It's GOTTA BE the Program

I would feel dishonest, unfair, and untrue if I just showed exercise after crazy exercise to you. Just throwing a bunch of exercises together with some reps and sets really doesn't make a program. Sure, you might get results for a little while just by providing a good effort. Don't worry though it won't be long till the progress plateaus and little aches and pains arise.

Yea, I sound like the glass half empty guy right? Well, maybe it is because I am so tired of people online throwing out random workout. Hey, I like variety and to tell you the truth rarely follow a very set routine. However, I do like to look at a training week and plan some goals.

Ask any successful coach that has actually made long-term progress with clients and they will tell you the same thing, planning is key. How might you make a week of training?

I personally think most people can not handle more than four days of intense training. So, here is how a week may look:

Day 1: Priority of volume with intensity. Options: Density or Ladders

This can be followed by some assistance work done in a circuit style, I personally like intervals for this part of the routine.

Day 2: Power Circuit Training. This is an opportunity for people to work in patterns of motion that they typically don't get with strict strength work. Rotational movements, different lunging patterns, crawling, are all great options within this training session. Typically this is higher repetition work but a more moderate intensity.

Day 3: Strength Focus. Why so late in the week? Generally most people need a significant time building tendon and ligament strength as well as fix muscle imbalances before they place too much emphasis on heavy lifting. Ignoring this rule usually leads to some nasty pain or injury. Lots of interesting ways to develop strength with sandbags though.

Waves: Perform a series of reps in compound movements like clean and press: 1/2/3/3/2/1 the first series is lighter than the second series building upwards.

Clusters: Perform one set with approximately 10 seconds in between till all the "mini-sets" are done. For example, Zercher squats of 5 mini-sets of 2 with 90 seconds of rest after. You can repeat this two to three more rounds.

Day 4: Pure Intervals. This time will help speed up the recovery of the strength focus routine because it will have much lighter loads. The idea is to work up to eventually 60 seconds of work but you can start as low as 15 seconds.

Above is a video of what a Day 1 might look like!

Serious Strength Training

I admit it! I was definitely one of those coaches that believed to have a real, serious, focused training facility I had to have all the usual suspects. Primarily squat racks, bumpers, Olympic bars, etc. C'mon, isn't that what a strength coach should have in his/her facility?

However, if I had to do it over again, I would have!!! While my philosophy of training has not changed how to address it has. If you asked me how to build really solid strength seven years ago I would have said heavy deadlifts, squats, and presses. Now, I would have a completely different perspective. There seems to be so many more options since tools such as sandbags, suspension training, and kettlebells have become available tools.

Now I look at a strength program and not only do I see new opportunities to create strength programs that not only help the weight on the bar, but keep movement abilities as a top priority as well. Too many times when people try to lift more they sacrifice both their athleticism and health. Sure, people can increase the amount they can lift on the bar, but how do you feel? Banged up? Tight? Stiff? I was that person too!

But wait?! How do you get stronger when the weights of sandbags, kettlebells, and suspension units can't come close to what you can put on a bar? Ah, there are numerous ways....

1. Take your same type of movements and change the leverage. For example, start with bear hug squats, move to zercher squats, then shoulder squats. By changing the leverage you change the weight your body feels and can make a lighter weight feel much heavier!

2. Change the speed of movement. Once the tempo of a repetition was really specific. While we have gotten away from that, you can still manipulate a repetition by decreasing how fast you lower a weight, where you add pauses, how fast you try to lift the weight.

3. Alter stability of the exercise. Instead of lifting from a very stable base, try changing the base of support. When you press overhead go from different positions such as a lunge. Rather than just performing a power clean, work on a staggered stance power clean.

Rather than just talking about all the ways, here is a strength workout I performed recently with the same training tools we are talking about.

Out Run the Police?

This week I got a very cool email from one of the most respected people in the fitness and bodybuilding industry, Will Brink. I laughed to myself as one of the first books I ever owned was a Will Brink book!

Well, I was incredibly excited to hear that Will was working with SWAT teams in the Northeast. Even more exciting was that he told me that they were using our Ultimate Sandbag quite a bit as part of their training.

