Review - Sandbag Training

If you've never seen or heard of sandbag training before, you're about to get a crash course...I'll give you a hint...it's going to challenge your body in ways you've never experienced before! (Unless you've DONE sandbag training before...then you already know what I'm talking about and how much fun this training is!).

So first, I'll give you a brief rundown of what sandbag training is and why it's so good for you, then set about reviewing the specific type of sandbags we now carry in our store (these top-of-the-line bags are designed by Coach Josh Henkin).

We're also going to include some demo videos contributed by Nick Nilsson who, of course, came up some pretty cool stuff to do with it that's not necessarily "in the manual".

Extremely functional

Sandbag training is so useful because of the type of material you're working with. It's so much different than barbells and dumbells (and even kettlebells) because of how "shifty" sand is. It's constantly moving around in the bag as you're performing exercises with the bag.

This shiftiness is what makes sandbag training so functional. If you've never felt your stabilizer muscles working, you WILL feel them after a session of sandbag training.

Increased fat/calorie burning

The increased workload on your stabilizers and muscular and nervous system in general not only better prepares your body for the instability of actual sports (and life in general) but also increases caloric expenditure signifcantly (i.e. you can burn more fat training with a sandbag than you can on machines and, in some cases, even free weights).

Let me put it this way...grab a 50 lb dumbell by the handle and walk 100 yards with it. If you have decent strength, it's not going to be that hard. Now grab a 50 lb sandbag any way you can and carry THAT 100 yard. WHOLE different ballgame.

Bottom line, you'll automatically burn more fat training with these things.

Fun!

Sandbag training is also extremely FUN. You have to fully engage your brain in the training to perform the exercises effectively. If you're not paying attention, the bag will let you know. There is constant feedback because of how the sand reacts to your movements.

And heck, if you're bored with regular barbell and dumbell training (and ESPECIALLY if you use a lot of machines), you're going to love this stuff. This really is functional training at it's best (forget standing on one leg on a Bosu ball and having somebody throw a beanbag to you...stand on one leg on a Bosu ball and have somebody throw a 50 lb sandbag to you!)

Tremendous training variety

And I'm not talking about doing a bunch of useless exercises just because they're different. The sheer number of unique (and USEFUL) exercises you can do with the sandbag is staggering.

You can do pretty much all the basics, like squats, presses, rows, curls, etc., with a sandbag but the attributes of the bag mean you can use for a whole lot MORE (you'll see what I mean in the videos below).

Heavy Duty Construction

These bags are constructed of extremely tough canvas material. Short of stabbing this thing with a knife, you're not going to rip it. This is very useful when dealing with something as potentially messy as sand.

This tough construction means you can use it without fear of spilling 50 lbs of sand down your back when you're slinging it around. It also means you can bring your bag to a commerical gym and use it without having to hear "clean up on aisle 12" over the loudspeakers.

The bag is sealed up with a heavy-duty zipper as well as a row of snaps and features double-reinforced stitching...this thing will take all the pounding you can give it...even throwing it to the ground from overhead!

Filler bags

You not get a tough outer shell (where all the straps are)...you're also getting inner filler bags (where you actually put the sand). This double-layer system keeps the sand IN while at the same time allowing much greater versatility in weight changes.

The small filler bags hold up to about 20 lbs of sand. The larger ones, up to about 50 lbs of sand. You easily switch weights by unzipping the main bag and adding or removing filler bags.

This means one bag can work for multiple exercises and strength levels.

Straps...lots and lots of straps...

After all, what good is a big bag of sand without being to grab onto it to sling it around?

Josh has strategically placed a number of straps on the bag, designed to allow you to perform a tremendous variety of exercises from rows to cleans to throws.

The straps are rock solid - in our testing of the bags, even fully loaded these straps held up without any hitches. And that's even with pulling these bags off the floor and straight overhead!

First, grab the handles then clean the bag to your shoulders. The bag will be "racked" across your upper arms in the start position with your hands still on the handles.

Squat down then "pop" up with the bag in a push-press type of movement. The bag clears your head then you catch it on your upper back. Squat down again then "pop" the bag up and back over your head and catch it on the front again.

The first few times you do this exercise, use a stop-and-go movement, just to make sure you've got the mechanics down. The version you see below is a continuous pop, going straight from front to back to front, etc. without any stopping. This takes practice but works INCREDIBLY well for building explosive power (and cardio capacity).

Clean the bag up to a cradle position. In this position, you've just got the bag cradled in your arms, without holding on to any straps.

Now comes the fun part...

Squat down a bit then heave the bag up in the air. But instead of throwing it straight up, instead heave it more with your right arm so the bag does a 180 degree turn in the air.

Catch the bag in your arms again. Now repeat in the OTHER direction, flipping the bag back over in the air.

Each time you throw it and catch it in this rotational manner, you're working your core EXTREMELY hard, especially the obliques. This rotational type of movement is very beneficial for athletic development and core strength.

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