Bodybuilding Meets Real World Ultimate Sandbag Training

DVRT Master, Cory Cripe (Creator of DVRT Movement Strength)

I am still fresh and flying high from instructing my first ever DVRT Level I & II Ultimate Sandbag Training Certification in Rockford, Illinois a few weekends ago! It was a tremendous experience with such a great group of trainers who were very engaged and open to the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training system.

However, an important question was brought up – one that I haven’t thought about for a long time because I’ve been taking the fruit of training with the DVRT system for granted. I was asked if I personally, or for my clients, program isolated arm exercises (ie bicep curls, tricep extensions) into our workouts at Fitness Lying Down … time for reflection …

When I was first introduced to DVRT and Ultimate Sandbag Training years ago I was fearful. I was afraid that my legs would shrivel up if I wasn’t doing my barbell back squats. I was convinced my arms would shrink and become weak if I couldn’t spend time doing my curls and extensions. And for sure my pecs would get all flabby and gross because I wasn’t doing some form of bench pressing!

But on the other hand, I was growing tired of the fitness industry and all the usual exercises that were becoming mundane. I wasn’t looking forward to my training sessions anymore because they just seemed to be the same thing over and over again. And I realized I was training as a bodybuilder in the gym but not experiencing a stronger body outside of the gym. For instance, I was able to barbell back squat X amount of weight (which I thought was pretty good) but yet I would throw my back out when getting my young son out of the crib!

There was a serious disconnect from what I was doing inside the four walls of my training space and my body’s response to the physical demands of life! Even though I was certain I was doing “functional training,” it wasn’t offering me a better functioning body in the real world!

So … when the student is ready, the teacher appears, right?

When I was finally open to exploring a better way to train – one that would help me move better and be stronger (which, as a father of three energetic children is very important) DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training entered my life at the same time. When I first saw The Ultimate Sandbag being used, I thought it would be cool to train with sandbags, but I was also very skeptical of it, as well … that’s just my nature. What I couldn’t get over, however, was the science of the system over the coolness of the implement.

It is an amazing, mind-blown experience that offers freshness to the fitness-as-usual I was used to. Training the movement patterns in the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training system over individual muscle groups has really opened my eyes, shoulders, and hips!

All the time I was spending trying to target various angles of individual muscles with a whole bunch of exercises, I am now able to accomplish by training in all planes of motion with less exercises – saving me a lot of time, and as a family man and business owner this is very important!

Without doing bicep curls or tricep extensions, my arms have increased in tone and strength while my legs are more defined and stronger without putting a barbell on my back. The symmetry and balance I was trying to achieve with barbells and dumbbells is now happening without having to really think about it because I’m training movement strength, not muscle strength. But even more important, I haven’t experienced the constant low back pain since incorporating Dynamic Variable Resistance Training into my life.

Simply said to my DVRT students, ‘No. I don’t program isolated arm exercises into mine, or my client’s, workouts.’ For you, however, you get the thoughts of a 3-hour drive home explanation! You’re welcome.

Check out Cory’s great DVRT movement strength programs for 25% off with coupon code “strong” HERE