Such news gets me pumped because with all the "warrior" training talk that gets thrown around our military, police, fire, and other emergency groups are the real warriors. Getting fit or healthy is great, but to train when your life REALLY does depend upon it is a whole different thing.

Check out some of the great videos Will sent me of their training!

Don't forget our Over Stock Sale will end soon! Take advantage of it.

Use COUPON CODE 1976 to save 25%:

Advanced Black Packages: Click Here

Advanced Camouflage Packages: Click Here

Power Pink Packages: Click Here

35 Pound Filler White Liners: Click Here

New Inferno DVD

It is finally on the way! Our NEW Inferno DVD is one of the best "Get in Shape Fast!" workout programs you can perform. I joined forces with my good friend Nick Radonijic to bring real life fitness to all of you! This is a two DVD set that contains full instructions and four follow along workouts that will test every aspect of your fitness abilities. These are no joke workouts that help you shred fat fast and get into incredible shape in no time!

This week is our presale, you can get Inferno for JUST: $24.99!!!

Ships out Friday!

More Challenging Upper Body Exercises

My challenge continues with another 10 upper body exercises. Now we are up to 20 awesome sandbag training drills. What do I like about these exercises so much? They allow us to train in ways that are just not possible with other fitness tools.

You will see the overhead press with cable attachment is something brand new. We are able to apply force in multiple directions providing a very unique feel of an old drill. Most people don't think of overhead pressing as a great upper back drill, but combining good pressing techniques with the additional load of the cable makes the upper back fire much more. This acts as both a great range of motion enhancement of the shoulder and muscle balance.

Other drills like the three point row integrates the whole body. The traditional row is enhanced with multiple pulling directions emphasizing various areas of the body depending upon the placement of the sandbag.

As you can see many drills can make your workouts brand new and help blast through some training plateaus! Wait till you see the remaining 30 exercises!

Taking Workouts to the Extreme

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

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.

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

Not Just a Kettlebeller

"You can't base a philosophy around an implement"-Alwyn Cosgrove

At first I actually disagreed with Alwyn's statement. There is so much you can do depending upon the implement you are using. It is hard to perform functional based training if all you have is machines. Yet, I then thought about it more and thought about the rise of kettlebells. The more they grow in the maintstream the more poor use and implementation I see. That is when I began to see Alwyn's point. It still all comes down to coaching.

That is why I recently asked Strength Coach, Stefanie Tropea, to sit down with me and go over some of her training programs and coaching. Why did I ask Stefanie? Besides having a very successful training business in Norwalk, CT, Stefanie has began being successful in the sport of strongman. When a coach can balance business success, personal training success, and client success they are someone we can all learn from.

One of the things I learned from Stefanie was simple, yet perfect. Even though Stefanie is a big kettlebell enthusiast she explained to me it wasn't about lifting kettlebells, it was about using kettlebells to learn better movement. That is exactly how I feel about the Ultimate Sandbag, but she put it so much better.

Take time to listen this great interview with Stefanie Tropea where we discuss all things related to strength training!

Listen to Stefanie Tropea Interview

More Than Screaming and Yelling

Unsophisticated, "hardcore", basic, easy, all these are terms I have heard various people use when refer to sandbag training. You see there is a HUGE difference between using a sandbag exercise and using sandbags as a systemized form of training.

I have seen many jump on board the sandbag bandwagon, but that isn't always a good thing. Seeing the random assignment of sandbag exercises to workouts or techniques being anything BUT good, I don't know if these people help or hurt our efforts. A sandbag by itself does not help you training, using a sandbag with great technique and purpose makes a world of difference in one's performance training.

Trust me, when you see the videos of athletes performing crappy sandbag exercises with the mindset of this being "hardcore", or "toughness training" it is anything but!

During the growth of my Sandbag Fitness Systems program I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet many coaches that I normally would have never spoken with. One of these coaches is Vince McConnell of McConnell Training in Fairhope, Alabama. Vince has been a leader in the fitness community for many years. So, I was really excited when he showed interest in the sandbag program.

