FREE Workout, Holiday Sale

With the holidays growing closer the next few days, I wanted to put out one of our best workout series to help inspire people to keep on their fitness. This quickly turned into one of my favorite training routines.

Train Like a REAL Athlete

Ask ten coaches about training like an athlete and you are likely to get ten different responses. One thing that all the great strength coaches can agree on is that training like an athlete is the manner in which most should train. I know, you don’t compete at anything, but too often when people say they want to “be in shape”, “move better”, or have “better strength and endurance” they truly are telling me they want to be an athlete in life.

The beauty of the Ultimate Sandbag program is that it addresses all the needs of the athlete in way that no other training program can. The unique nature of sandbag training provides an element of that can’t be replicated. That is why we have been a part of elite MMA programs, NFL, Pro Sand Volleyball, top military, and many more programs.

To help show people how different the Ultimate Sandbag truly is I have posted below the Top 8 MMA sandbag movements. The drills shown aren’t only beneficial for MMA athletes, but anyone interested in maximizing their athleticism.

7 New Exercises=1 Killer Workout

It is back to work at Sandbag Fitness Systems, all the family and events are done and we are creating new exciting things for 2010. My first job, leave all the poor imitators in the dust and show you more great and exciting workouts and exercises with the ORIGINAL Ultimate Sandbag.

Today's workout does just that! This isn't just random exercises, but those that all compliment and build different aspects of functional fitness.

1. Shoulder to Shoulder Suspended Lunge Press: Not a circus trick, in fact, this is one of the fastest and easiest ways to increase overhead pressing strength. By destabilizing the body, but still allowing an appreciable load to be lifted, the body increases the stabilizers and nervous system to allow for more muscles and motor units to be used when you attempt a more stable press. This exercise also teaches the important principle of rooting in overhead pressing and creating a strong foundation. The lower leg training hits one of the most commonly missed areas of training that can give you a huge return in performance!

2. Double Sandbag Bent-Over Row: Rowing movements are important for maintaining muscle balance and the bent-over version trains the muscular endurance of the low back. This is one of the most important attributes of back health according to low back expert, Dr. Stuart McGill. I wanted to show there are many ways to increase the load lifted and this one is pretty fun! Stacking a smaller sandbag on top of our advanced sandbag makes this truly a strength lift!

3. X-Shoulder Squat: Again, some may think that they are limited in performing strength work by the load of the Ultimate Sandbag. While many may find our Advanced Ultimate Sandbag or Burly Ultimate Sandbag to be plenty of weight, some want more of a challenge. The X-Shoulder Squat does that by adding load to the hips in the bottom position and giving the additional challenge of grip strength. Coming out of the bottom of the squat you really have to burst out of the hole! Exactly where many lifters feel weakest.

4. Cable Overhead Throws: One of my favorite new drills for many reason. Showing how if you make a sandbag with cheap material (like many of our competitors) or use a homemade version (sorry you couldn't do this lift) you are just missing out! The cable overhead throw trains all the explosive muscles that usually get missed! People spend lots of time throwing downwards but little the extensors that protect the body and can create even more power!!! This drill may be more important than sledgehammer or medicine ball strikes because of it training all the muscles from head to toe of the backside of the body. The stabilizers and powerhouses of the body.

5. Loaded Suspended Push-ups with Mountain Climbers: Working all patterns of motion is an absolute must. Horizontal pushing does just that, but people often don't give push-ups their due. They either fall into the trap of doing mindless reps or progressions are far too crazy to get any type of strength benefit. Being suspended adds one dimension of load and the Ultimate Sandbag does the other. Adding in the mountain climber adds more core work as well as isometric strength in the arms, shoulders, and trunk. Isometric training is another commonly missed attribute of training.

6. Band Twists: Ok, why can't you just do this with a handle? Adding in our Ultimate Sandbag makes this exercise hard to control and emphasizes grip strength and coordination. Why is this so important? It will add stability to the elbow and shoulder, a problem all too many people suffer!

7. Squat Thrust to Shoulder Throws: I wanted a conditioning drill that did more than make you sweat. The squat thrust is a commonly used, but often incorrectly performed drill. Attention must be paid to the placement of the feet on both aspect of the hip thrust as well as spinal alignment. Done properly this does a great deal to enhance flexibility and power. The Shoulder Throw works the core in a unique way in both producing force, stabilizing, and integrating the hips to develop a well rounded core exercise.

You can perform this workout in a circuit for reps or time, take the challenge though and see how you hold up to our Inferno Workouts!

More Than a Gimmick

It is always tough to put out new ideas. In this modern era of fitness and performance training so many things are said and done to just grab attention it can make many skeptical. That is why when I launched my Double Sale, I was a little hesitant to how it may be perceived. The idea of using double sandbags in different ways has been something I have been working on for some time.

