Beating The Gym's Ass!

I have long used sandbags in my training programs, however, it has only been the last few months they have really taken center stage. Having so many toys in my training facility it is often hard to use only one, however, I have found as I got busier and busier that I did tend to drift towards the sandbags. Yes, I have TRXs, Jungle Gyms, and kettlebells, I also have bands, sleds, and a ton of other great toys, but why the sandbags?

The best reason is that I know that any exercise I perform I am going to be challenged more than I could by any other tool, yes, even more than a barbell. One arm kettlebell snatches with a 32kg bell is a vacation compared to snatching with two hands a 90 pound sandbag! A 250 barbell front squat is no big deal compared with a 150 pound sandbag zercher squat. You can see that it is hard to find a equivalent for sandbag work. More muscles=better results!

It could also be that sandbags are so amazingly versatile. With a kettlebell you can hold it in the rack position by the shoulder, overhead, or by your side, however, with a sandbag you can have it on the shoulder, overhead, in the zercher, in the clean position, bear hug, or even on the back. Instantly you have six different variations of almost any exercise.

Grip work? Oh yea, sure lifting heavy bars helps your grip, but digging into a sandbag is like nothing else. The constantly shifting weight and awkward nature of the sandbag makes it an unusual grip tool. Just ask grip expert John Brookfield who recently became a fan of our sandbags!

Of course nothing can say more than movement over muscles. The quality and number of movements one can perform with the sandbag are endless. Feeling athletic is so far underrated and is really what makes people feel strong and powerful. The athletic drills you can create and perform truly make you feel half your age, or that you can compete with anyone!

The key is how you put it all together. This is the first video shot at my new facility and demonstrates how to put together all these great properties of sandbag training!