Maximizing Ultimate Sandbag Training MAX Lunge

Raymond Lee, DVRT Master

There may be no DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercise that has become more famous and infamous than maybe the MAX Lunge. 

Having been using DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training and being certified for almost 3 years now, I must confess that it was hard for me to embrace and understand its true benefit at the early phase of my DVRT journey as I merely thought of it as “just another way to progress, or just another tool in the tool box, etc etc”.

Of course nowadays I can’t imagine myself training for my clients and myself with this mindset, that has largely been due to my deeper understanding of DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training.

 However, there still was that one little piece of puzzle that I couldn’t figure out in the whole DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercise library.

That is the “Max Lunge(used to be named rotational lunge)”

Having been praised and still being praised as one of the foundation drills in DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training community, I still couldn’t get the whole point of including it as a daily routine. It wasn’t because I couldn’t agree the benefits of it but because it was so damn difficult to execute. Losing control of balance, valgus collapse, not feeling that crisp tight powerful execution, I’m sure it wasn’t just me in this world. As a matter of fact, some people around me who often tried Max Lunge asked me whether this was REALLY worth doing it in terms of risk & learning curve/benefit ratio and to be honest I couldn’t disagree with them. (Of course it was me to blame my lack of coaching).
However, recently while I was surfing around the facebook, I eventually saw a short video clip of Bj Gaddour’s where he showed a drill that is useful for correcting the bottom position of the lunge. It was that time that my eagerness to hone the skill for that Max Lunge sparked again. I assumed that combining that drill with the bottom position of the Max Lunge would let our body learn how to stabilize and take control of that position, which in reality is the position that most people have difficulty maintaining alignment during their Max Lunge training.
Immediately doing so, what I realized was it was very difficult than I expected. Difficult and hard but in a good way.
 Although I’ve been doing whole lot of asymmetrical drills (One arm One leg lateral bag drag, single leg good morning, shoulder lunge to balance etc..) the feeling that made me reinforce to really zip up those hip, trunk, and feet stabelizers was another level. But what really was amazing was what happend after. The power of being very intentional about your Ultimate Sandbag Training, not JUST doing the exercises!
For some reason, doing this for about 5 mins really made me have this “now time to go get it!” mentality.

So I started with the Power Ultimate Sandbag.

How was it?

Easy! 
Max lunge with Clean? Easy!

So I started to look at 50 pound Strength Ultimate Sandbag. Honestly I didn’t expect myself to do so with the Strength Ultimate Sandbag as for the last 3 years I rarely did MAX lunge for my routine but thought to myself that at least it wouldn’t hurt.
The result was unbelievably easy!

Without a question, 80 pound Burly Ultimate Sandbag was on the next list.
Now I couldn’t say this was easy but it was still doable. Something I never expected myself to do Max Lunge with Burly!!

However just like with anything else, something that can only be applied to me had no value in my mind. I wanted to find out if it was helpful to other trainees as well. So I first test drived to two clients who were MMA fighters. Both were having a good progress on their overall performance. However some lowerbody and core stability work were still needed and it was the right time for them to introduce this new drill. Just like I experienced, they too had a hard time doing this but after a few sets, not only did they instantly improve their single leg movement, they automatically tried Max Lunge with perfect form without my instruction!

Coincidence? Maybe, if it only worked just for me and them.
So I experimented with another client of mine who was also recovering from his knee injury. Same thing occured as above. He even mentioned that he never felt his knee so stable and pain free after doing so. That CAN be how powerful DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training can be to people.

End of testimony, here is how we are going to do.

1. Start with half kneeling position holding Ultimate Sandbag by the side as if we do the Max Lunge.

2. Go slightly up and down about an inch while maintaining alignment.

3. While maintaining enough tension throughout the body, make sure to push the knee slightly outside in order prevent valgus collapse.

4. Grip the ground hard with your toe as if you are trying to leave a toe print. This is a key point to maintain our whole alignment as majority of clients will tend to pronate their ankle thus cause valgus collapse especially during any kind of lower body movement.

​(Notice the tip of the toe getting tight to the point where it turns white)

Not only is this applicable to Max Lunge but is also very effective to shorten the learning curve for any beginners who are trying to learn any kind of lunge pattern.
If it’s something that has worked for someone like me who is naturally unathletic, I’m sure it will make most people learn Max Lunge very easily!

Give it a shot and let us know how it works! 
Happy Max Lunging, Happy DVRT

Check out our upcoming DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training courses and learn how to revolutionize your functional training HERE