Yes, the use of a single sandbag is awesome, but using doubles allows for some interesting training effects. For example, any type of shouldering movement challenges the body to resist rotation and lateral flexion of the body. This is a huge reason shouldering is such a powerful movement. However, we can amplify this effect in a couple of different ways.

1. The most obvious would be to increase the weight of the sandbag on the shoulder. This may or may not be the best for the individual.

2. Adding a second sandbag either in a standard position down by the side of the body or by using the much underutilized headlock position. Now we have added an additional force coming through the body at a different angle and position. We have utilized instability training without compromising the overall goal of getting stronger and being more athletic. This can be done with a sandbag of the same size or different size.

This method works really well for shouldering, squatting, lunging, and more broad movements. It can also be used for pressing overhead to stimulate more pressing strength. Try this....

Get a moderately loaded sandbag to the shoulder position, then take a dumbbell or kettlebell that usually you can perform five repetitions and try pressing for 3-5. Then remove the sandbag and try the same press, what did you feel? Easier right?! That is because we stimulated more muscles throughout the body to stabilize and gave our pressing movement a better foundation.

3. Finally, moving two sandbags at once increases coordination of the movements. You can't zero in on your strengths so easily and the instability of the sandbags are amplified when you use multiple sandbags. As you can see in today's video, when I clean or press the two Ultimate Sandbags the feeling is completely than focusing on one sandbag even if it is a heavier sandbag.

These training techniques are pretty new information and it can seem a little overwhelming, but I can tell you the results speak for themselves. Try them yourself and see the difference double sandbag training makes!!!! Don't miss out on the Doubles Sale!!!

Can YOU Keep Up

Accountability, if I had to nail down success to one trait that would be it. Far too often I hear clients tell me, “YOU are going to get me to lose weight”, or “YOU are going to get me faster”, or “YOU are going to take away my back pain”. Right off the bat I have to explain to people that I can’t do anything for them. I can educate them on the best techniques to be used, but ultimately they have to be proactive in their own performance and progress.

The same applies with my Sandbag Fitness Systems program. I can direct and give ideas to people, but ultimately they have to apply the principles to get the reward. People often ask about motivation? I feel if you have accountability you have some level of motivation that should be growing inside. However, a great coach can bring out the best in you even if you are on the right track.

That is the route I took myself when I worked with Cem Eren yesterday. Cem is a coach with amazing enthusiasm and passion and that only makes you want to train harder. Add in his innovations and you have someone that any coach or individual is excited to train with. Cem showed me some of his contagious training ideas and emotion with his Warrior Den workout. Check out this workout, the great thing is that it is based around mixed martial arts, but anyone who performs it would only see a rise in athleticism, fat loss, and awesome strength gains. But who really wants that? See if you can keep up with Cem!!!

I Don't Get the Joke

The past few days have been just weird! I have been getting flooded with emails from customers asking if I had seen this sandbag or that sandbag. It seems like all of a sudden people found sandbag training to be an effective training method, almost overnight. I knew of course that companies one day would see what we were teaching and want to get in on sandbag training. Almost sad though what has just happened.

Most of these companies are straight up trying to take our design and resell it. Of course, if you aren't actually a sandbag user you don't pay attention to the details. Everything is important in the creation of the Ultimate Sandbag. There is a specific reason our sandbags are the size they are, remember in sandbag training you have to concern yourself with not only weight, but the dimension of the sandbags as well. People think our power sandbags are only for light sandbag training, the truth is everyone that attends our workshops finds the power sandbags phenomenal for rotational power development. You can see some of these examples below.



The construction of a great sandbag has to be right too! These other companies are selling cheap sandbags that the threading starts to fall apart and the material is thin and weak. Sandbags are different from any other training tool, most strength training implements are made out of metal. Pretty much metal is metal and as long as you can get the right price that is all that matters. However, with sandbags you have to concern yourself with getting strong enough fabric, the right threading, and the right type of stitching. Listen from a man that knows!


"As a Sports Performance Coach and US ARMY Veteran I am very particular when I make an investment in my fitness and training equipment. One thing that I can say is first and foremost is that nothing comes close to the Ultimate Sandbag and YES that even means the military issue duffel bags. The stitching on the bags far exceeds military standards and there was a lot of thought and planning in the design, function, and durability of this bag."-Nii Wilson

Nothing is perfect, but you don't get much better than this! Being cheap doesn't pay as a well used sandbag will fall apart in days if you don't make them right. Don't worry though it is obvious who makes sandbags and who actually uses sandbags!!!

Then there are "sandbag like" products. I actually thought when a customer sent me a link that it was a joke product he was making a spoof, I was wrong!! This thing is being promoted as the Ultimate Sandbag (ok, we won't talk about the trademark violations), what a joke! Imagine that someone made a barbell that you could throw and slam, but you couldn't squat, deadlift, press, or row. That is exactly what this thing is, a somewhat glorified medicine ball. Hey just because you fill something with sand, doesn't make it good for sandbag training. You can't shoulder, clean and press, zercher squat, or perform hundreds of the sandbag drills that you should and when you only go to 50 pounds is it still strength training? Don't even get me started with the price!!!! To me, it is comparing apples and oranges.

