We Have the Edge

Most people are just flat out confused! They are a little familiar with powerlifting, a bit with Olympic lifting, ok, know some "functional" exercises and they try to jam it all together into a big mess. You see most people feel like they don't have the power to change things. They have to deal with the status quo and use what little they may know about different training methods.

However, we have the edge! We are actually seeing the needs of our clients and creating programs, exercises, and tools that address those needs. It makes coaching so much better to use these methods to address specific needs rather than trying to squeeze people into such a confined philosophy box.

Our certifications and workshops are about to launch for the new year and one of the biggest concepts I could teach people is to look at adding complexity to movements. Sure, if you are a powerlifter try to squat 600 pounds, but all the research shows that it isn't the strongest athletes that are the best, it is the most powerful athletes.

One of the most underused ways to develop power, athleticism, and fitness is through more complex movement patterns. Sure, I have seen the goofy exercises, but I am not talking about those where people stand on one leg and scratch their nose while they try to curl a dumbbell. I am talking about adding force from different angles of the body while moving in sometimes explosive means.

The Ultimate Core Strap and Ultimate Sandpack have definitely open the door to a lot of cool new exercises. So, while our new sites are ALMOST here, I wanted to share some initial ideas with the two videos above. We can resist movement, produce movement, and this all results in an amazing training stimulus that nothing else can replicate!

Watch these videos, try the metabolic workout and you will see what I mean.

We are close to our new sites, so until they go up, you can get these great tools here!!!

Ultimate Core Strap: $29.99: Click Here

Ultimate SandPack (back pack): $169.99: Click Here

Are YOU Ready for 2010?

I really hope you had a wonderful holiday season! No matter what you celebrate I hope it brought a lot of happiness to you and your family. It definitely has not been an easy year for many people. I have numerous friends and clients that have been largely impacted by the change in the economy.

Sometimes it seems there is a lot of things out of our control. Yet, I am inspired by the ideas of efficiency and self-improvement expert Dr. Stephen Covey. In his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey states:

“The way we see the problem is the problem”, our problems all too often are a result of how we choose to see them and how we react to them. We all have them and we often have an opportunity to make negative circumstances into positive ones.

It would be easy to think that people like myself have very little problems. Wow! 2009 was a hell of a year for me not just business, education, or opportunity. Yet, there were many instances where my Ultimate Sandbag faced many challenges that could have easily made me quite.

However, I believe in what I am doing, and even though bad things happen we always try to make something positive in the long run. Yes, those positives may be hard to see initially. Yet, if you have a burning desire to make a change it can happen.

What is the problem with many New Year's resolutions? They aren't meaningful! We have to find something that makes us excited and willing to blast through challenges and negativity. As Dr. Covey says:

“Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.”

I hope you will be excited by our efforts and find that fitness is something that can help you take control of how you feel, your confidence, health, and many more factors. I truly hope that you will join us for an incredible 2010!!

Is the King Dead?

I did it, I did it for years! I always made the squat the cornerstone of all my training programs. Who would blame me? There are hundreds of studies and practical experiences showing just how darn effective squat training actually can be for performance. Yet, that doesn't mean there can't be a better way and our thinking can't evolve.

When I think to my own training I can remember times when squat numbers would improve, yet, performance in sports I would enjoy would not see any improvement. Why did this occur? After really taking a look at my own training and to those that I work with I found some interesting observations.

1. Since the squat form of people can vary so greatly it is impossible to make an overall generalization if squatting is good or harmful for one's goals.

2. We live in an era where injuries, muscle imbalances, movement problems, and other physical issues play a large role in what happens during the squat. I could yell and scream about how awesome they are and how you HAVE to do them, but that isn't always the answer.

3. More important than squat numbers going up is whether or not they are leading people to the bigger picture of their overall goal.

I know for myself squatting was definitely a beneficial exercise, but I really didn't understand what I was missing till I started addressing my own weaknesses. Sports such as basketball and Strongman took a large toll on my body.

From these sports I had more than a few days where my hip would ache, I would have altered walking patterns, shoulder tightness and just didn't feel like I could progress in my training. I made the hard decision to take a break from the traditional back and front squatting and make lunging a priority in my training program.

