4 Better Ab Moves

I don't want to do it, I don't want to talk about how doing crunches for the abs is outdated and ineffective. That type of thinking is almost a "duh" statement nowadays. However, there seems to be so many core exercises that it is hard to identify those that really make a difference and those that are just cool circus tricks.

That is why I worked with physical therapist, Jessica Bento, to create functional core drill with our Ultimate Sandbag that help reinforce all the functions of the core structure:

"Activates the core muscles, represents functional movement patterns and works through all planes of movement."

So, what difference does the Ultimate Sandbag make in these drills? The unstable nature of the Ultimate Sandbag reinforces more precise movement patterns which ultimately leads to more efficient movement. Better performance, reduced pain, and greater cosmetic benefits makes the movements outlined in our video below demonstrates some powerful progressions of some classic drills.

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Let's Make a Big Weekend Bigger

Well, this weekend is the big day. Saturday I am getting married and you can only imagine all the craziness that has been going on. Running an internet and training business is usually enough to make me crazy, but add a wedding an you have insanity!!!

It is great though spending the day with close family and friends. Two people that will be missing this weekend are my mother and stepmother. Many of you already know that I have written about their passing from cancer and our efforts to give back with the Arizona Singleton Mom's Cancer program. This week we will be writing our first donation to this program thanks to YOUR help! In honor of this weekend and their memory I wanted to throw out a special that won't ever be done again. I want this first donation to make a difference so I hope you will help me!

This week we are going to offer a few options on our special pink power packages.

Option 1: 2-Pink Power Packages, JUST $149.99: Click Here

Option 2: Pink Power Package with High Octane DVD, JUST $109.99: Click Here

Option 3: Pink Power Package, JUST $82.99: Click Here

Option 4: Pink Ultimate Sandbag Shell, JUST $54.99: Click Here

Modern Fat Loss Training

Today I wanted to provide another installment of our Inferno Fat Loss program. Holidays are here and so is intense training. You will notice we are integrating the TRX and kettlebells with our Ultimate Sandbag. These are perfect compliments to the Ultimate Sandbag and make training fun and challenging. Infinite variations are possible when you use these three simple tools.

Today we have the following:

Renegade Rows with One Leg Suspended: Adding one leg suspended causes the trunk muscles have to brace harder and uses the ab muscles even more. A nice progression on the classic renegade row, plus shows which side can stabilize. The use of the Ultimate Sandbag makes it more challenging to row without simply increasing the weight of the sandbags!

Alternating Kettlebell Snatch, Squat, Swing: A great hybrid with the kettlebell that gets you flowing fast and hits just about every muscle in the body! The alternating makes it a little harder to completely groove the lift so you have to work just that much harder!

TRX One Leg Burpees: Ok, a burpee is bad enough, however, being suspended and in sand makes it that much worse! If you don't have the sand available one leg being suspended is good enough. This adds more flexibility training, lateral instability, and exposes any weaknesses to your cardio, mobility, or lower body strength.

TRX V-Flye and Biceps Curls: Hey, isolating muscles isn't a bad thing, it is only bad if it makes the bulk of your training program. Adding in some isolation movements can enhance the body's stablizers and "fill in the holes". Many great lifters have used this technique to bring up weaknesses and prevent injuries. Heck, who doesn't like good arms;)

Sandbag Hand to Hand High Pulls: No, these aren't your classic high pulls, you will want to deliberately throw them at angles to greatly challenge the core, hips, and grip! The sandbags are hard to grab and ripping them up is practical for just about anyone who wants great strength. Changing up the angles makes it impossible to groove this lift!

Sandbag Ski Jumps: No joke on this one, especially in sand!! However, if you are just using the floor it is still a powerful drill. Jumping laterally often throws people for a loop, however, adding in a rotational pull of the sandbag makes it one of the best exercises for building lateral stability of the body. Not to mention, doesn't take long to smoke the legs.

Just as with all our Inferno programs, it isn't about just making you tired. It is about making your body strong, mobile, and athletic. Take our challenge of performing these programs yourself and email me at josh@sandbagexercises.com!

You Thought You Were Advanced

Alright, Halloween is over, but you know what that means! It means that the holidays are here along with all the temptations of poor food options, stressful family situations, and end of the year demands from work. All reasons that many people fall prey to gaining weight during this time of year.

That is why I wanted to start releasing our Inferno Fat Loss Program now!! The whole idea is to create 30 minute workouts that actually do some impressive changes. What is different about THIS fat loss program? For many, the exercises in these programs are brand new and hit the body in ways they never trained before. The mistake many fat loss programs make is the simply rely on "cardio" type of exercises which burn some calories but do little to improve strength, muscle, or reduce injuries. The Inferno programs implements exercises that do all of this.

Inferno also is the first time that the best training tools; The Ultimate Sandbag, TRX, and kettlebells have all been integrated into a systematic program that is designed for improved fitness in minimal time. Utilizing these tools gives us infinite exercises that we can perform and modify depending upon the various fitness level of the individual. All these exercises require all the muscles to be involved therefore, increasing the amount of calories burned and muscles strengthened.

These aren't circus exercises either! I know some of these might seem like "trick" exercises but let me explain...