Why do I bring this all up? Yes, I can admit, I am human and it ticks me off to see rip offs (don't worry we are taking care of it;), and I hate it when companies make products just to market and not to help people. Don't worry though, we are hard at work making exciting new DVDs and products that actually do something!! In the mean time see what our sandbags can do!!!

New Training Innovations

One of the most exciting parts of seeing my Sandbag Fitness Systems grow is what other coaches come up. A few months ago I met a really innovative up and coming strength caoch, Cem Eren, who runs an amazing training center here in Phoenix, AZ. Cem not only has terrific enthusiasm, but his training ideas seem almost endless. He showed me some of the great exercises he came up with and I couldn't wait to share some of his creative ideas with you!! This shows some even more amazing versatility with the Ultimate Sandbag!

The Demon is Here!

At my first L.I.F.T. certification last month in Sweden one of the students asked me an incredibly hard question. He asked if I was leaning towards using sandbags over any other training tool. I had to think hard as how do you answer this question without seeming like you are just being a marketing agent? The only thing you can do is tell the truth. That is exactly what I did!

The truth is when I began my sandbag training program almost five years ago, no, I liked sandbags, but thought they were a nice simple tool. However, in the last five years, teaching, working, and developing the Ultimate Sandbag I have new perspective. I have found the Ultimate Sandbag has made sandbag training definitely a primary method of training.

Recently I found this to be very true as I became motivated to try to hit a maximal barbell squat attempt. Truly not a very well planned attempt, I felt motivated after a good workout using the Ultimate Sandbag and some TRX drills. To be honest, I hadn't used barbells for some time, probably about four months. Why? A few reasons to tell the truth....

1. My schedule has been very hectic, traveling, running the facility, shooting a lot of new sandbag projects! Busy has been an understatement!

2. No one has ever really devoted serious time to sandbag training and tested the results on barbell training. The history of sandbags has really been on wrestlers who traditionally do not use barbells. So this is hopefully the first of many stories of people getting great results in their maximal strength using sandbags.

3. I had spent so many years training heavy I wanted to see if using other patterns of motion could hit weak spots that would make me stronger without loading my back so much.

So, the result? I hit a personal best and with no weight belt! The explanation? I can only hypothesize, but these types of results can only be an indication that there are some major differences with sandbag training.

One of the biggest differences was the stability of my trunk, with all the talk of "core training" I found my ability to stay upright and stabilize was so much improved on the back squat. I also believe the different ranges of motion allowed for me to hit some of the weak points that are hard to hit with barbells, dumbbells, or even kettlebells.

So, what would I recommend others do? Yes, definitely start with the foundational drills: shouldering, squatting, pressing, carrying, and lunging. However, once you are strong in these drills you can attempt complexes like the "Demon". What is the Demon? It was a complex I designed to hit on a lot of the weak points of most lifters and athletes. Very few people ever train the heavy rotation pull in the Demon or the unstable pressing position of being in a lunge. This is not simply a complex to get in great shape, but to get scary strong too! The Demon is just another reason why sandbag training is breaking new innovations in strength training. Try it out!

Leaving Las Vegas

With the explosion of sandbag training in the fitness industry, traveling has been almost a weekly event for me. This means I really have begun the challenges of many of my clients that are working 50 plus hours a week, balancing family, and still trying to get more fit.

However, these challenges have made me appreciate the simplistic beauty of sandbag training as well. This past weekend I drove up to Las Vegas for some networking and was able to toss two sandbags into my car. It was great, they don't roll and bang up my car, and I had weights from 20 to 150 pounds without taking up too much room.

Having these weights available to me allowed me to still perform a very complete workout. I didn't have to focus just on conditioning because I had too little weight, and yet I could enjoy the fun of training outdoors!

So, I had to put my good friend Nick through the paces. One of my favorite ways to train when I am on the road and have my bags with me is to run Power Interval Circuits. Intervals work so well because you can alter the sandbags and keep the interval fixed. What do I mean? You want strength work you are only going to be able to get about 3-5 reps in with a heavy bag, perfect for strength. Want endurance? Use a lighter bag and you will move faster and get more reps in. Want power-endurance (the missing ingredient to many strength programs) then use a moderate weighted sandbag and try to perform the reps as explosively as possible.

The circuits are also amazing because you can use much more variety in your training, especially with the sandbags. For example, a typical workout might look like this:

Lower Body Pull

Upper Body Push

Lower Body Squat

Upper Body Pull

This does work, however, we can work on much more with the sandbags and improve your overall athleticism. Today's circuit may have the same idea, but looks totally different!

Lower Body Pull=Shoveling Deadlifts

Upper Body Push=Weighted Push-ups

Lower Body Squat=Reverse Clean Lunge

Upper Body Pull=Components of Clean and Holding Zercher Positions

Add in the stair climbing with the sandbag and you have more than a complete workout. Check it out!!!