Most people would say that I was "wussing out", but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. The worst case from my own experiment? I would not get any better and possibly lose some strength. The result was much different than I expected.

After about six weeks of making lunging a strength focused lift for me I found that my hips felt better and more surprisingly my back squat went up! Why could this happen? A few things came to mind pretty fast.

1. Squatting is an easy exercise for us to think as a superior strength exercise because simply we can often handle more weight. More weight must mean more strength being built, but it is impossible to say that single leg exercises could not do the same at smaller loads. It would appear that lunges stimulate just as many, if not more muscles because of being slightly unstable. Therefore, we can't simply assume more weight equals more strength.

2. It is far more difficult to compensate on the lunge than the squat. The most common compensation is altering stride length to something shorter to remain more balanced. Outside of this pattern, it is darn hard to cheat a lunge. Many lifters know there are more than a few ways to cheat a squat.

3. You hit your weak points! I can't think of too many people that like to do what they are not good at. So many issues can be addressed with lunging, hip mobility, lower leg stability, and hip and leg strength. These issues can be missed with a lack of focus and time spent on single leg exercises. However, what I like so much about lunging is the dynamic stretch to one of the most problematic areas of the body, the hip flexors.

I also began to be in favor of using suspension training to enhance the training effect of lunges. The beauty of suspended lunges is that you can alter and progress range of motion and stability depending upon the version of the movement you use. Today I wanted to share some very important variations of suspended lunging that we use to take people's training to a new level.

The most difficult part? Being comfortable with not judging the success of the lift by how much weight you lift, rather by the results you obtain.

Beyond Abdominal Training

A lot of people have taken such a great interest in the story of my low back injury, I wanted to talk about really what has made a difference. 80% of Americans will experience low back pain some time in their life, and well, mine was a little more than some slight discomfort.

While most people think I am a powerlifter or strongman, the sport I played most of my life was basketball. It was also the sport most impacted by two herniated discs when playing in high school. Not knowing how to strengthen it, it eventually caught up with me playing in college to the point where I lost use of my right leg for a very brief time.

Even when I regained use of my leg, the pain was immense and I struggled with it for a long time. I did physical therapy and I went to corrective exercise certifications and programs. However, understanding what was weak and wrong didn't occur to me when I switched my philosophy completely.

What I learned about myself is that I suffered from some problems that a lot of people suffer from.

1. I really didn't understand how to move correctly. I didn't know how to produce force, absorb force, use mobility in my hips and spine to produce movement.

2. I didn't know how weak my hips were really! Renown strength coach calls this, gluteal amnesia, but I think it goes into hamstrings as well. When I realized how they didn't know how to work together I knew I had a lot of room to improve.

3. I didn't know how to resist force, I could produce power and force, but I didn't understand how to resist it. When I started incorporating drills that addressed these issues I saw my pain go down and performance go way up!

Many people want to know the drills I used to get better. To be honest, they are the exact same ones I have been teaching for the past four years. Now, I have outlined them in a series so YOU can see the progression of movement and learn how to help others or yourself get out of the same pain and frustration I spent several years with!

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Rotational Exercises

The Armory Challenge

I have gotten a ton of emails from people over the last few military based workouts. It seems people have always been fascintated with the fitness level of those in the military. When people think of being "in shape" they want the endurance and strength that soldiers are able to demonstrate. Yet, even the military has had to update their techniques to keep up with an ever more demanding and challenging world. That is why I was honored to help out our military with a specific program to get their best through the selected process.

The ideas and concepts though that are used in these workouts can be used by anyone. Some of the keys is to "fill in the holes" where most training fails. That is why the TRX and Ultimate Sandbag are so important as they allow us to train ranges of motions and patterns that are impossible with most common implements. Using our "Tough Enough" or this weeks' "Armory" workout can really not only enhance your fitness, but resilency to injury as well.

Check out our Military Sale Special

Take the "Tough Enough" Challenge

So many people wanted to see the types of workouts I created for the Special Forces candidates. Watch the video to not only see a great workout, but why we are using these exercises and tools! Get the secrets to being elite!

