The Secret to Better Movement

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The Secret to Better Real World Movement-DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training

by 

Kari Negraiff, DVRT Master Chief Instructor (Envision Fitness-Maple Ridge, BC)

Before divulging my greatest coaching secrets, I should start by telling you a little about myself. If you can get past my RBF (resting bitchy face) and my generally unapproachable demeanor, you’re in for a real treat; as underneath my trademark scowl, hides a mad ninja scientist.

Kari’s “RBR” is debatable, her smile is pretty awesome though!

How I got my start in the industry is less relevant than how I have become an influential advisor in both the world of DVRT and the international development of fitness biz pros. Although there is much more to the story than what I am about to share with you now, the punch line packs the most meaning. Quite simply my expertise as a coach and business advisor stems from two innate qualities:

My desire to know how EVERYTHING works, hence my nickname the Questionator, or Coach Q.
AND
My passion to help others by enabling them, hence my gift as a Teacher.

You could think of my skill set much like that of a language translator’s. I absorb information about my world (in our case movement), break it down and find meaning, then reconstruct it back into tangible segments and coaching cues that provide meaning for my audience.

Now, providing I didn’t loose you at resting bitchy face, let’s shift our focus from ME to the skill you’d really like to either (a) be able nail yourself, or (b) have any hope in hell of teaching someone else to do.

The Around-The-World (ATW) movement is both a classic and a show-stopper when it comes to DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training. After watching someone demonstrate the Ultimate Sandbag ATW it almost always begs the response “Cool! Can I try that?!?”. To which I respond….patience grasshopper. Why wouldn’t they love it? It is dynamic, it teaches you the so important, yet typically neglected, concept of rotation, and builds a core that rocks any plank! 

While the Ultimate Sandbag ATW is great for generating buzz and instantly branding you as the ‘cool guy’ in the room, you’re credibility is on the line when it comes to teaching someone how to actually perform this gem. The skill to perform the ATW is often underestimated by both fit pros and enthusiasts. After all, how hard could it be to whirl a 10lb core bag around your head, right?

Although not limited to, the most common Ultimate Sandbag ATW blunders fall into four categories:
-The cat in a shower (characterized by a vertical circular path of the USB)
-The hula dancer (groovy hips and ribs)
-The gyrating cowboy (lack of pure rotation of the hips)
-The headless rag doll (too much tension in the arms during the USB ‘orbit’)
-Each one of the above is a legit error in the performance of the standing USB ATW, although most mistakes present all at once, you can see why your credibility is on the line… gyrating cowboy? Good luck living that one down.

So why IS the Ultimate Sandbag ATW so damn hard to execute with perfection? Ever seen someone try to rub their stomach and pat their head at the same time? Essentially that’s what is going on in the ATW.

The key is to understand elements of training ROTATION, but let me be clear – training rotation is an ADVANCED skill and requires earning the proper progressions.

Let me break it down for you:

There are two basic parts to the standing ‘ninja’ version of the USB ATW:
-The path or ‘orbit’ of the USB from the waist around the head and shoulders back to the waist.
-The ‘engine’ that gives the USB momentum to complete it’s orbit.

Step One: Learn the orbit. Master the USB TK ATW (Ultimate Sandbag Tall-Kneeling Around The World). A major mistake made by ninja trainees while practicing the standing ATW, is that they leak energy from their mid-section by allowing the ribcage and hips to dissociate during the movement. Picture the ribs/hips of a Hula Dancer… great for Hoops, not so good for DVRT.

Drill: USB TK ATW
Purpose of Drill:

Learn the orbit, eliminate the vertical circle and the Hula dancer.
Athlete must remain tall and pelvic neutral throughout the motion of the USB
Watch for ribs flaring, shifting or flexing laterally, or the lower back arching
The slower the movement can be controlled the better the transfer will be to the standing skill

I know, you don’t want to work on foundations, you are ready to rock n’ roll! That is why I am not going to give you EVERYTHING in today’s post! I want you to practice, I want you to get REALLY good at the Tall Kneeling Around the World. I’ll know if you haven’t if you send in your questions and claim you are still having problems! If you start here then you can get to some of the amazing stuff our clients do at Envision Fitness! 

Do you have real world fitness? Do you know how to “bring strength to life”? That is DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training and why I want you to practice these skills, become the master of human movement!