The Innovations Keep Coming

One thing I can not stand is a program or coach that simply shows new exercise after new exercise for the sake of doing something different rather than having purpose. People that often attend our workshops and certifications are shocked by the amount of exercises you can perform with our Ultimate Sandbag. The difference is that we have to take people through our progressions and teach them why they are doing different movements so that their is purpose behind their training and the training of their clients.

One such example is the "Cyclone" lift. The Cyclone is a combination drill that integrates components of the rotational deadlift and around the world drills to create a movement that builds the entire core of the body in very unique ways.

Very few core drills start the lifter in a position of rotation. This is a demanding position because the body can not use its normal dominant stance. Such a position also requires that the lifter be very efficient in their movement to create and absorb the forces of the lift correctly and safely.

The large range of motion that occurs with the Cyclone makes it a functional drill for just about anyone and an absolute necessity for athletes and weekend warriors alike. The benefits are:

1. Explosive hip power in new ranges of motion that aren't trained in standard cleans, snatches, swings, or chops.

2. A powerful core that can not only produce a great deal of force, but resist force as well.

3. Because it trains both the glutes, hamstrings, low back, abdominals, and muscles of the upper body we are truly getting an all round core drill. Very few exercises can train the entire pelvis and spine structures at one time.

However, just as with any exercise there are a few cautions. Firstly, is that one needs to be very proficient in both the around the world and rotational deadlift exercises. I would suggest spending time on half moon snatch and shoveling as well.

Size of the sandbag plays a big role. Smaller sized sandbags make it easier to maneuver through this movement, but our bigger ones make this a power house. A really easy way to use the bigger sandbags and make that progression is to change from sand to a lighter material for the filler bags. This gives you time to adjust to the different size and also slowly progress to higher weights.

Check out the Cyclone below!!

Don't miss out on the last few days of our BIG sandbag sale: Click Here

Want to see the power of sandbag training in person? See us in Orange County Oct. 17th: Click Here for more information

The Newest Fitness Challenge

Having something to train for is so much more fun than just working out. It is easy to just run through the motions when you don't have a goal, but let's face it training with a goal in mind completely changes every aspect of fitness training. That is why I wanted to come out with a new fitness challenge for all of you. This one is slightly different, it is just a challenge, but one with a special reward for those that dominate it!

Now till the end of the month the Warrior Challenge is going to reward one winner with a prize valued over $200s! That's right, one winner can take home a FREE Burly or Advanced Package, let me explain how and why!

For the last few years I have had to listen how sandbags are great for conditioning, but if you want to get really strong you have to use barbells and dumbbells. People quickly forget load is load and a shifting load is far more difficult than a stable one. That is why those that have worked with our Burly and Advanced Packages write in on how challenging these sandbag are in every respect.

I didn't want to try to convince people though, I simply think having people experience this type of training is the best solution. Why the Warrior Challenge? It is no secret that complexes and flow exercises have become very popular for their ability to train a lot of fitness qualities at once. Well, I wanted a drill that could strengthen the ENTIRE body in a way that was impossible with any other training implements. The Warrior Challenge encompasses the best of sandbag training, shoulder, shoulder squat, shoulder to shoulder press. These drills entail explosiveness, head to toe strength, core power, and endurance.

The challenge? Perform 30 total repetitions of the entire complex; shoulder, shoulder squat to shoulder to shoulder press. Dump down the bag and repeat, this is one repetition. The challenge is to use either our Burly or Advanced sandbag package and perform this drill in as little time as possible. No easy task to say the least and really makes you feel like you can conquer any challenge, exactly why I named it the Warrior Challenge.

How do you win? A person needs to sends us a video with the weight of the bag and them performing the Warrior Challenge. The person with the best relative score (that is the weight of the sandbag compared to their bodyweight) and time you can win your choice of either a Burly or Advanced Package.

For those that want to take the challenge, but don't have our Burly or Advanced yet, I have decided to put them on special until the end of the month. Not only is there a discount, but if you pick up a Burly or Advanced during this time you will receive two FREE workouts with our heavy duty sandbags. Below is the Warrior Challenge in action and beneath is the very special discounts! Don't miss out on becoming your own fitness warrior.



Burly Black-Save $30!!: $178.99

Buy Now Here

Burly Green Camouflage-Save $30!!: $188.99

Buy Now Here

Advanced Black-Save $30!!: $170.99

Buy Now Here

Advanced Green Camouflage-Save $30!!: $180.99

Buy Now Here 

Listen to the Dino Man!

I make no claims about "inventing" sandbag training. In fact, I like to give credit where credit is due and one of my biggest inspirations was Dinosaur Training legend, Brooks Kubik. Many years ago I was very frustrated with my training and the pain I still had in my back. After reading Dinosaur Training I was so inspired to try something new, something that really worked with my personality. 