Don't forget about our Military Special going on now!!! Click Here

The Inner Athlete

I’ll admit it, my last video was less than stellar. I guess sitting in a car for five hours and rushing to shoot one of my favorite complexes wasn’t the best ideas. Yet, I love how much feedback one can get from these advanced movements. I could tell you my hips were tight and some serious work needed to be done on my hips.

After a week to get back into the flow of things I wanted to share some new drills that I have been working on that do more to get your inner athlete in top shape. What is the “inner athlete”? Whether you want to compete as a weekend warrior, play with your kids without being in pain, or being able to do things that make you feel your best without being wiped, everyone is an athlete.

The unfortunate part is so many people still get in a rut, it doesn’t matter whether they are using kettelbells, bodyweight movements, or a combination of a whole bunch of great tools. That is why sandbags have become so important to me, because the versatility is virtually endless.

In this weeks video I have four drills that are powerful whether you are a weekend warrior or an elite athlete, movement is king and these drills can do wonders for your movements.

One-arm Rips

This looks very similar to a single arm shouldering movement, however, it is all predicated off of the rotation of the hip. That rotation causes enough power that the sandbag should almost “float” up to the shoulder. An amazing drill for hip, trunk, and arm power. Believe it or not this is a killer upper body drill as well even though you don’t lift with the arms.

Lateral Step Around the Worlds

Around the Worlds are one of my favorite drills as it builds great power through the hips and trunk while providing mobility to the spine and shoulder girdle. Some people have seen these similar drills with other objects, however, the Ultimate Sandbag is unique because their dimensions work better in more complex versions. To add sophistication to the Around the World drill changing the stance can make the body view this as a whole new drill for stability and strength.

Scoop Rows

I believe bent-over rows get a bad name because they are hard! That isometric strength used by the low back is so important in overall back health. Add in a unique gripping option in placing the arms in a “scoop” position really toasts the upper arms and back in a unique way.

Squat Thrusts to Split Chops

Squat thrusts are nothing new, but people cheat them all the time. Taking the time to perform them right makes them not only a great conditioning drill, but powerful for hip flexibility and power. The split chop is another example how the Ultimate Sandbag just puts other sand tools to shame. Our overhead chops sure got a lot of popularity, but again, we need to think outside the box. Making this a split chop make sure that we can build some single leg power and amazing athleticism for anyone!

Try these drills in a circuit manner, either set some reps or simply use the Gymboss to count off intervals. You will find that you hit muscles you didn’t have and doing any extra “cardio” is not necessary. Best of all you will feel like you are regaining your right to being an athlete and enjoying the most important things in your life!

In Strength,
Josh Henkin

http://SandbagFitnessSystems.com

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!

Can YOU Keep Up with Pink?

This workout can make even the toughest men feel very humble, see if YOU can get through it!

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

New Interview

The last couple of months have been an explosion for our Sandbag Fitness Systems. After many years of work, it seems we are making a dent in the "functional training" industry. Most exciting isn't the fact we have been bringing back the use of sandbags, but putting forth the science and meaning behind sandbag training.

Just last week I had the pleasure of being interviewed by world renown strength coach, Charles Staley. I have known Charles for some time, but still being interviewed by one of the most well respect strength coaches of our time is very exciting! We talked for about an hour and I think I even got Charles pretty psyched about sandbag training.

Check it out:

Josh Henkin Interview

Don't Miss out on the Advanced and Burly Bag Sale Going on Now:

Big Sandbag Sale!

They are so full of it!!

I have to admit, this is going to be one of those posts where I can't help my personal feelings really get the best of me. Recently I had a well known strength coach write me and say how much he enjoys the sandbags for conditioning, they are a really great tool for that. WOW! Is that all you think this training can be for, conditioning? 

This doesn't surprise me, the industry as a whole is generally full of contradictions. We love to refer to the training of old-time strongmen, but very few actually perform any sort of the training these amazing athletes did. They were not only well conditioned, but possessed amazing flexibility and strength. Listen to what the great John Jesse wrote in his book, "The Encyclopedia of Wrestling Conditioning"...

"Sandbags, heavy stones, and war clubs were used for the development of strength by wrestlers of many nations for several hundred years, long before the invention of the iron barbell."