Recently Vince sent me two videos of two VERY different athletes. The first is a high level athlete performing one of my favorite Ultimate Sandbag drills, the one legged goodmorning. As Coach McConnell told me this athlete can typically perform this drill with over double the weight with the bar on two feet. Yet, it is very obvious that this athlete is struggling to do less than half the weight on one leg with the Ultimate Sandbag.

This is a perfect example how good coaching can identify the needs of an athlete rather than just trying to "smoke" an already strong athlete. Now, the performance of the athlete, rather than the training of the athlete gets priority.

The next athlete is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Here is a young man that needs to build a base of training and instead of just "making him sweat", Coach McConnell provides a well balanced training program that hits patterns and muscles that makes this not just a preparation program, but definitely will provide this young man an edge in performance. It needs to be pointed out that this young man is not rushing through rep after rep, rather much more attention is spent with technique and performance. This may seem obvious, but how many times have you fallen for the trap of racing against the workout rather than remembering the objective of training for a specific purpose! Are you training or working out?

New German Volume Training

About ten years ago one of the most popular strength coaches, Charles Poliquin, wrote about a revolutionary muscle building program known as German Volume Training. Coach Poliquin based the program off of the off-season training program of German Olympic Lifters that took the off-season as a time to put on functional muscle mass. The program was relatively simple on paper. Ten sets of ten repetitions with a weight you could do 20 repetitions with. Although simple on paper, this was a brutal training program.

Coach Poliquin had a split of:

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Chest & Back Legs & Abs Off Arms & Shoulders Off

This program would definitely put some mass on, but had two main issues.

1. It was great for bodybuilding, but how about those that wanted to have more athletic based training and focused on compound lifts?

2. The recovery from these workouts was brutal and often hard to accomplish.

I had been thinking thought this program could potentially be modified to have some solutions. What I did was create several options that would work for those that were interested in using this style of program with just kettlebells and The Ultimate Sandbag.

1. Still use the 20 repetition weight option as your determination of the correct weight. Alternate sets of kettlebell lifts with the Ultimate Sandbag. For example, if you are alternating Clean and Press and Front Squats perform first series with kettlebells and the second series with the Ultimate Sandbag and Zercher squats.

2. Only perform this GVT once a week and focus on those big lifts that give you the most bang for your buck.

3. Only do 10 sets of 5, where the first 3 sets are with the 20 repetition weight, then move the weight to 15 repetition weight for 3 sets, then four sets of a 10 repetition maximum weight.

I recently used this program with the Ultimate Sandbag rotating the following:

Clean and Press for 5

Shoulder Squat Right for 5

Bent-over Row for 5

Shoulder Squat Left for 5

I used the third option for my program and gave about 60 seconds in between sets. You will find this is perfect for building functional muscle mass, and yep, burning some serious calories! Try it out and send us your results!

Josh Henkin, CSCS

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

You Thought You Were Advanced

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Are They Better Than Kettlebells

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

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

Yet, sandbags do offer two distinct advantages over kettlebells.

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

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

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

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

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

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

How You Are Missing Out

It is inevitable that once something grows more and more criticisms come about from those that misunderstand. A great example of such a thing is the growth of kettlebells. I remember when I attended my kettlebell certification in 2003, more than half of the attendees had never even touched a kettlebell. Now in 2009 you can find kettlebells in Wal-mart, Target, heck, I even saw them at Best Buy!!!

With the popularity of kettlebells has also come massive confusion from all areas. There are people promoting only one use of kettlebells, others saying kettlebells can't build strength while others claim they can almost cure disease! The truth? Kettlebells are a phenomenal form of strength training that has done so much more changing the mainstream's concept of "functional training". However, the truth of the matter there is no one answer. Kettlebells have been used for centuries for strength, endurance, and yes, bodybuilding.

The problem with kettlebells is the same as any other strength training implement. People get stuck on a few good ideas and don't go beyond the scope of what they are good at. That is why complimenting kettlebells with other strength training tools provides a powerful result, typically better than anything that could be achieved with a single tool.

