Bigger Sandbags or Better Sandbags?

For the past few months I spend almost half of my day answering questions on sandbag training. It is awesome to see the enthusiasm it has sparked, but it occurred to me that most of you never get to see my responses! So, I am going to post some of the best questions so that you can get the most out of your training too!

Q: "Josh, why don't you make bigger sandbags that go over 200 pounds rather than the small sandbags?"

A: The hardest part in espousing the benefits of sandbag training is that everyone wants to compare them with implements they are most familiar with. Often people want to compare sandbags to barbells, kettlebells, and so forth. The problem is that the type of training and their feel truly are unique.

Sandbag training has probably the richest history in physical training culture. Therefore, I am not going to even attempt to say that anything I do hasn't been done at one time or another. However, working with thousands of people I may have a unique spin.

Small sandbags are not simply for those that are new to sandbag training. I have mentioned in the past that small sandbags are ideal for movement based training or loaded mobility. The dimensions and loads can be extremely challenging by moving in unique patterns and motions. In fact, I first got the inspiration for this type of training from John Jesse's 1974 book, "The Encyclopedia of Wrestling Conditioning". Unfortunately I gave that book to my good friend Zach Even-esh (sorry Zach, should have kept it;).

In the book John Jesse speaks about the fact that sandbags were used for two different types of training. The smaller bags were used for rotational movements, moving in extreme ranges of motion, and grip training. This is the very same injury prevention that sports science expert, Dr. Michael Yessis promoted in "Secrets of Soviet Sports Training and Fitness". In fact, this concept inspired the whole functional training movement years ago, but was sorely misapplied.

The heavier bags, Jesse recommends, were for strengthening the hips and trunk for the demands of wrestling. We could infer that this very same idea would be very appropriate in prevention of many injuries as well as increasing performance. Since wrestlers are some of the best athletes in the world I would think of it as foolish to ignore such valuable advice.

To answer the original question though, 200 pound plus sandbags are very limited in their versatility. Yes, you could shoulder, possibly squat them, yet why not take some of the programs I have put on the site and try those and see how a 120 pound sandbag could demolish the best athlete. In fact, why not try some of the double sandbag combinations on here as well.

If you don't believe me definitely try some of the workouts in my new High Octance Sandbag DVD!

In Strength,
Josh Henkin, CSCS
http://sandbagfitnesssystems.com




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