I think most of us can agree there are few athletes that can match the amazing all-round athleticism of wrestlers (this is coming from someone who played every team sport, but never wrestled). 

John Jesse goes on to say...

"Sandbags over 100 pounds are awkward to handle and provide a true test of all-around strength, particularly in lifting them overhead or brining them to the shoulder with one hand. Some of the old-time strongman wrestlers would shoulder a 180 to 220-pound sack of grains to the shoulder with one hand and then walk several hundred yards with the bag on their shoulder. A few were capable of pressing the same bag overhead with one hand after bringing it to the shoulder."

Let's face it very people really do understand the amazing all-around strength these athlete possessed. It almost seems impossible by today's standards. 

That is why I have placed challenges such as the "3 Rounds of Hell", or "The Warrior Challenge". I have received hundreds of emails of people trying to accomplish these challenges and not coming even close. So, I am DARING you to get into the best fitness of your life! Don't be want of the cheesy infomercial fitness gurus that most people (whether or not they admit it) are trying to emulate. Challenge yourself to be so much more!!!

              

Don't Be This               Become Super Human

Don't Miss Out on Our Sale on The Ultimate Sandbag that Can Help You Become Super Human: Check It Out Here Now!!!

Is Your Workout Dumb?

“Tough”, “hard”, “improves coordination”, “powerful”, these are all terms people throw around as though they actually mean something. Program after program, person after person, I hear references to these terms that end up meaning nothing.

For example, swimming 2000 meters is hard for me, however, does it mean I should be trying to accomplish it? Does it have any relevance to my fitness goals? Performing ten minutes of kettlebell snatches is tough, again, does it have any meaning to my goal? People often mix up very specific training for general fitness. In the two examples I just gave both would be useful, but to two completely different types of athletes. Improving in both of these fitness tests would require very specific training and if getting better at them had meaning to your fitness goals then spending considerable time training for them would be worthwhile.

However, what I often see is the random testing of ones self to these relatively meaningless tests. A test is only good if it provides feedback upon a desired outcome that has meaning. That leads me to my other two favorite statements, “improves coordination” and “builds lots of power”. Again, two of the most vague statements that one could possibly say.

Let’s take a look at “improving coordination”. My favorite definition of coordination is, “the harmonious functioning of parts for effective results.” In strength training terms we have two slightly more scientific definitions of muscle coordination, intermuscular and intramuscular coordination. Intermuscular coordination refers to the ability of the muscles to work together to perform a task efficiently while intramuscular coordination has more to do with maximal motor unit recruitment, rate coding is optimized (firing rates of motor units), and syncrohonization, activation of motor units in a synchronized manner. Ok, I am not saying all this to be a jerk, however, I do find it important to realize that we use terms commonly without much meaning behind them.

Most times people refer to coordination to my first definition, basically, they learn how to move better. In this respect, coordination is very important, however, many coaches are prescribing programs that do very little for coordination. Why? Many programs fall into the trap of being very redundant, same patterns, same speeds, same ranges of motion.

Let’s look at some classic patterns. Here is a program commonly prescribed for upper body strength:

Military Press x 5
Chin-ups x 5
Bench Press x 5

A quick look at this type of routine and you may find nothing really that wrong with it. I hate to say wrong, but more lacking imagination and training a lot of fitness qualities we need. During our L.I.F.T. certification in Sweden we talked extensively why it was important to build complexity and to analyze many needs into a routine. Let’s look at the same routine with three different L.I.F.T. types of programs.
Workout Option A
Sandbag Shoulder to Shoulder Press x 5
Body Row with Hands Pronated x 12
Band Horizontal Presses x 30 seconds

Workout Option B
Eccentric Pull-ups x 3
Suspended Pike to Push-up x 10
Sandbag Clean and Push Press x 15

Workout Option C
Single Arm Suspended Push-ups with Arm Extension x 5 each side
Single Arm Band Row with Pause for 2 seconds x 10 each arm
Sandbag Around the Worlds x 30 seconds each side

You can see how quickly we add some much needed sophistication to a relatively simple concept. We have not taken away from the general idea of an overhead, horizontal, and upper body pull. Instead we have changed a few important variables.