It was Brooks' writing where I first read extensively about sandbag training and he states in his book how sandbags are the best odd object training tool. Why? There are many reasons mostly though their safety and versatility range supreme. However, a friend of mine recently sent me on of Brooks' classic Dino Files packed full of training advice for combative athletes. 

Why send me this information other than it reinforced all the training we all love?! Tip number 30, "sandbags are one of the very best training tools for combative athletes".  There is no hidden message there, but if it is perfect for a combative athlete, why would it not be perfect for anyone interested in elite fitness. After all it is hard to argue that combative athletes are not the most well-rounded athletes. 

Many of the exercises described are ones you are all familiar with, shouldering, carrying, and so on. However, there was one in particular that I haven't talked about yet, watch the video to see this incredible drill!

What a Navy Seal Has to Say...

Since I first talked about the "3 Rounds of Hell" I have had so many great emails from people telling me how brutal it was and how almost impossible it seems. I began to think if I had made the challenge too hard as I had yet to receive an email or video about anyone accomplishing it. Then the challenge got its own test! 

A former Navy Seal and current special operations soldier "Tim" came back to Arizona after some recent military training. "Tim" is absolutely no stranger to hard workouts, the times I have worked with him it just simply amazes me his mental toughness, it is just from another planet! However, after catching up with "Tim" for a bit he asked me if I had anything new for him. That is when I thought I would unleash the "3 Rounds of Hell" on him. To say he was excited was an understatement! 

The next day Tim dedicated his whole workout to trying to accomplish the "3 Rounds of Hell". I was very intrigued to see if someone could get through it or would I have to modify some of the criteria? Tim weighed in at 215 so we figured out he would use the large sandbag loaded to 150. After a brief, but focused warm-up Tim tackled the challenge. The first round seemed almost easy, the second you could tell some fatigue was coming, the third he almost looked mortal!!! He did it!! Yes, Tim completed the "3 Rounds of Hell", but laid on the ground for a good ten minutes. 

Tim thought it was a heck of a challenge because it tested not only his strength, or endurance. It tested his willpower, his hands, his upper body, lower body, EVERYTHING! Sad thing is he was contemplating a "5 Rounds of Hell"! Well, until more mortals accomplish this goal I think I will stick with the three rounds, but that doesn't mean I don't have some tricks up my sleeve.

I am going to start launching a video series on how to train for the "3 Rounds of Hell". Most people would assume that simply trying to do more and more work with shouldering would be the best route, but that isn't so. There are many supplementary exercises one should employ that will greatly enhance your ability to get through the challenge. 

The first mistake people make is they don't realize that the upper body is heavily involved with repeated bouts of heavy shouldering. Often it is the hands, upper arms, and upper back that fail people. The gripping and shifting of the weight can seem as though it adds severe weight to an already heavy implement. What can you do? These are exercises I like to implement and will talk more about in later videos:

1. One-arm shouldering

2. Bent-over row grabbing on the sides

3. Bear Hug rowing

4. Bear Hug walks

The next most common mistake is that people don't have good enough flexibility in their hips to keep the repeated hip drive going. When people are tight and try the challenge they will find that they start using their low back as a prime mover and they move very inefficiently and become tired VERY FAST!

What can you do? These are some of my favorites...

1. Hurdle Zercher Squats

2. Overhead Lunge

3. Heavy Bear Hug Squats

4. Overhead Chops

Of course you also have to be strong in the hips and low back. What can you do besides just shouldering? 

1. Shouldering Suspended Lunge

2. Zercher Goodmornings

3. Get-up Bridge

4. No Pivot Half Moon Snatch

So, you see there is far more than just shouldering over and over. These twelve supplementary exercises will go a long way in building that foundation. Next time I will show you some of them in action and we will go more into how you put it all together into a program that will let you dominate the "3 Rounds of Hell" like Tim did!

Should YOU Train Like a Fighter?

Recently I was interviewed for a MMA website. I always love to talk training because I think there is so much more you can say than is possible to write, plus I can be long winded in a good way:)

I think talking MMA is great because it is both popular and relatively new. There are so many aspects of MMA training that is makes it one of the more challenging sports to train for. However, let's face it, most of us are never going to get into the Octagon and fight. Yet, I think even every day people can benefit a lot from implementing concepts from MMA.

MMA brings together many aspects of fitness; strength, endurance, flexibility, and skill. However, one could argue that most sports bring these qualities, but MMA is unique in the fact that there needs to be flexibility in some pretty extreme positions. Strength has to be possessed in all ranges of motion for the whole body. Endurance has to be a good mixture of not only anaerobic training, but dynamic and isometric as well.

This may be why MMA athletes generally have physiques many would be very happy to possess. In my KNOCKOUT! e-book I cover how one can use sandbags and other implements to achieve these impressive physiques, however, the good thing about MMA is that is traditionally has been a minimalist approach.

