Ultimate Sandbag Exercises for Powerful Glutes

I love following really smart people. Apart from the obvious side that they share really interesting ideas, there is something else that really separates them from most. They typically are far less worried about being “right” and far more focused on getting the truth as best they can. I like to think that is at the heart of many of our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises too. Not so much giving you something unique, but giving you something better.

Someone that represents a lot of those ideas and a person I’m continually fascinated by is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Most of you may be familiar with Mr. Tyson as he has become quite a pop icon. Two great things that make him a fascinating person to follow. For one he makes complex ideas something that most of us can digest, always the mark of a great teacher. Secondly, he challenges us to think differently and use science instead of our natural emotion to guide how we think about things.

Sometimes it is not a case of science sharing us something new, but us learning something new from science we hadn’t before thought about. Many of the concepts of our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises aren’t new, they just haven’t been applied to fitness in this way and yea, that does make it kinda new!

One of such ideas is that of frontal plane (lateral) strength. We know that the body moves in a 3-D nature, but it is continually interesting to see how we do everything in our power to devalue this important concept when it comes to strength training and overall fitness.

However, when you hear really smart people talk about this concept you would THINK it would be more important to us. Like physical therapist Gary Gray that put things in pretty simple perspective….

“Human function is three dimensional. We function within three planes of motion, or in all three dimensions simultaneously. The planes of motion are utilized as a reference. The sagittal plane refers to forward and backward motion. The frontal plane refers to side to side motion. The transverse plane refers to rotational motion. All of our core functional activities require an integrated NMS (neuromuscular) system that reacts and moves in all three planes simultaneously. Walking forward obviously includes sagittal plane motion, but actually is dominated by transverse plane motion with significant frontal plane motion occurring concurrently. Successful standing and balancing requires three dimensional capabilities of the NMS system throughout the chain reaction. Because of how our joints are formed, how our muscles are attached and how our nerves are wired all core functional activities are three dimensional including components of all three planes at the same time.”

I do believe where the REAL problem of seeing this functional fitness concepts really come to life for people is how we try to apply these concepts. For example, if we think of frontal plane strength we typically see two exercises….lateral lunges and side planks.

Don’t get me wrong, these are GREAT exercises and we have plenty of DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises in both of these arenas with tons of progressions. However, there are two common mistakes here.

When we think of movement patterns like squatting, hip hinge, pushing, pulling, and even loaded carries, we SHOULD think of this 3-D concept for all, not just a couple of movements.

Secondly, it isn’t just about having a ton of exercises in this regards, it is how you build progression. That is something I want to beat the drums to all day, DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises are just “more tools in the toolbox”, rather they are solutions to your training needs.

How does that apply here though? Let’s look at how we use frontal plane strength in building the hip hinge. We all agree that the hip hinge is important for developing the glutes, but we also train everything from head to toe (or toe to head might be more appropriate). That means it just isn’t our focus on a singular muscle that makes DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises unique, but how we integrate them that does!

Below I wanted to use some of our DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises to show you how we build progression in the frontal plane hip hinge. Now, don’t get this wrong, this is NOT a lunge, but looks more like a traditional deadlift motion just done at the side. We move from simple to complex and from slow where we can constantly change the motion to more reactive strength. Pretty cool aspect of DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises.

So, what is essential to know about these drills?

Our DVRT masters break down a powerful foundational Ultimate Sandbag exercise to build proficiency in these patterns and identify early compensations. 

-We want to hinge so that does mean bending the outside leg, but it also means seeing more of a vertical shin. When the shin goes forward or you feel you have to go around the knee you are more lunging than hinging.

-Length of step is important, so start small, this isn’t amount how far you can step but how perfect of a hip hinge you can create.

-Keep tension on the handles throughout! That means pulling apart the handles and not letting them roll forward or allow the handles to come to neutral.

-Use the Ultimate Sandbag for feedback and try to split the Ultimate Sandbag in half with your dominant leg, that let’s you know you are getting over to the side enough.

-Make sure to use both feet! Since both feet are on the ground we want to ensure proper ground contact that gives us stability and strength.

DVRT Ultimate Sandbag exercises are about taking the great ideas from science and other health disciplines and using them to build the incredible strength and longevity that we all really stride for from great training.

Find out more about using DVRT Ultimate Sandbag workouts to make your training that much better! Save 20% on all DVRT workouts and Ultimate Sandbags with coupon code “train” HERE

Jessica shows how we can use different planes of motion to create different stresses and challenges in the standard Clean.