Sandbag Training

The Sandbag Rotational Lunge works multiple planes. The rotational aspect relates to the movement of the bag, rather than the lunge. The rotational movement of the bag makes it a very useful anti-rotational exercise, the user must accelerate and decelerate the bag in the transverse plane whilst lunging in the sagittal plane. Learn the movement by passing the bag over one leg, then progress the exercise by alternating between sides and increasing the dynamic swinging aspect of the movement.

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Exercise Progressions and Regressions There are four ways to progress or regress a sandbag exercise to find the optimal learning

Sandbag Training Holding Positions Shoulder Zercher Rack Back Bear hug Headlock Overhead Hang BUY YOUR SANDBAG HERE SANDBAG STRENGTH COURSE One of the advantages of

A very challenging compound movement that will develop core stability, anti-rotational strength as well as working the chest, back, shoulders, triceps and biceps. Only attempt the sandbag renegade row when you are comfortable holding the push up position and can engage the back muscles correctly when performing the single arm bent over row. When you can perform the movement with proficient technique using one sandbag, try alternating between sides by using two sandbags.

BUY TRAINING BAGS TRAINING BAG CERTIFICATIONS There are many types of training bags to choose from, the 5 most common found in gyms are Standard

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Sandbag exercises are generally categorized into three groups;ballistic movements, grind movements and hybrid movements (also referred to as combination movements).

The sandbag thruster is an extremely metabolically challenging exercise building significant gains in work capacity. The exercise combines two exercises; the front squat and the press into one seamless movement.

The sandbag arm balance row is essentially a renegade row with a rotation and press. Unlike the renegade row where you try to keep the hips closed, with the arm balance row you’ll rotate the hips and shoulders as you press the bag vertically. The exercise can be performed on one side or by alternating sides using two sandbags.

The sandbag shoulder to shoulder thruster is a similar movement to the conventional thruster, except the bag is unilaterally loaded on one side of the body. Placing the load on one side of the body creates an asymmetrical load which forces your core muscles to work even harder. The unilateral load engages the erector spinae and lateral fibres to stablise the spine in order to avoid lateral flexion.

The rotational sandbag swing is the transverse plane version of the traditional two-handed swing. The technique is very similar except there will be some thoracic rotation and you’ll need to have your feet close together allow room for the bag to swing outside of the legs. Remember to wait for the sandbag to pass the legs before you hinge and use a powerful hip drive to swing the sandbag forwards.

The one handed swing is a fundamental kettlebell exercise, but the exercise can also be performed perfectly well with a sandbag. The exercise strengthens the posterior muscle chain within a dynamic exercise that includes both acceleration and deceleration phases. The swing has a massive carry over to general activity and sports due to the powerful snapping hip extension involved.

The sandbag deadlift is the first exercise to learn as it’s the technique used to pick the Sandbag up from the floor for many exercises. Deadlifts are an important lift for any training program and is the foundation for learning many other lifts, it’s a fantastic exercise for developing the posterior chain.

The sandbag side press is a similar exercise to the Windmill, except instead of pressing the bag overhead and then hinging you hinge and press simultaneously. This exercise is very challenging but excellent for building strong durable shoulders.

The sandbag is also ideal for swinging laterally. There are two types of side swing, the Low to high and the high to high. For the purpose of this video, I’ll be demonstrating the ‘Low to High’ side swing, to perform the ‘High to High’ side swing follow the same cues except end the movement with the bag at shoulder height.

The sandbag windmill press is excellent exercise for core strength, shoulder stability and hip/hamstring flexibility. The movement requires skill and practice and a solid foundation of overhead shoulder stability and strength.

The sandbag one arm row is excellent for developing a strong core. Try not to lean on a bench or rest your elbow on the knee for support, instead place the free hand behind your back and focus on minimising movement through the trunk by using your abdominals. This variation of the one arm row is excellent for training anti-rotation.

The Sandbag Bent Over Row is a fantastic exercise for working the upperback, arms and core. Always keep your back straight throughout the exercise and begin with a moderate weight until you’re confident your back is strong enough to handle a heavier weight. Rowing exercises performed with the close grip handles are excellent for developing the lats (latissimus dorsi) whilst wide grip rows will target the trapezoid, rhomboid and rear deltoid muscles more. Ultimately, you should use both grips to target all the back muscles equally.

Sandbag reverse lunges are a unilateral exercise that improves balance and coordination. When teaching the lunge often beginners will find the reverse lunge simpler to perform than a forward lunge because as it’s easier to keep the front knee aligned over the front heel.

Squatting is one of the most fundamental exercises in strength training, using the sandbag we’re able to implement a variety of different variations, each with their own unique value. The back squat is a similar movement to the front squat and Zercher squat, except during the back squat the load is placed across the back of the shoulders. Having the load placed on the front of the body makes squats more knee dominant which emphasises the quad muscles. Whereas, placing the load on the back of the body makes the exercise more of a hip dominant movement emphasising the gluteal muscles.