Before "functional fitness" was fashoinable, MMA athletes borrow so much from different arts that allows them to move so efficiently and have strength that is hard to match by many athletes. What lessons could we learn from the training of MMA athletes to use for our own fitness?

1. Train in many ranges of motion: Just thinking of the lunge exercise with a sandbag I can come up with 50 variations that will challenge the body in unique ways to improve both performance and strength.

2. Training isometric and dynamic strength: There is only so much energy and time to train it is hard to think of adding even more can be overwhelming. So, here are some quick ideas of how to add some isometric training....

a. Add pauses to various positions when you perform lifts, great examples are pull-ups, squats, and push-ups.

b. Use variations of bear hug and zercher training to build both trunk and upper body isometric strength.

3. Mix up your anaerobic training: Typically people think interval or circuit training is very hard to vary. Nothing could be further from the truth!

a. Mix up the work to rest ratios: If you are use to training for 30 seconds and resting for 60 seconds, simply add ten seconds to your work or reduce your rest by ten seconds.

b. Change the loading position, instead of doing bear hug squats, simply change to shoulder squats and the exercise becomes new!

c. Keep track of the number of repetitions performed during an interval and try to not let it drop 10% during the whole workout.

d. Perform static positions for the duration of the work interval.

4. Do an exercise you have been putting off: I can say get-ups aren't my favorite, but I probably need to implement them more. Usually we stick with what we are good and familiar with. Try to select at least one exercise in your routine that you have been avoiding.

You see, there are a lot of important lessons to be learned from MMA. Yet, there are easily a lot of mistakes these athletes make. To learn more tips and avoid the mistakes check out my e-book KNOCKOUT! or my recent interview.

Click Here to Listen to Interview

Click Here to Check out KNOCKOUT!

The Misuse of Strongman Training Part II

Wow! Did I get some emails about my last post! It seems as though I really struck a nerve with a lot of people that have strong feelings about the pros and cons of Strongman training. First, we have to clearly define Strongman training, I am speaking specifically of the events in Strongman Contests. This would include:

Log/Axle clean and jerk
Farmer's Walks
Yoke Walks
Tire Flips
Stone Lifting
Car Pulling

Sure, I am missing a few, but these are the most common ones. Strongman training is not sledgehammers, bent pressing, kettlebells, get-ups, etc. This falls into general training as this is not training used in competitive strongman events.

So, what is my problem? It isn't with any of the events or lifts, it is purely with how they are employed and who they are used with. It has become commonplace to quote some of the greats of old time strength training; Saxon, Hackenschmidt, Jowett, and many others. These men were immensely strong and athletic, but there is many things that are often not mentioned about their training.

1. Most of the old time lifters came from a background of manual labor, often farming or other industrial jobs. This meant years of intense physical training building their fitness and supporting system of ligaments and tendons.

2. The old time lifters were often very proficient and even competitive in wrestling and gymnastics. This gave them strength in a wide array of body positions and angles. It provided them proper conditioning to handle high intensity loads, and possessed amazing dynamic flexibility.

3. All these men would discuss the important role of spending time performing general exercises for an extensive period of time before pursuing more intense training.

4. This was a time before highly processed foods that often impedes and impacts recovery.

All things considered, these men did not really perform the strongman lifts of today and to make comparisons is highly inaccurate.

We only hear the benefits of doing Strongman training, so what are some of the drawbacks?

1. Heavy walking exercises can often place a great deal of compressive forces on the spine and/or hips. Because it is very hard to stabilize the pelvis under these conditions one's hip girdle gets negatively impacted. Don't believe me? Test your hamstring and hip flexor strength and flexibility after doing heavy farmer's walks and/yokes! Impeding hamstrings and hip flexors is devastating to an athlete and can destroy performance. For general population it can cause back pain and discomfort in the long run.

2. Farmer's walks especially torch the upper traps. For many people, they possess an unusually high level of activity and stress in the upper traps. When they perform these lifts they can develop severe neck restrictions and pains. This is a place for referral pains as well and can cause shoulder and upper arm type of pain symptoms.

3. Stones and tire flipping place the body in an imperfect lifting posture. Again, if the lifter is not proficient at bracing and understanding how to stabilize their pelvis the back can potentially get injured. A great deal of time needs to be spent teaching pelvic stabilization and core strength in many positions including extended.

4. Thick bar work and heavy duty gripping can cause some major problems in the elbows. Because these muscles can get easily overworked, tennis elbow type of symptoms.

Many people tend to forget that Strongman training is training for a sport in of itself. As with many sports, there are aspects that are not healthy, but necessary for performance. Especially at the higher levels of sport one increases their risk of compounding the negative aspects. That isn't to say that you couldn't use these lifts, in Part III I will discuss how to wisely implement such exercises.

