The Power of Sandbagging: An Interview with Josh Henkin
By
Troy Anderson
TA: With so many other fitness tools out there, why the
sandbag? How
will the purchase of a sandbag possibly accelerate my fitness results?
JH: Good question. Many coaches, trainers, and fitness enthusiasts
would think we’ve moved past such simple training tools such as sandbags. Have
we not evolved? With the reintroduction and rebirth of kettlebell training,
gymnastic rings, and other old time strength training implements, I believe we
haven’t. The same implements that are gaining popularity today were mainstream
in fitness clubs one hundred years ago.
When people ask me, “Josh, but aren’t we evolving past the old time fitness
tools?” I ask them, “Is our society actually evolving?” One definition of
evolving is to “develop or achieve gradually.” With a society that has over 60
percent of its population in the overweight range, I suggest we aren’t evolving
but regressing. In light of our population’s deteriorating health, I believe we
need tools such as sandbags more than ever now! Why? Very few training tools
offer the versatility and challenge and teach us as much about movement as
sandbags.
Sandbags are a tool that can be traced all the way back to early Egyptian
days. If something has lasted through the ages as long as that, maybe we should
give it a more in-depth analysis.
TA: Some of the sandbag exercises look dangerous. What type of person
is sandbag training best suited for? Can a complete novice with zero lifting
experience use sandbags?
JH: One reason sandbags never really gained popularity was because
they were touted for being for those who just didn’t have anything better. This
really turned off the strength and conditioning community who could actually
benefit from sandbag training. For example, many people have a great deal of
problems squatting. Whether it’s from muscle imbalances, tightness, or a lack of
understanding about how to perform the exercise properly, many people just can’t
perform squats correctly without pain or bad form. Therefore, many trainers and
coaches avoid the exercise for some time going through elaborate phases trying
to teach people how to squat properly.
However, if they simply implemented an exercise such a bear hug squat, most
people would improve their squatting technique by 90 percent if not 100 percent.
The benefit is that they receive a counterbalance that allows them to “feel” the
correct position of the squat. Loading people in the bear hug squat also
provides them an opportunity to get stronger without unreasonably stressing
their low backs.
Just as with any other training tool, the right exercises have to be
identified for the individual. In our L.I.F.T. certification, we teach many
progressions of different movements. We want coaches and trainers to understand
that there are many ways to get people to where you want them to be performing
complex movement patterns.
Usually we follow this system:
· increase speed
· increase leverage
· add load
· decrease stability
This is a much different system than what most coaches follow, but it allows
people to progress through a much more thorough level of progressions rather
than randomly assigning exercises to them. The way most people approach sandbags
is to do just that—throw out an exercise because it’s cool or different.
TA: What type of fitness goal is the sandbag best suited for? What is
it best for—fat loss, explosive power, or pure strength?
JH: People love to try to classify fitness tools by what they should
be able to do—cause fat loss, build strength, or whatever. Heck, when most
people think of barbells they think strength, but we all know you can build
power, endurance, and lose fat. The same can be said of sandbags. Depending on
what you wish to accomplish, sandbags can be used for any of the fitness goals
you mentioned above. It comes down to programming. That’s why we provide people
with resources and ideas on how to accomplish those goals.
Many people think that sandbags can only be used for conditioning. That’s
simply not true. Because sandbags typically aren’t loaded to the same degree as
a bar, it may appear that maximal strength work wouldn’t work with sandbags.
This just isn’t the case. Stop thinking in terms of a barbell and think in terms
of movement. Sandbags do suck for deadlifting, but drills such as rotational
deadlifts could be a great substitute. With these, you can hit muscles in a way
you never accomplished with the standard deadlift. Sandbags suck for back
squatting. However, shoulder squatting may be the most unique and beneficial
exercise one could perform.
I’ve seen many athletes humbled by the weights they use with sandbags because
of the awkward and nonconforming nature of them. I’ve seen guys who can clean a
300-lb bar struggle shouldering a 200-lb sandbag. It truly is a whole different
ball game, and depending upon the exercise chosen, the differences can be very
dramatic.
In regards to fitness qualities such as fat burning and endurance training, I
think the sandbag may be one of the best tools. The reason is quite
simple—because the sandbag shifts and moves as you perform every repetition. No
single repetition is the same. It’s incredibly hard to adapt to the sandbag and
become very efficient. Becoming efficient at a movement or tool is ultimately
what makes it decreasingly less effective for fat burning and endurance
training. You can’t run the same mile the same time and expect to become more
fit. You can’t deadlift the same amount for the same reps and expect to get
stronger, right?
TA: Can you really get strong? Obviously, you can’t load a sandbag
nearly as heavy as a barbell. Is it possible for an intermediate or even
advanced lifter to gain strength from using sandbag training?
