And The Winner Is......

This past month was the first month I offered our testimonial contest. My goal was to get some great feedback from the most important people, YOU! I wasn't disappointed as I was flooded with some great responses and ideas. The winner was to get any package of their desire. The feedback was so great that I couldn't help and pick just one winner and two people, Paul Meyer and Steven Morris, gave me some great insights.

Steven Morris:

Sandbags are great for fixing “strength leaks.” When it comes to training football players and athletes, there can be no leaks! Leaks = injuries and lack of peak performance. So many guys are weight-room strong but can’t transfer that power to the field. Sandbags allow you to take your weight room strength, fix all the holes (common problems are weak obliques, and weak shoulders at odd angles), and make huge improvements in athletic ability.

Athletics is not just about doing weight lifting in a perfect bar path…no, you need strength at all kinds of joint angles and body positions. Sandbags, because they are almost alive, force you into all of these positions and angles and make you stronger in them.

"They are used as either a stand-alone conditioning tool, as part of a Strongman workout (along with Farmer’s Walk Bars and sleds), or as a finisher; a high rep exercise done at the end of a training session to push past mental barriers and increase mental toughness.

Most people overlook the fact that a heavy sandbag can even be used for Sub-maximal (repeating a moderately heavy weight for multiple sets of low reps) training. In fact, this will actually help your weight room lifts by eliminating those ever-present weak points.

How would explain the difference between our sandbags versus homemade versions?

Josh’s bags are bomb-proof. I’ve never had one rip, and the inner bags actually keep the sand where it belongs: in the bag! One of the problems with using store-bought duffel bags is that if they get wet, even in the least bit, they will simply rot away. Josh’s bags can withstand all types of weather and keep on tickin’.

Sandbags are probably the best bang for your buck. Because you can use them in so many different ways, plus the huge amount of exercises you can do, they are a tremendous value. I buy most pieces of equipment based on how many uses I can get from it. With sandbags, the number of uses are endless.

Paul Meyer:

Why did you choose to use sandbags in your training?

I had been to a kettlebell seminar of Josh's and was so impressed that I signed up and paid for the second part of it two months down the line. However it turned out I could not attend the second seminar. So I wrote an email to you guys and you offered me a refund but while I was looking around your website for your email address I came across the Ultimate Sandbag. Immediately I was intrigued and read every article and blog Josh had posted about training with a sandbag. So when he offered me a refund for the second seminar I said, "How about if I just put it towards a one on one training session with you to teach me how to use the Ultimate Sandbag." Josh agreed and in that hour showed me so many interesting, amazing, fun, challenging exercises that I became as giddy as a kid on Christmas day. I immediately bought the Strength Sandbag Package the minute the training session ended, came home and started doing the exercises he showed me again because it was so fun.
What results have you noticed since implementing sandbags?

"One of the first things that I had noticed improve after training with a sandbag was my stability on extreme ranges of motion. I mean one of the first things that I realized when I picked up a sandbag was how clumsy I was with it because the weight kept moving. Trying to do a snatch+lunge movement was impossible and I kept losing my balance. But the more I trained with it the more my hips and trunk really had to start stabilizing all my movements not only in one plane of movement but two and three planes as well.


How have you incorporated sandbags into your training?

When I first incorporated sandbags into my routine I was using it to do very explosive, dynamic exercises such as the snatch+squat+press complex or the half moon snatch (which by the way became one of my favorite sandbag exercises). I really fell that these exercises complement kettlebell training very well so I started combining an exercise from each into supersets. For example I would do 30 seconds of half moon snatches immediately followed by 30 seconds of heavy KB swings. As of now I still use them in that way but I have also started to use just the filler bags themselves. For example, if I want to do a set of curls I don’t use dumbells anymore I just pull out a filler bag and do curls with them. I have found that they are just as effective but because I can’t rap my thumb around them like a dumbell, curls with filler bags really smoke my grip.

How would explain the difference between our sandbags versus homemade versions?

When I brought my Ultimate Sandbag home for the first time I had to show my brother. I started to show him the exercises that could be performed with them. I let him try a couple and he was instantly hooked. He asked, “How much did it cost?” I told him and he was a little apprehensive, “You paid that much!? I bet I could make one just like that for cheaper.” So the next day he set out to make his own sandbag to try an imitate the Ultimate Sandbag. In the end what he came up with was what he believed was a good sandbag. However he made the filler bags out of too cheap of material and too porous and the bag itself was just a military duffel bag. So when he filled it with sand and started exercising he quickly got a nice face full of sand. He also found out that the duffel bag had poor handles for grip so he just started grabbing the bag itself for exercise. However the duffel bag was far too coarse because it was designed for the military and his hands started to get torn up. It was at this time that he turned to me and said, “What did you say the price of that sandbag was again?” I couldn’t stop laughing for ten minutes.

