A Deadpool Type of Exercise

If you couldn’t tell yet, Jessica and I have the same weird taste in movies. You would think it would be one of those, sometimes we see hers, sometimes we see mine type of situations, but it isn’t! That is why you might better understand why going to see Deadpool for Valentine’s Day was the perfect gift to both of us. In fact, I might dare say Jessica was a bit more excited than me, but it would be a close competition. 

I’ll be honest though, I am not a big comic book guy (although I do like most of the movie adaptations), so going to see something like Deadpool (what I thought was a rather obscure comic book character, but I could be wrong) might not be the greatest thing ever. Yet, having done a bit of homework we were both pretty pumped! Why? 

Really because Deadpool was the standard comic book hero, he wasn’t going to do or say the thing that you might expect to be in the super hero handbook. He wasn’t trying to be Ironman, Batman, or any of the more classic super hero types, if anything he was the complete opposite is many ways! 

I guess we weren’t the only ones that really liked it as it broke a bunch of box office records. That got me thinking, why is it when it comes to fitness we try to make everything the same. We expect the same script to play out no matter the tool, user, or program. In many ways I think the current fitness landscape follows a “script” more than any other time in history! 

No of course I am not suggesting to be different for the sake of being different. After all, I don’t think Deadpool would have been as successful if it wasn’t well thought out in what it was trying to accomplish as not fitting the status quo. 

Many times in DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training I like to think we do the same thing. In fact, a great example is how we look at an increasingly popular core exercise, the turkish get-up. I’ve seen it a bunch of times, a great exercise that gets performed the same way no matter the tool you use. Well, of course it would, I mean, isn’t there one way to perform an exercise? 

Here comes my proverbial, yes and no. 

There are some general guidelines that make up “good” movement, but something complex like the turkish get-up doesn’t have to be seen in one light. Especially if we break down how it could be made into a super movement with some different goals attached to it. 

That is where I present to you our Ultimate Sandbag Training “Beast Get-up” (catchy right?!) Why the Beast Get-up versus doing just like everyone gosh darn does it? Placing the Ultimate Sandbag on our Shoulder and not overhead actually gives us a really unique loading position for a few reasons. 

The first is that we can load the core to a higher degree, that is why people are constantly surprised with how hard a Ultimate Sandbag Training Get-up is versus a dumbbell, kettlebell, or barbell of equivalent weight. Position matters!

This position gives us a chance to also move in more unique ways that we probably couldn’t with the weight overhead. That is learning to transition the torso as one unit rather than losing our core stability and having our trunk separate from our hips. You know, like have people end up twisting through their spines rather than their hips! In fact, spine specialist, Dr. Stuart McGill, calls this “skill” a primary ability in obtaining real world core stability. Cool right?!

Lastly, the Beast Get-up actually allows us to train a TON of shoulder stability and mobility because the downward shoulder will go through even MORE ranges of motion than it would in the standard turkish get-up. I say that gets two cool points. 

Of course the only way for you to really get the value of this DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training exercise is to try it. So, watch the video, practice with your bodyweight a few times. Add in a Power or Core Ultimate Sandbag at first and aim to hit 3-5 reps a side for 3-4 sets. Let us know what you feel. Oh lastly, go make some chimichangas and have some fun learning to move and be strong in all new ways!  

Want to find out more about how DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training can change how you see fitness? Check out our upcoming DVRT educational programs HERE