Not every repetition and set scheme is the same. Since the body needs to be challenged with some higher strength intensities, moderate, and endurance, we have organized the exercises to reflect this. The first exercise in the series is designed to provide the higher intensity levels and will be performed when the body is more fresh. The intermediate schemes are in between, and endurance is laid at the end of the routine when fatigue is at the highest.
We have shown many different patterns in which to stay true to the idea of overhead, horizontal, and upper body pull. This goes very well with the Pavel Tsastouline idea of “same, but different”. Changing the rep/set schemes, implements, and patterns allows us to train these natural patterns of movements in a way which our body’s “encyclopedia of movement” grows.
Speeds and ranges of motion have been manipulated to stimulate other fitness qualities and coordination patterns. Simply changing speed or the range of motion can often provide a completely new stimulus to the body. Plus, we have added in the much neglected part of isometric training with some of these movements.
A workout like this can be easily modified to any fitness level simply by adjusting patterns or levels of progression. This means we can make some of these “corrective” in nature or even high level of performance.

Hopefully you can see now that most of the routines and programs that we are following are not building us long-term success. They are sacrificing some immediate specialization for the sake of long-term progress and results. Don’t be fooled into performing a routine just because someone said it was “hard” or “tough” make sure that the programs you are following are matching the goals YOU have set forth.

Next week I will share some videos demonstrating these concepts in further detail and releasing a NEW sandbag challenge!

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

Hardcore Upper Body Training

To say things have been busy and hectic is a HUGE understatement! I hate to miss giving you great updates so I took advantage of my time training to share with you all what I like to do in training. Being busy is the life of a great coach and many of your clients. Maximizing results is a combination of picking the right exercises and the right formula. Check out this upper body workout that has allowed me to keep my strength from my Strongman days, but has kept me without all the aches and pains a lot of my competitors get!

Big news! We are coming to Orange County for an action packed day October 17th at the Premier Koh Physical Therapy Clinic! For more information email Davis Koh at: davispt@gmail.com

She Was The Toughest Person

Honestly, when I was planning to write this blog on Friday I had no idea the turn it was going to take. You see, I have been waiting for three months very excited to see Sandbag Fitness Systems get a very big article in a popular fitness magazine. Unfortunately, I was bummed not only to see us left out of the article completely, but we weren't properly credited for a picture of our "Ultimate Sandbag" either. Many of you were very kind with very generous words of encouragement, but I was still a little ticked off.

The more I thought about it the more I could hear the voice of my stepmother in my head, "ok, so what are you going to do now?" For most of my life my stepmother and I were very close, mostly because she was extremely no nonsense. Not because she didn't care, but she herself had to overcome so many obstacles in life that she didn't know anything else but telling it how it was. I remember when I had to retire from basketball too early. A dreamed dashed, but she didn't want me to feel sorry for myself, but rather wanted to know where I was going to put my energy. 

It wasn't tough love, but an amazing ability to keep perspective on things. That is what I thought about after being disappointed this week. Every day I am fortunate to help so many people that little setbacks are no big deal, don't dwell on things that are so negative. 

Her inspiration went a long ways with me. I have worked with professional athletes and elite military personnel and I would say they would all consider my stepmother the toughest person they would meet. She wasn't a hardass, quite the contrary, she would help a stranger she met just minutes earlier if she could. However, she was determined never to have life's challenges keep one from reaching their potential. 

This came to be very true when she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer ten years ago. Finding that the cancer was in bones and organs the doctors only gave her a few months to live. My stepmother had other ideas, even though she was told she had only months she was determined not to get beaten by the disease. Not only did she live more than a few months, but she fought so hard for seven years till the disease finally did win. 

During those seven years though she just didn't sit around feeling sorry for herself, she became one of the strongest advocates nationally and locally for women with breast cancer. In fact, one of my very first speaking engagements was at a local fundraiser she was running, many, many years ago. 

It was always amazing to me that she was so eager to help others even though her own health was failing every day. Even though her body was failing her, it was incredible that her spirit never was. 

My stepmother was a tremendous supporter of mine, although I am not sure if she always understood what I did. Yet, I do remember when she was so proud that she could snatch a 3 pound dummbell ten times without being exhausted. I knew one day that my family would be without her, but I did always want to do something to embody her spirit. 

