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.

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