Training with a sandbag as an alternative to the gym - see if it's worth it!

Training with a sand bag

In gyms and clubs dedicated to crossfit, it is increasingly common to see equipment whose general name is sandbag. These are punching bags filled with sand or other loose filler.

Why training with a sandbag is effective?

Researchers have studied what has the greatest impact on strength gains and muscle strengthening, when training. The conclusion was simple - if the effort is fully stabilized (as on the machines), it stimulates the muscles the least.
Much better exercises work with free weights and with the use of such training objects as sandbag which, thanks to forcing the stabilization of the weight while performing exercises, stimulate deep muscles making the training more effective.


Training with sandgab - advantages and effects

Workouts with bags give really surprising results. You may even find them more challenging than classic strength training. This will, of course, translate into the appearance of our figure, but also into the level of fitness.

Advantages of training with a sandbag:

• The advantage of the sandbag is that the center of gravity moves during exercise, which definitely puts the stabilizing muscles to work more. This is caused by the need to constantly catch the balance; -
• the variety of exercises we can do with this equipment gives the body the new boost it needs to grow. It also causes mental relaxation and breaks the routine that takes away the desire to exercise;
• the safety of training that bags offer is far superior to iron weights or metal barbells.

Best exercises with sandbag

Thanks to its design sandbag offers the ability to throw it, carry it easily and toss it safely.
It allows you to perform numerous exercises aimed at explosiveness, strength and conditioning.

Of course, with the help of bags, we can perform classic strength exercises such as dead-lifts, squats, or bench presses. However, we also have the ability to perform charges and tosses.

Clean with the help of a bag is a very pleasant exercise that engages many muscle groups to work simultaneously. Grab the bag by the handles and perform the dead pull first. Then going up we pull the bag higher so that it circles around our hands and falls on our forearms. Grasp it at cage height and lock it by straightening the body. From this position we can now perform a soldier press or squat.

Check out the Clean exercise with sandbag in the video below.



Training with a bag makes it possible to combine many exercises into so-called complexes. The advantage of performing complexes is the possibility of applying enormous intensity. This is conducive, firstly, to increasing the efficiency of the body, and secondly, to accelerating the rate of metabolism.

The oxygen debt created by such training will result in faster fat burning. In addition to accusations and classic exercises with bags, you can perform the much-loved burpees.
The exercise, which has earned a reputation as the most conditionally demanding single exercise, can be made even more challenging by using a bag load.

Check out the burpee exercise in the video below.




Snadbags will also work well when performing all kinds of tricks, crate climbs or even jumping on it. They are a fairly comfortable type of load that will not pinch us when put on the neck.

One worthwhile exercise is the so-called Russian swing which you can see in the video below:





the bags will also work well for exercises involving flipping it from place to place. Such movements will build overall strength and agility as they mimic the activities of daily life.

One of the best exercises I can recommend to you is the pendulum. It involves swinging the bag from side to side and squatting at the same time. The swagger activates the abdominal oblique muscles and forces us to maintain balance, which is upset by the weight of the bag, which goes beyond our center of gravity.



Another more advanced exercise is to perform a full swing around the shoulder girdle. To do this, stand a little wider on your feet and bend your knees slightly. At first, we put the bag in a swinging motion, and then try to swing it so hard that we can rotate it all the way over our head. Make a full 360-degree turn. The exercise requires a lot of coordination and considerable strength. Helps strengthen the entire shoulder rim and improve mobility. At first, I recommend learning to perform this exercise with a light load. In time when we master them we can boldly use heavy bags.

Sample FBW training plan with sandbag

• Burpee with sandbag - 4 series of 10 repetitions;
  
• Squat and squeeze - 4 series of 10 repetitions;
• Dead pull and ditching - 4 series of 10 repetitions;
• Push-up with jumping over a bag - 4 series of 10 repetitions;
• Forward stepping - 4 series of 10 repetitions per leg
• Russian twist - 4 series of 20 repetitions per side;
• Clenching with a bag on the chest - 4 series of 20 repetitions.

See also:

• Workout sandbag - your home gym! >>