For some time it has been a challenge just to educate people on sandbag training. However, since we have made such great progress it has allowed us some unique opportunities. One in particular was to come out with a special pink sandbag. This bag was designed with my stepmom in mind. I wanted to do something that allowed us to give back in the same way she gave back every day. 

That is why, with help from a good friend, we are working with the SingletonMoms.org. This is a Phoenix based organization that helps single moms living with cancer. From now till the end of October I will be giving 20% of sales of our pink bag to the Singleton Moms organization. I want to raise money, a lot of it!! I hope you will take time and work with us. 

I realize in this day and age people are hooking up with all types of charities for business reasons. I truly hope after hearing my story that you will see that this is very dear to my heart and will invest in not only a phenomenal fitness tool, but those that need help as well.

THANK YOU!

Purchase the Pink Sandbag: Click Here

Here are three workouts that demonstrate our Pink Sandbag is not for the faint of heart!

The New Age of Group Fitness

I went into great detail last time about the fact we have to evolve or perish! That means everything from our training methods to our business models. As renown strength coach, Alwyn Cosgrove, states, the future of fitness is in group training. How you structure your group training models can vary greatly. Sure, lots of methods work from large bootcamps to smaller semi-private training models are all means to help both the clients and instructor enjoy the coaching processes that much more. Let's face it, coaches and trainers get into the industry to help people, but if you are so exhausted from the extreme long hours of one on one training, how much benefit are you providing your clients?

It is great that many coaches and trainers have found that group training is the way to go for longevity, however, just as with one on one, group training can be good and very bad! Planning far ahead and having a strong training philosophy is key in making these programs a long-term success. That is a major reason that I love The Ultimate Sandbag so much. The challenges that face a coach working with a group are numerous. From working with various ability levels to teaching fun and innovative exercises, the work is actually much more, fortunately so is the payoff!

I find that educating people on the versatility and power of these programs is of the utmost importance. That is why two weeks ago I was in Long Beach for the Perform Better three day summit. With some of the top names in attendance (Mike Boyle, Robb Rogers, Alwyn Cosgrove, Eric Cressey, etc.) you couldn't help but learn something helpful.

I did as well especially when I got to speak with many of the coaches, both who were lecturing and those in attendance. One in particular was Cameron Hedges of Results Fitness. Cameron is the head of group fitness at Results Fitness and has been implement our Ultimate Sandbags for some time. Listen to how Coach Hedges implements our Ultimate Sandbags and get a sneak peek into my presentation on the proper use and programming of sandbags.

You Evolve or Die

Well, without getting into a big debate over evolution, this is one of the basic principles in our world. Now, you can talk in terms of Darwinism or heck, just the sporting world! No, don't doze off yet! This isn't a lecture over Darwinism or a debate on evolution, it is rather a fact that our current world faces including myself!!!

They say that all sports are copycats, meaning whatever system the best team ran, all the others want to start to copy. A good example is last year's Miami Dolphins. Two years ago they won only one game, last year they threatened to make the playoffs. This was incredible considering they really didn't upgrade their players. Instead, the new coaching staff implemented an unusual offense that surprised many teams, called "Wildcat".

This offense is run through the college ranks, but never seen in the pros. Knowing that the Dolphins didn't have the players to really compete in a traditional pro football offense, the coaches got creative, really creative! Although they did not go to the playoffs or win a Super Bowl, their turnaround was one of the biggest ever in the NFL. The result was that almost every team now thinks about how to implement this unusual offense into their own team's program. There was an evolution and a lot of "thinking outside the box" that allowed the Dolphins to experience success.

Where the heck am I going with all this? It reminds me a lot of what were are doing with our Sandbag Fitness Systems program. It began as a simple idea, I wanted a sandbag that met the needs of my strength program. Now it has evolved into a full blown system that goes way beyond the concept of simply a sandbag. "The Ultimate Sandbag" is now a training tool that solves movement limitations, aids in increasing performance, and is a staple in fat burning programs of some of the top coaches in the country.