JH: As I alluded to above, it really is an apple and oranges
comparison. I believe if strength enthusiasts such as Brooks Kubik, Steve Justa,
CJ Murphy, and many others believe that sandbags are important in strength
development, I find it hard to argue. It’s also hard to argue with the strength
of athletes such as wrestlers and martial artists who have the longest and
strongest history related to sandbags. In fact, I find it hard to identify
another group of athletes who are known for their strength, flexibility, and
endurance like wrestlers!
I’ve seen many athletes improve their lifts in overhead training, cleans,
deadlifts, and squats from using sandbags in their program. Why is that?
Core strength: We all know the midsection is vital for performance in
many of these strength lifts. Sandbags provide a variety of exercises to train
the core for increased performance from stability exercises such as shoulder
squats, bear hug squats, Zerchers, good mornings, and overhead lunges to dynamic
exercises such as half moon snatches, rotational deadlifts, shoulder get ups and
many more. Additionally, the core includes the muscles of the hips. We can
challenge lateral stability, movement, and strength. This leads ultimately to
better maximal strength gains with less of an incidence of injury. Exercises
such as rotational lunges and single arm shouldering can be quite powerful in
this regard.
Round back lifting: One needs to know how to maintain the right
posture during a movement, but introducing components of round back lifting
provides an even greater strength to the low back and hips. This should be
introduced slowly and can be done in a safe manner with lifts such as atlas
pulls, bear hug squat/good mornings, and extended pulls.
Improved GPP: My favorite thing about sandbags is that you can create
an endless number of combinations with the great amount of drills available.
From complexes to circuits, the lifts done with sandbags are great for
developing anaerobic and muscular endurance, and they hit the body from angles
that are impossible with other implements.
I believe sandbags haven’t become a staple in serious strength programs for
three reasons. First, sandbags are just flat out tough! No, I mean really tough!
If you’ve never seen it, just throw a big sandbag at an athlete and see how his
face just drops. Everyone knows it’s awkward, difficult, and one of the hardest
things to simply lift! There isn’t a muscle that rests or a moment of ease when
lifting sandbags. Second, we’re fascinated with numbers. How much can you squat,
bench, deadlift, or clean? This is how we quantify our strength. For someone to
say they shoulder a 200-lb sandbag means very little to most. They aren’t
familiar with strength being measured in this manner. Lastly, sandbags have long
been a homemade training implement and that in itself is very limiting. If I
told you I was going to make a homemade Olympic bar, squat rack, kettlebell, or
dumbbell, most people would laugh at me. Yet, say that about a sandbag and it
sounds perfectly normal. The reason I created a sandbag specifically made for
strength and conditioning is because I was frustrated by homemade versions.
I tried to use homemade sandbags to prepare for Strongman contests and train
clients. It was simply a mess! Knowing the potential, I didn’t want to give up
on the concept, but I knew there had to be a better way. That’s why I created
the Ultimate Sandbag.
TA: Why is sandbag training so hard? I’ve used them for myself and my
clients, and of all things, my clients seem to hate the sandbag the most. Why is
that?
JH: Yes! Sandbags suck but in a good way. There is no easy way to lift
them. Every repetition is unpredictable, challenging, and incorporates every
muscle in the body. Sure, when we think of compound lifts we think of many
muscles being used. However, with sandbags, this seems to be every muscle! To
balance, stabilize, and often perform very dynamic lifts with a shifting object
requires all the muscles to be brought into play. For example, try a heavy bear
hug squat. Not only are the legs smoked and the core hit hard, but the arms and
upper back are simply torched!
Sandbags take away any debate against using Olympic lifting type of
movements. However, when you perform an explosive pull with a sandbag, you have
to fight so much harder! If you’re performing a standard clean, there’s an issue
of grip strength as well as the fact that the bag begins to sink against the
lifter as they pull. This means the lifter has to accentuate the pull even more
to accomplish the lift. If you perform a shouldering movement, you have to
explode to cleanly allow half of the bag to clear your shoulder. Sandbags are a
great and easy way to teach explosive movements to all types of populations.
The sandbag never rests in a comfortable position to relax the body. The
reason so many people love to have the bar on the back is that it’s our
strongest position. Try performing any standard movement with a heavy sandbag on
the shoulder, in a Zercher position, in a bear hug, or overhead. The entire body
must stabilize and brace to deal with the awkward position of the sandbag. Most
coaches forget that we’re teaching important concepts of isometric strength with
many of these lifts. Sandbags are perfect for many different athletes,
especially combative athletes.
Stay tuned for part two of this interview where we’ll get into programming
and other great applications of sandbag training.
Josh Henkin, CSCS, is the creator of the Ultimate Sandbag Training System.
Josh has spoken at international and national conferences on the topics of
innovative performance based training programs.
Troy M. Anderson is the owner of Anderson Training Systems (ATS), a
fitness and sports performance coaching business. He is also the co-creator of
Meltdown Kettlebell Training, a simple down to earth kettlebell fat loss system.
Get your sandbags
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