Ultimate Sandbag Running WOD

Annmarie Licatese, DVRT Master Instructor (TheFitFoodieMama.com)

Have you ever been in a situation where you had something really beneficial to contribute but it just wasn’t the time nor place? 

Yeah, that was me last week at the Reebok Crossfit WOD.  

If you recall, our workout was a 3 partner workout with burpees, air squats and a 200 meter run for 15 minutes. Definitely a “beginner” workout and one that a majority were able to do without concern.  

Now, I am not saying that the coaches didn’t do a great job- because they obviously did.  In fact, they were quite strict on form and made a point to keep their eyes on all 50 of us as we were working out.  

HOWEVER, I will say that what most struggled with was not the burpee as you would imagine, it was the squat, believe it or not.  

As a functional strength coach I did my best to bite my tongue and not say much as we were getting the workout in.  The Reebok coaches were doing a great job at correcting form and I was really just there to sweat it out.  

It wasn’t until one of the other workout participants approached me after and asked about her specific squatting technique that I even opened my mouth.  She wanted to know how to improve her squat form and if I had any suggestions.  

Well I obviously did, and my answer was simple…the Bear Hug Squat with the sandbag, of course! 

Butt WHY? (pun totally intended)…well, it has to do with the counterbalance the Bear Hug Squat provides with the Ultimate Sandbag.  It really engages the core and the lats which results in better stability and better squatting.  I would explain more but Josh Henkin, does a much better in his recent article which deals with fixing the “butt wink” and the benefits of the Bear Hug Squat. 

Anyway, the reason I am explaining all of this is because the conversation I had with this girl and the whole WOD scenario inspired me to create a DVRT Ultimate Sandbag version that’s addresses some of the common Crossfit struggles and adds in a few extra exercises that are specifically beneficial to runners. 

What exactly is so beneficial about these exercises? Well, for one, they are more metabolically relevant to running.  

The clean & press is a great total body conditioning drill, the bear hugs helps to execute squats with proper form so you can really engage the lats, core and glutes in a more functional way and the front loaded fist/ clean grip carries are an amazing way to build trunk strength which is imperative to proper running form and performance. 

It’s also great for when you’re short on time and to supplement on the days when you’re scheduled to run junk miles.  

Looking for more workouts and tips on how you can get stronger so you can run faster?

Check out my newly released Run DVRT Strong ebook that includes 10 strength training workouts specifically designed for runners.