How would you compare sandbags to other training implements?

I would love to sit here and tell you how training with the sandbag is. Like, "it feels this way when you use it" or "it feels just as that other training tool feels like when you lift it", but the truth is that it’s like nothing else that I have ever trained with. It’s simple but complex, easy to use but difficult to use at the same time. You simply have to try it to understand what it’s like.

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More Complete Programming

I wrote previously that the current trend of focusing on one or two exercises actually doesn't really help our bodies like many are promoting. How do I know? When I ran my last High Octane Seminar I was shocked, floored, and disappointed. I was working with some great individuals, many had a pretty extensive experience in strength training, yet when we did what I consider fundamental sandbag movements people stumbled and appeared uncoordinated.

Does this mean that these people are not good athletes or coaches? Of course not, but they had fallen into the trap believe one or two exercises could get them well prepared to be athletic and fit.

We often use the former Eastern European system of training in high regards because the athletes and coaches accomplished the most with the least. One of the fundamental principles was committing an extensive phase of a vast array of movements to prepare the body for more specific demands of sport. This guaranteed well rounded fitness in the way of flexibility, strength, endurance, and athleticism.

So, if this has been used some of the world's best athletes why do we continue to ignore it? Part of this is that the idea of performing one exercise for hundreds of repetitions seems simple and allows one to get very good at one thing fast. However, you can see the limitations are great! The second reason is that most people don't know where to spend there time and feel that performing these workouts would be an extensive time of workout that would be unrealistic.

Today's video shows that this is simply not true as I use some of my friend's Anthony Diluglio's equipment to help combine with my Ultimate Sandbag a phenomenal and powerful workout anyone can get benefits.

Mix It Up for Better Results

I fall into the trap all the time, my workouts tend to lean towards one type of training method until I read or remember something that makes me go, "AH-HA!" One of my major "ah-ha" moments was to remember that the workouts don't have to be so plain and stagnant. What do I mean?

In the fitness industry we get into trends, fads, and misinformation. Believe it or not some of these things can be positive or negative. A positive trend is to have shorter, more productive workouts. Those that don't run hours long performing exercises that simply drain our bodies without having a positive training effect.

However, with the idea of shorter workouts has come to bad ideas. The first being very focused on only performing 1-3 exercises for all your routines. This goes against so much training science that basically our body needs to be introduced to many different exercises and movements. The more our bodies are exposed to, the more our bodies are prepared for heavier intensities and prevent many common overuse injuries.

The second issue is performing only one method that becomes highly publicized. Sure tabatas and intervals are great, but if you sit down and think about it coming up with over ten different training programs is easy. Each type of training has pros and cons so only adhering to one form of training allows you to achieve some success, but also makes you accumulate the negative training effects as well.

I wanted to show today how you can easily integrate different training methods to accomplish different goals. You will see we I am not promoting performing twenty different movements, but several core different movements that should be emphasized. When combined with tomorrows workout, it is a very powerful accumulative effect!

First Sandbag Challenge

I'll admit it, training day after day can be a little bit hard. Motivation is easy to lose without a clear direction and goal. For most people having short and long-term goals are vitally important. Long-term goals may vary from losing 20 pounds, dropping 10% body fat, eliminating back pain, to a host of other things. However, short-term goals are often best laid out some performance benefits.

Because we all can improve in performance rather quickly. Taking on the challenge of a workout can often inspire motivation and better adherence. That is why I wanted to put out the first Sandbag Challenge: Melt. Why Melt, well, if you do the workout right you can feel that you are melting unwanted body fat, but also burning up apathy and laziness.

Simply, you can do this program without being driven. It is challenging enough to be performed by even the most advanced athlete, but can be modified for a beginner as well.

What weight should you use? I would recommend the following guidelines:

Beginning women: 40 pound small bag
Trained women: 70 pound medium bag
Beginning men: 70 pound medium bag
Trained men: 120 pound large bag

Follow the workouts below and get ready as the competitions are coming. Yes, this is the first in a series of videos that will get you prepared for competitions where you can win major prizes by getting in great shape now. Just follow the video and let me know how you like the first Sandbag Challenge!



