancy but it's a GREAT way to
build power through your whole body.
To do this one, obviously,
you'll need a sandbag...
I have a 70 lb (medium)
bag that I'm using for this exercise - got mine directly
from the same source we carry them from on the Staley
Store here (Coach Josh Henkin). These bags are awesome
and highly recommended!
Click
here to read a full review of sandbag training...
(opens in a new window)
Anyway, this exercise
uses the big single strap.
Stand in front of the
bag and grab that strap with one hand.
Now squat down a bit,
bend your arm a bit and lock it into position
Now ACCELERATE the bag
off the floor using leg and back power. This is NOT
an arm exercise. Your arm is what connects your body
to the bag - that's it. This exercise is about generating
power through your lower body and bringing the bag along
for the ride.
Heave the thing up as
high as you can get it, using additional power from
your arm as you get it up near the top (this is just
the icing on the cake to try and squeeze as much height
out of the clean as possible).
Then quickly get both
arms underneath the bag and catch it.
Set it down on the floor
then grab the strap with the other hand. Same form on
the other side now. Squat down.
Heave the bag up using
lower body power.
Use arm power near the
top.
Get your arms under and
catch it.
The cool thing is, the
worst thing that can happen if you miss the catch and
drop the bag is nothing at all.
This is an excellent power-building
exercise. It's also hits the core very differently because
you're running all the power through just one side at
a time.
