Monday Muscle Workout

Good thing I run things by Jessica every once in awhile. I wanted to start calling these Monday installments “Monster Muscle Mass Monday”, but she brought to my attention that it MIGHT turn of the ladies. After all, women should want functional muscle just as much as the guys! 

So, we compromised on “Monday Muscle”, it was important for me to start doing these types of posts because I kept hearing things mostly like, “yea, I love using your Ultimate Sandbag for conditioning, really great!” Um, thanks?! 

I’m never sure to how to really respond to such comments as I know they are well intended, but DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training isn’t for just conditioning, it is for anything and everything. No seriously! We get people in their 70’s using it to stay healthy, mobile, and injury free. We have sports teams using them to get their athletes an edge, military groups for the diversity in training, and then there is us. 

As I told you in a previous post (here), I always liked aiming for muscle. In fact, I often joke that I am an 40 year bulking cycle;) I went from wanting the crazy Flex magazine look as a kid to the athletic look as an adult. Some because I don’t want to go on a bunch of drugs, the other because I want to move well, do anything, and be free to use my fitness. 

DVRT Master and Firefighter, Jordan Ponder, is a great example of the functional muscle that DVRT can build!

That has led me to being leaner and more muscular than even when I was playing college basketball. Many times people will ask me what am I REALLY doing in my training. As though I am not doing EXACTLY what we share with you all the time. The irony is that Jessica and my workouts aren’t really much different. 

DVRT Master, Larisa Lotz, is a wonderful example of the what women can achieve with DVRT strength as well! Larisa can often out lift most guys!!

Almost ten years later she is the same weight as our wedding day but actually leaner and MUCH stronger. The reality is the ladies aren’t going to put on the mass as guys and guys, it isn’t easy to put on muscle. That is especially true as we get older, so trying to keep our muscle actually keeps us healthier. So, while a “Monday Muscle Workout” might seem like I have jumped the Joe Weider ship, the reality is that good functional fitness should build muscle as well as make you move and feel better. 

If you missed last week’s workout, check it out HERE. This week I wanted to give you another DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training workouts that is going to tackle your body in a very different way. Firstly, we are going to start with “on the minute workouts”. That means we are going to set a timer and go, whatever time we finish a set in, the rest of that minute is our rest time. For example, if I do 10 squats in 35 seconds, I have 25 seconds of rest until I have to perform the next exercise. Make sense? Good, let’s hit it! 

Shouldering to Arc Press x 3 per side

Shouldering is probably the most classic “sandbag exercise”, but yet still people do it VERY wrong! Mostly risking their own well being. That is due to the fact the weight starts very low to the ground and the Ultimate Sandbag moves more than let’s say a classic clean. It is more demanding than any other type of clean out there so the benefits can be huge, but follow our tutorial on how to be safe while doing it! 

You will feel your core, hips, and upper body light up with just Shouldering the Ultimate Sandbag, but then we are going to throw in another little beauty, the Arc Press. This is our version of a one-arm press so very friendly for people with flexibility and shoulder issues. The main difference is the very intense core workout and grip activation that you build in conjunction. 

Here is the thing though, you can’t go light! I recommend ladies use a 30 pound Power or Force Ultimate Sandbag and guys use a 60 pound Strength or 80 pound Burly. If you can do more awesome, but you won’t feel the real impact unless you go with some load!

Up Downs x 5 per side

What looks simple can be one of the most intense exercises you ever perform. DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training Up Downs are a beautiful blend of load, tension, stability, and strength all at once. Relatively simple in concept, pretty intense in execution. I recommend ladies and guys aim to use the same load as they did in the Shoulder to Arc Press combo. You will find that Up Downs are simply sick!

Pull-ups x 6

Wait, what, pull-ups?!!!! How do you do that with an Ultimate Sandbag?! Well, you don’t! I have long said about 80-85% of my training is DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training, that means 15% is other things (mostly body weight or kettlebells) like pull-ups. Now, if you are already saying to yourself, “I’m out!” because you can’t knock out a bunch of pull-ups don’t worry. Begin by using some chair pull-ups depicted in the pictures below. 

When you add progression you will be surprised how well this works to build your pull-ups strength. Why do I like this more than banded pull-ups? Mostly because you can really work on pulling the shoulders down and keeping core tension. You can also build eccentric (lowering) strength more and that carries over to your pull-ups better. 

What is the workout? 

Set your timer for 20 minutes, on the minute you will perform one set of the following….

Shoulder to Arc Press x 3 each side

Whatever time is left of that minute you rest then perform one set of 

Front Loaded Up Downs x 5 per side

Same thing, whatever time is left is your rest, then finally 

Pull-ups x 6

Keep moving through these three on the minute until the 20 minutes is up. Record your reps (did you fall off a bit?), weight used, and how much time you rested each series. The next time you use this workout you can either add a rep, add weight, or see if you can complete the movements faster so you have more rest. Fun, effective, and simple. 

No excuses on this Monday so let’s get to it!

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