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!!!
Starting to accomplish those 2010 goals means putting them into motion as soon as possible. The past week I began showing you 50 unique upper body exercises, such drills besides being amazingly effective make training fun again.
Being motivated and consistent often means having new challenges, this new year of 2010 has already started off with a bang with new training tools to compliment our Ultimate Sandbag to bring you dynamic training routines.
Nothing feels better than regaining athleticism or actually ACHIEVING your training goals. Using workouts like the one above brings fun new challenges and excitement to training. It is a great way to start off the new year! Wait, tomorrow will be one more new big release!!!
Competition, nothing gets my juices going like it! That is why when I received an email yesterday challenging me I couldn't wait to get going.
Michael C. from New Jersey (of course a good East Coast boy would write me a good challenge) wrote me: "Josh, I know you really are into the sandbags, but they don't seem that good for building the upper body. There aren't THAT many exercises you can perform with them."
Wow! My wheels just started turning in all the ways that sandbags can be used to perform all types of unique upper body exercises. So Michael inspired me to take on a personal challenge. I wanted to show all of you 50 upper body exercises you could do with the Ultimate Sandbag.
Maybe Michael was right, with a homemade or knockoff sandbag you can't do all that much training. However, with our Ultimate Sandbag and our new Ultimate Core Strap there is soooo much that can be done.
What makes sandbags such a great upper body training tool?
1. Change where you grab the sandbag or the position of the Ultimate Sandbag and you change the loading of the weight. Just see how different grabbing the ends is versus the handles, or doing a standard press is to a shoulder to shoulder.
2. We can manipulate leverage to create greater perceived loads. Try performing a press from a lunge position or just staggered stance. The load of the Ultimate Sandbag seems so much greater.
3. The Ultimate Core Strap allows for bands, cables, and leverage all to be used to create very unique upper body exercises that simply are not possible with other training implements.
Choose a pressing and pulling exercise every time you train and you will have great upper body development. Secondly, add in two isolation exercises if you want to build up some weak points, this is the same method the famous powerlifters at Westside Barbell use too! See all week what 50 upper body drills I suggest!
Innovation is often a result of addressing a specific need. That is how I view everything we do at Sandbag Fitness Systems. From the creation of our Ultimate Sandbag to our newest creations, everything is done to make what I want as a coach possible.
Years ago I was introduced to a unique idea by Strength Coach, John Davies. Coach Davies spoke about strength training with a weight vest on the body. Not just your traditional bodyweight drills, but lifting as well. It was amazing the result this had not only your strength, but conditioning as well.
For me this has become increasingly more important. Old basketball injuries to my feet have really taken their toll where running is definitely out of the question. Yet, I have found this "loaded conditioning" to be an excellent way to still get a tremendous cardiovascular effect.
That is why I am excited to launch the presale of our Ultimate Sandpack! Our Ultimate Sandpack was developed to counter all the short comings that I have often found with standard weight vests.
1. Weight vests always seemed to flop around when doing explosive drills or running. This often caused them to be tremendously uncomfortable and limiting. Our Ultimate Sandpack was designed to conform to the body limiting the bouncing and annoying aspects of standard weight vests. Therefore, you can jump, perform calisthenics, and even jump rope with our Ultimate Sandpack.
2. Weight vests can be hard to adjust and work with an array of people and sizes. We have designed these Ultimate Sandpacks and have found them fit perfectly for everyone from 5'5 to 6'5! That is a wide array of people!
3. Having different weight limits can be very expensive! Our Ultimate Sandpack was designed to work with our 15 pound fillers so you can go as little as 5 pounds and up to 45 pounds in a single sandpack!
4. Many weight vests cut into the shoulder and hurt the back, but our Ultimate Sandpack was made with comfort straps not to dig into the body and yet give a tight fit. Women and men use the Ultimate Sandpack very comfortably.
The Ultimate Sandpack has become one of my favorite tools because old basketball injuries have made it hard to run and my current oral issues can make my arms weak. So, the Ultimate Sandpack gives me an alternative to having to run, in fact, one of my favorite activities has become walking my dogs with the pack. On days my hands hurt and are throbbing, I can load more by using the sandpack and take some stress off the parts of my body that hurt. This and the new exercises that are now created make the Ultimate Sandpack a standard in our training programs!
Pre-order the Ultimate Sandpack: Retail-$169.99, Pre-order-$139.99
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!!
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.
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!!!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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:
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!
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!
Something that I've been meaning to do is really get our Q & A blogs going. So many people write me in with great questions that I want others to learn from their questions. Please, please send in those questions that you have been hesitant to ask because it could really help others! Today is one of our first Q & A blogs.
Hi Josh,
I just purchased the Strength Package, including the High Octane DVD. I did Program One yesterday. I want to make sure I'm starting off correctly, and I have a few questions.