The Misuse of Strongman Training Part I

A few years ago I was presenting at the Sport Specific conference with a host of coaches that was quite impressive. People such as Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Lee Taft, Dave Schmitz, Brian Grasso, and many more were all in the mix. I remember this being my first time in speaking in front of several hundred fitness professionals. I wasn't too nervous, I knew my presentation and felt confident it what I was going to speak about. However, when Ryan Lee told me that I was moved to present after Mike Boyle, I was a little more intimidated.

I had seen Mike Boyle present before and he does a great job of captivating his audience. I knew following him would be a great challenge as many people would still be digesting all that Mike had to say. So, I knew I had to bring my A game and standing outside rehearsing and preparing, I did feel a little nervous.

However, everything became so much more complicated as Alwyn Cosgrove and Ryan Lee hunted me down with a very concerned look on their faces. I thought, "great I've been bumped from the conference!" When in fact, they both tried to console me as though something very bad had happened. They kept saying to me, "you know he isn't talking about you." I had no idea what they were talking about, but I found out quickly Mike Boyle was saying how strongman training was just stupid.

I have to admit, my first reaction was to get very upset, ok, I was pissed!! I couldn't understand why a great coach would talk so badly about a method of training that was exploding because of it functional carryover. It wouldn't be for a few more years till I would understand what he was actually talking about.

At the time I was too deaf to listen to Mike's objection because I was immersed in training for a strongman competition. I was not only training for a competition, but had credited much of the training to healing my back. As I look back though, many people would assume that strongman training was ALL I did for my back. This is far from the truth. The extent to my low back rehab goes far beyond just using Strongman training (I will talk about this later).

Yet, the focus continued to be on strongman training and what I didn't realize at the time was how people were going to apply this type of training to various programs. When I trained for Strongman, the goal was to lift as heavy as possible, as fast as possible. I recall my first few times lifting stones my biceps throbbed for about two weeks!!!! I remember as the training for a competition got closer and closer, it was more about just managing my pain rather than increasing performance. Then I realized something really important!!!

I began to notice that many of the guys I trained with and myself moved horribly!! Yea, we looked like we could lift a lot of weight, but our arms didn't move when we walked, it felt like as though a steel rod was in my back and moving quickly or athletically was going to take some serious warming-up!!

Of course, if your only goal is to be a competitive strongman, then yes, this is part of the business. However, I know many coaches that are now implementing strongman based training for athletes and fitness individuals alike!

In regards to athletic training, the question has to be asked, "what is the cost of this training versus the benefit?" After being involved in strongman training for a few years now I think I can speak intelligently on the impact of certain types of training on athletic development. The truth of the matter is that there is nothing wrong with any of these movements, the problem comes from our lack of conditioning and strength to deal with them appropriately.

In Part II of this series I will cover how the different strongman events impact performance, good and bad! I will also discuss how to intelligently apply strongman training to any individual.

"The Ultimate Sandbag" Takes On All

It is a challenge, this sandbag training thing isn't as easy as it sounds. When I was at the University of Florida for their football S & C conference, many people smiled and nodded their heads to me. It was as though they all had some memory of using a sandbag somewhere in their past. However, it still amazed me how many people were simply reluctant to try lifting "The Ultimate Sandbag". A few were interested after one of the speakers gave some examples of sandbag training, but was it really beneficial?

Now I am all for new and innovative ideas. Heck, I love it when people send me videos of themselves doing new things, that is the only way things evolve. However, I do have a problem when people just don't seem to get it.

This is a picture from a company kind enough to support us by distributing our "Ultimate Sandbag", however, to be honest I was disappointed by the image they chose to use. Truthfully, if this was the foundation of sandbag training I really wouldn't see the point. I am not sure if many do, even this coach in Florida was talking about holding a sandbag in the same position and doing step-ups! Why? Wouldn't a bar work much better and you really wouldn't notice the difference with a sandbag other than it being incredibly uncomfortable!

I recently obtained a new copy of the book that really started it all for me, John Jesse's "Encyclopedia of Wrestling Conditioning". Besides being very practical and having many of the old time lifts we have been reintroduced to, John had a very extensive section on sandbag training. It was good to cover the material again and to know that we are carrying on the tradition of such strong athletes like wrestlers.

In the list of many different movements in the book, very few were your typical barbell exercises like squats, or clean and press. Most were very movement oriented and had the sandbag moving in many different planes of movement. It is too bad in 1974 Mr. Jesse didn't have access to "The Ultimate Sandbag" because it is obvious from his writings that hundreds of more exercises could be created.

Most people only focus on basic strength lifts such as shouldering, squatting, and pressing. While these are terrific lifts, they only touch the very edge of sandbag training. Even with the very crude bags that John Jesse used the variation of movement and training was very extensive. However, by using our sandbags you can create even more dynamic training.

Just as training evolves, so does the equipment. "The Ultimate Sandbag" offers such tremendous benefits because it allows old time training to be meshed with modern day innovations. Very few people realize the lengths we have gone to develop something that is completely unique. Sorry, the homemade versions are a dying breed, not because something looks cooler, but because you can't even imagine the possibilities of sandbag training until you try my program. Sounds like boasting, I know. However, take it from someone who really knows the difference, Strength Coach, Nii Wilson....

