The Best Ultimate Sandbag Exercise for Core, Glutes, and Shoulders

I think I have pretty well documented the fact that I have been a fan of the get-up for quite some time (how about this as one of my first sandbag exercise articles in 2005 HERE). I fell in love with the fact that the get-up was a test of your true core strength.

What do I mean?

Even though the get-up has become a staple core exercise for many people into real world fitness I don’t think anyone would say they ever got an abdominal “burn” like you would doing hundreds of crunches. Does that mean they aren’t as good as you think?

Well, if you realize that by saying core we aren’t just talking about the abdominals you might think differently. The word core refers to our hips, our shoulders, and all the muscles that attach to our general trunk area. It even means those really deep muscles that are SO important in our spinal stability, yet, no one is ever going to compliment your awesome looking multifidus!

That’s what makes the get-up so great, unlike crunches or even planks for that matter, you get to train the core in so much more a real world way. So, why change?

I’ll admit it, when I get into something I try to read EVERYTHING I can on the subject. In fact, one of our DVRT coaches recently asked me to list all the books I get our informational ideas from, crap, that list is CRAZY long!

One of the things I love to do the most though is look at the original intent of an idea. Now, I can’t find (doesn’t mean it isn’t true) but the get-up being referred by name before a 1974 book by John Jesse. As you can see in the pictures the concepts of the get-up have been evolved quite a bit in the last 43 years or so.

Unlike so many, I believe we can make things better over time. Yea, we have kinda done that with medicine, technology, and I think even fitness can benefit from new ideas.

So, while the get-up itself is not a new idea, I think we can look at it differently to create new challenges and benefits. That’s where looking at this DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercise variation gave me so much inspiration.

Our DVRT coaches are very careful about not being novel, but putting purpose first with our Ultimate Sandbag exercise ideas. This one by our great coaches at Envision Fitness though definitely brings a nice upgrade to the traditional get-up. How so?

For one, we work on even MORE important hip mobility by starting in what is known in a shinbox position. You can’t hide your glute strength or hip mobility in this position, if it isn’t good, that is something we need to help (you can use some ideas from Jessica HERE).

Keep the Ultimate Sandbag in the fist position is important for a few reasons. The most obvious is that we will go overhead, but less obvious is the immediate core tension that having the weight in this position will create during this Ultimate Sandbag exercise. That core tension will not only work your core, but help you move better too!

Then we have the 3-D training of the glutes and core, learning how to move without having the hand on the ground is a tremendous core exercise in of itself!

This Ultimate Sandbag exercise will also build amazing power and overall body strength by pressing from half kneeling and having the ability to drive that extended position into a strong lunge.

Whew! A LOT of good stuff right?! That is why having just a little thought on an old idea can make it brand new again. Of course, the only way to REALLY appreciate it is by doing it!

Go ahead, set a timer for ten minutes. Perform sets of 3 resting between going to each side and see how many rounds you can get and find out how one Ultimate Sandbag exercise can torch your entire body!

Love ideas like this? Don’t miss our upcoming DVRT educational programs HERE!!!