1. I am 48 years old, just under 5'7", 140 lbs. I have always been thin and relatively weak, and have had trouble maintaining an exercise program. I think I will enjoy the Sandbag and stick with it. I am interested in long-term cardiovascular health, as well as building, toning and defining my body. What weight do you suggest to start? I chose 45 lbs., which seemed comfortable yet challenging. Will I see benefits at this weight, or do you think I should increase it right away?
2. Is it safe and beneficial to do the workouts on consecutive days, or should I go every other day?
Thanks for your help. I love the Sandbag and will tell everyone I know about it.-Mike C.
Weight is always relative! Without knowing it you used one of the most common methods of assessing weight which is RPE (rate of perceived exertion). I have long said that sandbag training weights should be dictated by how challenging it feels, not by the number on the scale. A sandbag generally will be lighter than any other strength training implement you have used in the past because of how awkward and "noncooperative" they are. If the weight feels challenging, but allows you to maintain good form then it is the right weight.
The programs on the High Octane DVD were designed to be performed every other day. Now, COULD you do them on consecutive days? Yes, however, you may need a few days after this to recover. Most people don't realize that sandbag training greatly fatigues the nervous system because of all the muscle coordination needed and this is far more fatiguing that just tiring out the muscles. That is why generally I give a day in between for workouts, yet, I realize that some people's schedules do not allow for this. So, to be realistic you can do back to back days but give time for recovery especially if you are beginning to feel very tired or excessively sore.
Ok, this was COMPLETELY unplanned!!! When I launched our new filler bags last week I wasn't anticipating getting slammed with so many emails from customers who already had our product just wanting our new white liner. The question quickly became, "can I buy just the white liner" and to be honest my initial answer was no!
Not because I am trying to be a tough guy, just the opposite. We have quite a few people email daily confused about which Ultimate Sandbag is right for them, adding the white liner option would make things even more confusing. Additionally, the new filler bags are not cheap! Keeping things in the USA is very important for me, but it does come with a higher cost. Yeah, you may see that our prices were raised slightly, but we actually decided to eat some of the cost because selling a superior fitness tool is more important than doing it for cheap and making more money! Doing them together did make it a little more manageable.
However, since I want to give you guys what you really want and thank you all of you that have been such strong supporters, I am going to do a one week special on the white liners. Here is the deal though....you will only be able to purchase them buy themselves for one week, they won't ship out till a week from tomorrow as we will only order as many as we need. So it will take 2-3 weeks to get your white liners. In addition, they must be used in some type of canvas filler, we won't guarantee any of them that were used by themselves.
Believe it or not, all that we do is with you guys in mind and we want your sandbag training experience to be the best it can be. So, you can choose from the three sizes below:
People generally don't understand that I take Sandbag Fitness Systems VERY seriously. It isn't a "side project" or something that I do recreationally. That is why I am constantly striving to make my program and The Ultimate Sandbag the best training tool available. I believe that goal was accomplished with our innovation of our filler bags. A great concept that other companies have tried to copy, but have made poor copies.
While our filler bags were very effective, I knew they could be better. Want to see what we have done check out the video below:
These new bags will be shipped out starting Monday with all our packages!!!
I can say it over and over again, The Ultimate Sandbag is sooooo different than anything else! Really, I can say it all I want, but I know the reality, it sounds like the old tiresome marketing that we all get hit with almost daily! So, what does one do? I get great people like all of you to write in with your experiences and it makes things seem so much more real. The greatest gift I get is getting emails from all of you on how my program has impacted you! Today is no different.
Note: Even dogs love our
Sandbags!
A few days ago I received an email from Anthony. Unfortunately, I have never met Anthony, but he was kind enough to share with me what he thought of our Ultimate Sandbag and the programs...
"I had my first park session with the Ultimate Sandbag a short while ago. I have been doing thrusters (squat with a push press) in an interval fashion for fat loss; and I was thinking that the sandbag training wasn't going to be as brutal (and I was a little concerned about that). After a month of rain, I finally got to the park; and enjoyed the session very much. I did 15:15 interval of the lateral shouldering movement (bag dropped to the outside of the foot). I chose the small bag so I could concentrate on form. I was very surprised at the result. I was very sore in the external rotators, glute max, hamstrings and adductors. I have never been sore in that range of muscles before; the thrusters hitting the quads only with the shoulders being a weak link. I think this is the best exercise (movement) I have done and can't want to go heavier.
Thanks Josh All the best"-Anthony S.
Anthony experienced simply everything I had talked about. The difference? He had to experience it for himself! One reason I have found myself traveling so much is because I found people needed to experience what this type of training does. You can't "sorta do the same" with any other piece of training equipment. The unbalanced weight, varying shapes, and all the variety make this a devastating piece of fitness equipment. Sounds like a sales pitch right?! Not really, all of what Anthony said he felt was with a small sandbag that is under $100!!! Shoot, a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells of equivalent weight are easily going to run you over that price. It isn't about the sales pitch, it is about changing people's perceptions of fitness and making it dynamic and exciting again!
