Sandbag Fitness Taking Functional Fitness To Another Level

People ask me all the time, “Josh, I’ve added some sandbag fitness into my program, isn’t that great?!” I never want to down any enthusiasm for working out, but I can honestly never get excited unless they follow up with an important statement. That is, “I’ve incorporated sandbag workouts into my program to accomplish…..”

You would think that I would be just thrilled with the idea of using sandbag workouts no matter what. The truth is, I don’t want people doing sandbag workouts, I want them finding better solutions to their fitness goals. That is because the reality is that a BIG reason sandbags have never been a big part of fitness is that no one looked to see how they could get really better with them, they used them more of a “shock” tactic in training.

I was reminded of this as I read a long blog post about all the history of kettlebells. You would think if kettlebells have a long history in strength training, sandbags should go back to the time of the dinosaurs! The truth is that there is VERY little literature on sandbags being used.

This is pretty shocking considering that a “bag of anything” would seem to be cheaper, more accessible, and tougher to train with than just about anything else. Yet, when you go through physical fitness history (which I have tried extensively) the discussions of any type of sandbag are VERY rare.

Which is truly interesting because if you ask most fitness professionals and strength coaches, “are sandbags good?” They would probably smile, nod, and say, “oh yea, great!” However, if you follow that with, “how often do you use them?” More times than not will be met with, “once in awhile”, or just as likely, “oh, we don’t use them right now.” Odd right? A tool, a concept that most would agree is a good thing fails to appear in so many great fitness and training programs. Makes you wonder why?

It goes back to problem solving. Why change what you are doing if you don’t see a problem? A way to make things better.

Above is an example of a more complex DVRT Ultimate Sandbag fitness concept. Research has shown time and time again that most injuries come from our inability to resist movement, not so much produce it. Yet, most strength training programs continue to ignore this fact and focus so much on how much you lift!

Learning how to resist lateral motion is key in both better performance and resiliency. This is showing how we can make strength training better with using DVRT Ultimate Sandbag fitness training not just “shock the body”. However, it doesn’t always have to be better than something else, it can also be a progression.

Above we have two great exercises that are closely related. The top being from spine expert, Dr. Stuart McGill, called “stir the pot”. A great exercise in building great core strength and a great progression of the traditional plank. Okay, but where do you go from there? Below you will see a simple looking, but a true powerhouse DVRT Ultimate Sandbag fitness exercise in Half Kneeling Press Out Circles.

This DVRT exercise begins to integrate more of the grip which both helps the rotator cuff and core activation as well as the extended position mimics much of the effects of a plank but being half kneeling allows to us to work a more functional pattern and look for imbalances.

So, we are beginning to see that we can use DVRT Ultimate Sandbag fitness to solve functional fitness needs, add layers of progression, and also increase intensity of even exercises we may already love!

Above is DVRT Master, Raymond Lee, doing the SAME exercise with the SAME weight in both an Ultimate Sandbag and barbell Snatch. You can see the intensity of the Ultimate Sandbag is much higher than the barbell. Ironically for many of the reasons that people say they love sandbags but oddly never use them.

The leverage of the weight being far from the handle, the unpredictable movement of the weight, and the dimension of the Ultimate Sandbag completely change an exercise compared to one that has you grab the weight in the center of the mass and is completely stable in its movement.

If you wanted to build real world strength, which would you favor? I am not saying the barbell is bad, but in this busier than ever climate, being more efficient with your tool and exercise selection is paramount for success.

So, hopefully you are beginning to see the power of DVRT Ultimate Sandbag fitness is NOT in just using a sandbag, but having greater purpose, doing something better, and achieving more in your workouts. THAT is why you should use an Ultimate Sandbag!

If you are looking to gain the knowledge to revolutionize your fitness then you won’t want to miss our upcoming DVRT Educational events HERE. Get great continuing education, change the way you train, and LOVE fitness more than ever!

“I highly recommend the DVRT System and program to everyone I meet! The DVRT system has had a profound impact not just on my personal fitness but on my professional business as well! As a business owner the DVRT system is about finding solutions and identifying strategies to get my clients the results that they want. Whether it’s increased performance and fitness, or strength and fat-loss, DVRT helps identify solutions to get them to their goals.”

– James Newman, Owner of Quest Fitness, Guilford, CT