Single leg clean and press: If you can progress to having a leg suspended this means we can focus on both stability of the hip and tap into the glutes and hamstrings more! The side to side movement the TRX allows for means the hips have to work harder to maintain balance. It also is a sign that the lower leg must work harder to stabilize the body. One of the biggest deficiencies is in the lower leg. Using the Ultimate Sandbag provides another unstable challenge. Because you can not groove this lift the body has to work harder to perform each rep. Lastly, the gripping challenge of a loosely filled sandbag means the hands and upper body are being challenged.

Single arm row to rotational press: Using the TRX we can make a bodyweight exercise incredibly intense for the elite or helpful exercise for those just starting a fitness program. Just by adjusting how close you stand to the TRX unit dictates the level of difficulty of the exercise. This one arm row variation is nothing like the dumbbell row. Here the TRX takes away a lot of the cheating that often happens on the dumbbell version. Adding in a rotational press of the Ultimate Sandbag gives us even more rotational abdominal training as well as intense arm training.

The Tactical Lunge: An amazing exercise to challenge both the legs and the lungs. The swinging and passing motion of the kettlebell changes the stability of the movement. The more the kettlebell moves the harder the exercise becomes. The tactical lunge should be fluid and smooth. Oh, btw, being in sand makes this drill a nightmare!

The Ultimate Sandbag Cyclone: There may be no other exercise the fills in the holes of the body's strength like the Cyclone. This movement takes in all of the body's core muscles, from the deep ones to the more superficial, no muscle is left unturned.

The Ultimate Sandbag Swing: The swing is known to be a great drill for the hips and low back, however, we can change the implement to add a new twist. Using a loosely filled sandbag makes this not only a great "cardio" challenge, but grip as well, yes more than a kettlebell!

These exercises give great synergy and promises not to disappoint. In only a few weeks our NEW Inferno DVD will be here for those that want to excel during the holidays.

That is No Sit-up!

As much as I give the term “core training” a hard time, it actually is important. It is not the concept that I have a hard time with, it is the crazy marketing and hype. Having a strong core means more than abs, so having a strong low back and glutes are just as important. How you train these areas is more important than debating concepts.

My colleague Cem Eren helped me take some video of incredible core exercises with our Ultimate Sandbag that accomplish all the goals of functional core training. See if you can keep up with this workout as it leaves no muscle unturned! Don't worry even if you aren't a fighter you can still turn your core into the piece of steel that fighters are known for!

This is the last two days of our HUGE Doubles Sale! Don’t miss out on saving big money on our great Ultimate Sandbags. Click Here!

The Interview You Can't Miss

Last night I got to spend an hour and a half talking training with Senior RKC, Geoff Neupert! We really laid out some of the most powerful training information, especially using kettlebells and sandbags. Just in case you missed the call last night you can hear it for FREE!!

Geoff Neupert with Josh Henkin on mixing Kettlebells and
Sandbags - quite possibly the *perfect*
combination - don't worry - a replay is available.

All you have to do is click below.

=> http://kettlebellinterrogations.com/josh/replay.html

Josh, an incredibly knowledgeable coach, gave
some great insights like -

- dispelling the myth of "roundbacked" lifting

- how to satisfy your need for variety and still
make excellent progress

- how to increase your hip mobility with sandbags
and improve your kettlebell results

- and of course, much more...

Catch it all here:

=> http://kettlebellinterrogations.com/josh/replay.html

Keep Training Smart!

Geoff

Are They Better Than Kettlebells

That is the trick question that inevitably comes up during any of workshops, "are sandbags better than kettlebells?" I say a trick question because it is often hard to say whether or not another tool is better than another. There may be instances where a certain tool may be a better option than another. However, getting this question over and over again made me think long and hard about it.

I don't believe sandbags to be better because I would have to be able to prove that they produce a superior result to a nonsandbag or kettlebell related activity. Since such research hasn't been done it seems silly to go there.

Yet, sandbags do offer two distinct advantages over kettlebells.

1. Number of Holding Positions: Any kettlebell enthusiast can tell you that the various holding positions of a kettlebell is what allows a lifter to progress or create new exercises. Manipulating the leverage of the kettlebell follows the most basic of principles, overload! The kettlebell offers four holding positions: down by the side, clean or rack, by the horns, or overhead. Varying these positions alters the body's center of gravity challenging both the body's sense of balance and trunk stability.

Well, the sandbag offers eight holding positions; down by the side, bear hug, zercher, clean, shoulder, on the back, overhead, headlock. These additional options allows the lifter or athlete possibly more options for progression and creating challenging movements.

2. Grip training: Kettlebells are often promoted for their ability to develop grip strength. Holding onto a swinging kettlebell can often be a great challenge or doing bottoms up presses can be a great demonstration of grip strength. Yet, sandbags may still have an edge.

Grip expert, John Brookfield, states there are three types of grip strength. Most people only focus on crushing grip strength where swinging heavy kettlebells would come into play. However, there are two others, pinching and wrist. A properly loaded sandbag challenges all three forms of grip training and is a major reason they have been a favorite training tool of wrestlers and martial artists for centuries.

Want to hear the debate continue and see where I might give some more controversial points that may change the way people see kettlebells and sandbags? Come join Senior RKC, Geoff Neupert, and I for a special interview tonight for FREE!!!

Just visit: http://kettlebellinterrogations.com/josh/index.html