This idea of evolution can also be thought in terms of our "Ultimate Sandbag" itself. As the demands on "The Ultimate Sandbag" rises, so does our design. As many of you may have noticed we have gone through many designs, specifically on our filler bags. One of the most powerful aspects of our "Ultimate Sandbag" is the function of our filler bags. Being able to change weight and be clean about it is something that truly separates "The Ultimate Sandbag" from any other sandbag like product on the market.

You will now see a new evolution on these filler bags. We recently tried two have two inserts, but that was extremely costly and did not serve the purpose we were hoping. Now, you will see one filler again, but we have new aspects of this filler that will truly allow us to evolve and keep growing the program into something the industry continues to recognize as a leader.

What About All the Others?

Is there any other industry that is so prone to flip flop behavior and ideas more than the fitness and sports performance industry? Really, between "core training", "functional training", and "sport-specific training" it seems that these popular buzz words are so popular that you can ask ten different coaches what they mean and probably get ten different answers.

One that cracks me up is sport-specific training. I love when parents want their 13 year old to perform sport-specific training! These kids have so little training background that such training is useless as they need to build a base of strength, endurance, and flexibility. Nowadays, this trend is so bad that it is having a large negative impact on their training!

Then you have another group that tries to replicate sporting movement with weights. That isn't sport-specific training, that is foolish and often results in ruining the sport skill that you are trying to improve.

There is the group that believes you should just try to get crazy strong in the weight room and this will take care of everything on the field. You know the team that brags about their bench and squat numbers, but ends up having a very average record for the season.

Then there finally is a group that shouldn't perform any strength training. Yes, in the modern age there are still coaches and sports that think strength training makes you immobile and lose your sporting skill. One of the sports is the one I grew up playing, basketball.

No, basketball players are training, well sorta! There are still a lot of players and coaches that think strength training is going to mess up their shot. In fact, legendary strength coach, Vern Gambetta, once told the story of working with the Bulls in the 80's and how upset the head coach was about the guys lifting! That isn't THAT long ago.

Of course you have those that do train, but they bodybuild, try to powerlift or olympic lift. It is as though we try to cram athletes into our strength training paradigms. A good coach can recognize not only the needs of the athlete, but the challenges they face as well.

I feel outside of football our interest in really developing strength programs for other sports is very limited. Firstly, basketball players typically have terrible leverages because of their height. Trying to force them to do the same lifts guys who average 5'7 excel in is a little crazy!!! Can they benefit from them? Maybe, but is there a better way? That is why I believe sandbags are such a terrific tool when implemented correctly. Remember the goal of athletics isn't to make your athletes better lifters, but better athletes.

Want to see an example of how powerful sandbags can be for not only producing powerful results, but problem solving? Check out today's video:

A Powerful Combination

I just came back from the Long Beach Perform Better Summit and had such a great time being around some of the great strength coaches in the industry! Those that work with the most elite athletes and those that are running the most successful training businesses. Throughout the whole weekend everyone shared innovative ideas from training to how to run a more successful training facility. 

It is funny how many are saying the same thing, just in a slightly different way. However, out of all the information shared one theme rained throughout. This was the idea that group training is the new age of personal training and coaching. The age of one on one personal training is dying quickly. I love how renown strength coach, Alwyn Cosgrove, explains why this long time used business model is so ridiculous. 

What is done in a group atmosphere? Swimming lessons with kids, martial art classes, firearms, SWAT and military training, physical therapy, and about all team training! The idea that we still have one on one sessions is absolutely ridiculous. Sounds great right? Our clients enjoy their training more, we as coaches enjoy the training and build more successful businesses. However, there is just one little problem, how do you set up an effective group training environment. 

One of the many goals in my L.I.F.T. certification is to answer this question. This is one of the most powerful benefits of my Sandbag Training and the L.I.F.T. certification, it is that they are perfect for group training facilities and can be easily adapted to these programs to provide the clients with a fun, but highly effective training result. 

There are many great coaches already having great results with this type of model. One of this is Dale Buchanan of Supreme Ultimate Fitness. Dale has created very unique programs that fall into the same mindset of the L.I.F.T. program, I highly recommend you check them out! 

Coming soon is more videos demonstrating how to organize the most unique and powerful training programs in an systemized manner. Check out our upcoming certifications 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!