This was the whole concept behind my Synergy program. While many people assume sandbags and kettlebells are very similar, the truth is in all of our workshops people see the distinct differences.

How you combine these two functional tools can create fun and real result producing workouts.

1. The simplest idea is to take a common kettlebell drill and substitute the sandbag. For example, instead of kettlebell front squats, try the sandbag Zercher or shoulder squat. Instead of kettlebell presses, try a sandbag press or shoulder to shoulder press.

2. Using complimentary movements in alternating sets can bring the best of both worlds to a training program. For example, alternate sets of kb swings and sandbag shouldering, or kb turkish get-up with sandbag get-ups, lastly kb snatch with sandbag half moon snatches.

3. Alternate cycles of each which creates less of a total adaptation therefore stimulating new gains in training progress.

These ideas and many more are what Senior RKC Geoff Neupert and I are going to speak about this Thursday. This interview is FREE and all you have to do is sign-up at the site below to reserve your spot!

Kettlebell & Sandbag Interview: Click Here

Sandbags and Kettlebell Experts

Five years ago is when I began my journey of being the leading coach in sandbag training. I remember well being very apprehensive about releasing my first e-book. I wanted nothing more than to share with people a form of training that I found to be so immensely beneficial. Nothing is more scary than putting yourself out there for others to judge, comment, criticize, and evaluate your work. Before I put the book out to everyone I had sent it to a few coaches to get their opinions, heck, these guys would tell me if it sucked! Fortunately everyone was very kind with their words and feedback, yet, there was one person I wasn't sure about.

Pavel Tsatsouline had become a mentor to me and had helped me in my journey of regaining my own athleticism. After attending one of the very first RKCs, I wanted to send him my book for review. What I got back was more than surprising. Pavel was very encouraging about my project, but also thought I would enjoy diagrams he had from an early 1900's Russian strength training book that had numerous sandbag exercises in it! Unfortunately, a computer crash made me lose all the material, none the less the opportunity to see these exercises was very exciting.

Since my first experience with the RKC I have been a big proponent of the training, even in light of some people's negativity. I believe everything has to do with perspective and place. People are always shocked in our workshops about what they learn about training and themselves! Nothing is better than being able to show people the power of what you coach, however, that is often hard to do over the internet. The next best thing? Talking with another great strength coach about how to create powerful and real training programs.

That is exactly what I am doing next week with Senior RKC, Geoff Neupert. I have known Geoff for about five years and let me tell you he is about as big of a skeptic as you find. Having coached on the Division I level and being a top National Weightlifter, Geoff knows what works. So, next week Geoff and I are going to sit down and break down sandbags, kettlebells, and the most effective training programs.

Sales pitch right? Nope, absolutely FREE for you guys! Simply sign-up at the link after this post and you will get your spot on the teleconference. I suggest you don't miss the opportunity to learn some real secrets to training that our clients pay a lot of money to discover!

Sign-up Here: http://kettlebellinterrogations.com/josh/index.html

Better Than Slamming

I get asked all the time about slamming sandbags.."Josh, why can't I slam the sandbags, it would be awesome!!" The reasons are many, but here are a few of my standard responses....

1. All power that a slam would develop is created in the extension (where the body goes back) not in the follow through of the body. If the lifter can extend properly they can develop a ton of power. If the lifter doesn't get the extension of the body the slam is almost rendered powerless.

See how these fighters perform power throws:



While a slam may sound loud without the extension of the torso, the only ones that hurt are those that get back into proper extension prior to the movement.

Soccer players do this every time they perform an overhead throw as well, yet, this is a motion we rarely train! That is why one of my favorite drills to show in our workshops is the back/body throw. When done properly it trains this motion and builds unreal strength in the trunk and hips.



2. There is a limit for every piece of training equipment. Most people would never think of slamming a kettlebell, barbell, dumbbell or other strength tools. A sandbag too has limits, even though the Ultimate Sandbag is made of top of the line materials it isn't invincible. The bigger the sandbag the more compressive forces that go through the bag and those forces could be HUGE!!!!

If you want to train the strength to perform impressive body throws or tosses try the Back/Body Throw and my other favorite drill below!