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

Workouts for Busy Parents

What do you do when training can't be the focus on your world? What happens when you are responsible for your family? Most people give up on their fitness programs because it becomes too overwhelming to continue on a fitness program. However, that is one of the worst things you can do for yourself.

More and more people are single parents, and many times even in two parent households, both parents have to work. This seems too often mean sacrificing yourself and what is good for you for the sake of the family. While that can be admirable, sacrificing one's health does little for the good of the family.

I have worked with a lot of overweight kids. I wish it was a population that I never had to work with, not because I do not like the kids, but because it is a type of population that shouldn't exist. In fact, I remember losing it one time on a parent, yep, it usually is the parent's fault! I lectured her because she had brought her son to me that she believe had all sorts of problems. From ADD to "muscle control issues" to a host of other things, this Mom was convinced her son had something very wrong with him. You know what, he did! It was what they did at home.

I found out over time that the young man ate sugary breakfast cereals for breakfast, pizza and fast food for lunch, and often ate out for dinner. No wonder this young man was overweight and out of control. At the age of 12 parents still have a lot of control over these situations, there is no excuse. You can not ask your child to do something you won't!

I remember another client, Samantha. I told her not to keep bad foods in the house because every time she did, she ended up snacking on them. This was particularly true of ice cream and when I really confronted her about it (because she couldn't understand why she wasn't losing weight) she told me she didn't want to deprive her children of those foods, WHAT?! I turned and asked her 14 year old son standing next to her if he would feel deprived by not having ice cream in the house and he said a strong, NOPE! Truthfully it was Mom that wanted the ice cream in the house, not the kids.

Typically families that have unhealthy lifestyles will have children that model these bad behaviors. This is why I asked fitness expert, Chris Lopez to share some information with me. Why Chris? Very simply, Chris has written extensively on to create effective fitness programs for busy parents. His great site www.fitandbusydad.com is a great resource for those that want to be in great shape, but not sacrifice the priorities in their life.



Listen to Interview Here

Want to see how to make real fat loss workouts that can be done really fast? Check out today's training video as well. Featuring the new U-fill it Kettlebells, this is a simple and fun workout that can be accomplished with the U-fill it Kettlebell and Ultimate Sandbag.

In addition, I will show you some of my favorite fast fat loss routines...

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Big Changes are Coming

It use to be that I would read muscle magazines with the eagerness of the teenager I once was. I couldn't wait for the next "Get Huge Arms" article, little did I know it had been recycled about ten different times. Fortunately, I learned pretty early on that most muscle magazines are good for keeping your table steady and little to do with training. However, in the past few years I have used magazines to reinforce to my clients the "crazy training" we are doing is actually simply ahead of its time.

My clients often thought I was just trying to make them look silly by having them use kettlebells, or push sleds, or hoist sandbags. Then magazines such as Men's Health, Men's Fitness, and even Muscle & Fitness started to do articles on the benefits of these movements. I loved to cut them out for my clients, heck, they felt like they were doing something special as this was cutting edge for most people.

Well, I have very happy to say that this trend keeps going. In this month's Men's Health both the TRX and my friend Anthony Diluglio's "Ropes Gone Wild" program is featured. Oh yes, there is a mention of a sandbag, but my poor Men's Health associates really missed the boat here. I won't get into it right now!



However, I really recommend people stop off and see the new Men's Health this month as it does call the Ropes Gone Wild program "The Best New Cardio Tool of 2009". I have actually been using the ropes quite a bit myself as I recover from a stupid triceps injury. Not being able to do too much with my arm, I have found the Ropes Gone Wild program to be really perfect as I keep some upper body conditioning and movement. In fact, I have combined the sandbag work into a really great fat burning circuit like the one below...

The Best Training Tool You Aren't Using

It is one thing for me to speak about the benefits of sandbag training. Of course there are always going to be skeptics that think I am just trying to sell my program. Well, firstly, I wouldn't be talking or developing a program I didn't believe in, there are so many unique factors with sandbag training that make it a must have in training programs.

Recently, Strength Coach, Steven Morris, wrote an article for Elitefts.com about the top 11 strength exercises for athletes. Guess who was on the list? Yep, our sandbag training program. Read Steven's article here.

I had never spoken to Coach Morris before, but I was intrigued by his insights in using our program with his athletes. Coach Morris agreed to spend an hour with me discussing how he trains his athletes and how sandbags relate to the development of his athletes. Not only did we talk about sandbags, but proper periodization, progression of different age levels, and common mistakes of most sporting coaches.

Listen to Coach Morris' Interview Here

Want to see the top sandbag drills for combative athletes? Check out this week's training program....