10 Ultimate Sandbag Exercise for Upper Body

When I think about all the Ultimate Sandbag exercises that are possible in the DVRT program, the number is insane! Most people get a bit overwhelmed and unfortunately get stuck doing the same old thing time and time again. Trust me, I am not one that is for just doing new things simply for the sake of variety. I have tried very hard in all our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training blog posts to show you purpose, meaning, and intent. Is it possible though? Can we use DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises for both the goals of variety to training and still be true to having a clear purpose and direction with our training? I know it is possible!

One of my favorite DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises I like to show just how we can combine variety and purpose is the Bent-Over Row. Many people may be slightly surprised that DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training focuses on so much pulling, especially in light how the pull-up has regained so much mainstream popularity. Is the pull-up great? Absolutely! However, a combination of people overdoing the pull-up and not doing it well has made me really re-prioritize the bent-over row in our Ultimate Sandbag Training programs.

What’s the difference, don’t they both require us to pull weight towards our bodies and work our upper back? Yes, but that isn’t the whole story. The pull-up obviously focuses largely on the lats, the big muscle that gives you a v-shape in the upper body. Yes, we get some biceps and shoulders as well, however, the lats are the big point of emphasis. This is important to know because the lats not only function to perform movements like pull-ups, but they are also to internally rotate our shoulders. Do what?! Basically think of the shoulder rounding forward. If there is not balance in your DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises you can quickly develop an imbalance that leads to shoulder issues.

This is a big reason we prioritize the bent-over row in DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises. When we pull horizontally we really stress the muscles that do the opposite, pull the shoulders back giving us better posture and keeping our shoulders in a better position. I know, you can do rowing with a whole bunch of different pieces of equipment, why would we bother with DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training’s version?

Additionally, the Ultimate Sandbag is the ONLY tool that not only has so many gripping options, but can be used one-arm at a time or two arms. All this versatility makes the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training bent-over rows highly valuable especially with limited equipment. A less appreciated fact is that because the Ultimate Sandbag is designed to have the center of the weight so far away from the handles, any weight used with in DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training feels significantly heavier than with any other tool.

A even more missed benefit of using Ultimate Sandbag exercises like bent-over rows is the fact we can really incorporate grip strength as well. I have spoken about the fact that when we really try to grip an object, more of our upper body because active, definitely a BIG plus. We not only get stronger, but work more muscles in the same amount of time.

Some people assume that Ultimate Sandbag exercises lose some of their grip strength because of the handles. Yet, they miss that the handles make the distance from where you grab very far from the center of mass. So? With barbells and dumbbells you grab at the center of mass. That means the weight feels lighter than say a kettlebell or our Ultimate Sandbag exercises.

We can perform DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises like rows in so many different angles and positions. Often this completely re-invents the bent-over row into a whole new even more powerful drill. Of course we can move some good weight when we are in a strong position, but if we use the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training concepts we will see that strong people fail when they are in a more compromised position.

When we do move through this different DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises progress the bent row in ways that teach us so much about our movement, core strength, and how we ultimately connect our bodies.   Most people skip over the bent-over row for the sexier pull-up, but here is what you DON’T get with the pull-up.

The bent-over row teaches us the powerful movement of hip hinging. I know, you deadlift, you clean, you are good here. Not quite! Research shows us low back endurance, not strength, are more closely associated with a healthy back. Many times I have seen lifters that are strong, but we make them work through our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training row variations and you can see trembling through their entire body. Yes, we have serious stability issues here!

Our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises will also challenge your core. The pull-up is all too many times done with arching of the low back and even swinging. Neither that forces your core to work harder to stabilize the spine and really does quite the opposite. If you look at the position of our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training rows you will see our trunk is basically in a front plank position and as we move through all types of patterns and positions we can stress the core in brand new ways. This is called a BIG BANG DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercise.

Do it, try to make some of these DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises as a priority in your training and see how your workouts get a spike in variety but with great purpose! Check out how even DVRT Master, Paige Fleischmann, makes the these Ultimate Sandbag exercises into a masterful metabolic exercise.

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