"As a Sports Performance Coach and US ARMY Veteran I am very particular when I make an investment in my fitness and training equipment. One thing that I can say is first and foremost is that nothing comes close to the Ultimate Sandbag and YES that even means the military issue duffel bags. The stitching on the bags far exceeds military standards and there was a lot of thought and planning in the design, function, and durability of this bag. I ordered the "Advanced Package Sandbag and I am enjoying the quality of instruction of the "High Octane DVD" and the easy to understand format. Within minutes you can take a novice and get them results and have them seeing the benefits of sandbag training. I train mainly women in my "NO BS NYC Boot Camps" and I must say they are very happy and get a strong sense of self confidence when they do the same type of workouts that pro MMA fighters or other athletes are doing. If you didn't get the point of the mini biography I just wrote basically I am saying the Utimate Sandbag and High Octane DVD package are the best resources to have in your fat loss or performance training tool kit. Thanks Josh for putting out a quality product. I will be getting another in a few short weeks. Can you believe my mom wanted the Ultimate Sandbag as a Mother's Day present...crazy huh?"
Nii Wilson


USAW Sports Performance Coach
NYC's Women's Rapid Fat Loss Expert


www.noBSnycBootcamps.com
www.NiiWilson.com






Here is a circuit that truly captures the essence of sandbag training. Heck, this would make John Jesse proud himself to see that such training is being carried on.

Fitness Secrets from The Field

When giving training advice there seems to be three categories of people...

1. Those that read a lot of training science, but don't really get to train and use the information on anyone.

2. Those that have trained a lot themselves, but have read little on the science of fitness and performance.

3. Those that have read a lot of training texts AND have trained lots of people to see what really works and what doesn't.

That is why I was very interested in interviewing Nate Morrison. For those that don't know, Nate was a top kettlebell instructor for years, but being involved in the military, his duties carried him away for some time. However, now he is back, and both experience of working with top strength coaches and his work in the field with real people makes Nate's information both innovative and very practical. Guess what, he may not even recommend that kettlebells are your best option!! Click on the link below to hear the interview.....


Click Here to Listen to Nate Morrison Interview

Camouflage Bags Are Here!!

I am so excited! For months we have been working on putting out some very cool new products and the first in this series is our camouflage sandbags! These are very cool and give people the true feeling they are dealing with something that is beyond just a sandbag. These highly durable and versatile sandbags are not only amazingly functional, but look sleek as well. There definitely is a point where you have to look the part of a professional and when working with people you don't want to give them a sloppy and crude sandbag. This isn't "hardcore" this is just cheap! Don't be mistaken, this is no ordinary sandbag and in fact, we are close to changing the name as well as the look to reflect how strongly we feel about these bags.

We have ordered only a very limited amount for our new launch, so this is very much first come, first serve. Our stock is so limited that we won't even sell the original camouflage bags online, nope, you will have to call in your order so that we can keep track of who has jumped on this great deal! We have been so slammed by requests of when these bags are going to be ready, that I expect them to go very fast!!

In fact, I had to set a few aside for myself when I head off to the N.C. State basketball conference this weekend.

This is also going to be one of the few times that we allow people to just buy the sandbag shell in case you have already all the fillers to go with the program. However, if you have been waiting to get your package, this is the perfect time!!!

***These sandbags will not ship till June 10 as we are just getting them in, however, we wanted to offer you an opportunity to jump on getting yours first!

To order please call Michelle at 813-909-9420, sorry emails won't confirm you an order as these will be phone based orders only!!!

Small Shell Only: $74.99

Introductory Package: $99.99

Medium Shell Only: $89.99

Strength Package: $125.99

Large Shell Only: $109.99

Advanced Package: $199.99

Can You Handle The Bear!

There are so many aspects of sandbag training that get overlooked that it is often hard for me to even know where to begin talking about. Very few people utilize the bear hug sandbag position. Varying holding positions allow for different training effects and variants that are important to fitness and sports programs. The bear hug is one of those positions that people completely ignore.

Why the bear hug? For beginners it is a perfect position to learn sandbags as it is a very stable and balanced position. Holding in this manner allows for greater depth of movements in exercises such as squats, but also greatly challenges the trunk in ways like nothing else. Don't even mention the upper body stimulation one gets through tremendous arm and upper back work.

For more advanced lifters and athletes, the bear hug position is vitally important as many sports require strong isometric holds, yet they never train it. Most spend their time purely on dynamic strength training, so utilizing isometric bear hugs should be a cornerstone to many athletes and strong lifters.

However, you just don't need to squat. There are many variations of the bear hug, even better in a great super complex I call "The Bear". This series trains the body from head to toe and is perfect for strength, endurance, speed, and flexibility. Watch the video and tell me how you do taming "The Bear"!