I loved what Anthony wrote me, but was even more pleasantly surprised when he sent me a follow up email.
"Just back from a session. My core feels like it is made of rubber now :-) Anyway I thought I would share a little story since I have a minute.
I was talking to my uncle the other day. My father and his family had a fruit and vegetable business 70 years ago. They are always talking about the old days and how they would be loading and unloading trucks by hand all hours of the day and night. While we all have similar builds, one thing I have noticed about them is that they have much thicker hands than I do. I guess it is from lifting all those 140 pounds bags of potatoes. It is not so different from lifting sandbags. It really tickled my fancy thinking about history repeating, or the more things change the more they stay the same; and just after I purchased the Burly Bag.
By the way, I am really enjoying lifting the sandbag."
No, in fact, in the age where being "old school" is viewed as cool, this is the most old school type of training anyone can perform. Sure, people didn't do it for exercise 100 years ago, they did it for work! However, people were so much more fit then than we see today. Read any old time strongman book and what is the key? It is the amazing tendon and ligament strength that was created with such training.
Yes, there are a lot of tools that are awesome, but not all are very versatile. What I love about sandbag training is it can produce everything the famous old time strongmen talked about, but can also be used for our modern techniques as well. It gives such a unique feeling that this will become a staple of every fitness program.
Next week we are going to be releasing some very cool new projects and updates. Keep your eyes out for it and please, keep the great emails coming!!
Wow! To say a lot has been going on is a huge understatement. I have been working so hard at making some changes that are far needed to get Sandbag Fitness Systems to the next level. The first very cool completed project was the new Burly Bag. Yes, A LOT of people have been writing me to get a hold of the new Burly Bag. Originally the bag was designed to be an intermediate between our medium and large sandbag. Then there was a mistake! The manufacturer sent me something much bigger, this bag instead of being able to hold up to 120 pounds could hold 200.
At first I was pissed! Then I started to work with the bag and realized this was actually far better than I had originally designed. Instead of simply having an intermediate bag we had created something brand new. With the length of the bag being the same as the medium, but the load able to go heavy, this became a very unique sandbag. What did I find?
1. When the bag was not filled full it began you at the toughest pulling position creating the best position to develop superior full body power. This pull is stronger than any other type of implement because the weight is also completely against you so you have to generate more force to get the bag moving.
2. The perfect tool for increasing overhead pressing strength. I know you can press with a host of objects, what makes the Burly Bag ideal? People speak about awkward implements, but sandbags are completely unique. Having pressed about every type of strength implement I can say for a fact that sandbags are far and away the most unstable. This makes the Burly Bag a powerful tool in increasing stabilizer strength and makes any other training tool feel much easier!
3. It is amazingly diverse as it can replicate just bout any form of strength training. One of my favorites is how you can use the Burly Bag in a similar fashion, this time without ripped up forearms or a bad back!
The Burly Bag isn't the only new change. Possibly even bigger is the creation of our new filler bags. I had a choice, a tough choice. The filler bags were originally designed to be as durable as possible and still be affordable. It was also awesome that we could have them made in the US. I still felt like they needed more, our customers deserve more. This was so tough because I had to both find a manufacturer that could make the change and more importantly still make it affordable.
I like to believe after a lot of hard work this was accomplished. What is different?
Extra durable stitching was added
The way the stitching is laid is now reinforced
There is now an additional layer to the filler bag that prevents leakage.
Unfortunately this cost quite a bit more! However, it seems more than worth it when you see the new filler bags. The best part is this is done with only a minimal increase in our prices. I decided that Sandbag Fitness Systems would take the rest!! Being able to deliver an incredible training tool is more important than anything. So, now all orders will have our new fillers and the new Burly Bags will come with 3-50 pound fillers.
So don't wait, I am launching an incredible special to save you $40 that will only last till Monday night!! The Burly will come in two styles, black and camouflage, you choose the challenge! Purchase the Black Burly Bag: Click Here : Just $158.99
Purchase the Camouflage Burly Bag :Click Here: Just $168.99
Note: This is a pre-sale, Burly Bags will go out a week from Monday and arrive in 3-5 days for domestic shipments.
Thank you for visiting the Sandbag Fitness Systems Blog. There are hundreds of FREE workouts and training tips throughout our blog and we hope you take the time to see how our Ultimate Sandbag can blast your fitness to new heights. To learn more about our innovative program please check out www.sandbagfitnesssystems.com.
Josh Henkin is a Strength & Conditioning Coach in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is owner of Innovative Fitness Solutions (www.ifsstrength.com). He has trained professional athletes, composed creative fitness programs, and helped clients rehab from serious injuries.
Coach Henkin is also the creator of the Ultimate Sandbag and author of two E-books on Sandbag training. Check out www.sandbagexercises.com for more information on our products and articles.