Similar to the kettlebell swing, the sandbag swing can be used as a transitional exercise used within a complex or flow, or for strengthening the posterior chain.

Moving explosively can improve your balance far greater than instability training (standing on an unstable surface), because your body doesn’t have time to adjust. The split clean is an excellent exercise for developing both explosiveness and balance. It’s essentially a power clean except at the top of the movement you’ll quickly drop into the split squat position.

Once the reverse lunge can be performed with proficient technique, try the sandbag forward lunge. The main key with the forward lunge is to focus on folding the back knee and dropping the hips vertically downwards, rather than forwards and down which will cause your front knee to move over the front toe (something we want to avoid).

The sandbag suitcase deadlift is a very under-utilised exercise that is excellent for building core strength and grip strength. Be sure to stay upright and maintain good postural alignment as the bag will want to pull you to one side.

The sandbag side lunge is the frontal plane version of the lunge and is an excellent exercise for developing balance, stability and strengthening the quads, abductors, glutes, adductors, and hamstrings.

The barbell can be uncomfortable for many users when performing rack squats and back squats, the sandbag is an excellent alternative. Holding the flexible handles in the rack position is far easier on the wrists and in the back position the bag is fitted with a comfortable foam inner lining. Additionally, the bag can be held in multiple ways to target different muscle groups. For example, during the shoulder squat you will be unilaterally loaded, whilst the bear hug squat is effective for simultaneously developing upper body strength.

Sandbag shoulder cleans are an explosive exercise that move the weight from the floor to the shoulder in one movement. Something very unique to bag training is the ability to shoulder the weight. Very few pieces of equipment allow you to unilaterally load the weight on one shoulder whilst simultaneously moving the direction in which the bag is moving.

The sandbag Romanian deadlift (RDL) places even more emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings than the conventional deadlift. When performing a conventional deadlift the emphasis during the concentric phase is to drive into the floor through the heels, whereas the emphasis with the RDL is to pull from the hips.

The sandbag hack squat is a very underused and underperformed exercise for developing the quads. It’s also a great exercise if you wish to avoid loading the spine as the weight is below your hips and reduces the forces and strain placed on the spine.

The sandbag suitcase deadlift is a very under-utilised exercise that is excellent for building core strength and grip strength. Be sure to stay upright and maintain good postural alignment as the bag will want to pull you to one side.

Sandbag good mornings are another fantastic exercise for working the posterior chain. It’s a similar movement to the Romanian deadlift but put’s a little more emphasis on the lower back. Many users find the Zercher position more comfortable than the back position due to a lack of shoulder flexibility.

The rotational shoulder clean is the transverse plane version of the shoulder clean demonstrated in the last video. This movement is excellent for developing rotational core strength as well as targeting the lower and upper body combined.

This Sandbag Single Leg Deadlift can either be performed with the bag by your side (deadlift version), or in the Zercher (good morning) position. It’s an excellent unilateral exercise that will help build stability and functional balance. The movement requires the lower leg, pelvis and trunk to stabilise in an unstable loading environment. In this video I’ll be demonstrating the Zercher variation.

The sandbag shoulder squat can be performed comfortably with a sandbag and is a great unilateral exercise. Be sure to keep the head straight and the spine neutral throughout this movement.

The sandbag full snatch is a very challenging as exercise as you’ll need to explode the weight vertically, then quickly stabilise and control the weight overhead by locking out the arms whilst holding the squat position.

The sandbag clean and press is a hybrid exercise and combines the power clean with the military press. To successfully perform this movement you will need to follow the teaching points of both movements and remember to take an extra breath when you’re in the rack position.

The sandbag Zercher squat will pull you forward and really challenge the core to maintain an upright position. Keep your shoulders packed down, core braced and shoulder blades squeezed together. This holding position will also target the arms.

The rotational sandbag swing is the transverse plane version of the traditional two-handed swing. The technique is very similar except there will be some thoracic rotation and you’ll need to have your feet close together allow room for the bag to swing outside of the legs.

The sandbag high pull is a combination between a deadlift and an upright row. This movement is a little more explosive with the power generation coming from the legs with your arms guiding the bag at the top of the movement, if the bag is heavy you might feel a little more emphasis in the upper body.

The Sandbag Sots Press is a fantastic functional exercise that forces you to be strong in a very unstable position.
Only use this exercise if you have good shoulder, hip and thoracic mobility. This movement is extremely challenging to perform with two hands, begin with the one handed SOTS press to ensure you can perform the exercise with proficient technique before moving on to the two-handed variation. If you train rugby players, MMA fighters or other athletes that need to be strong in all positions, this will be a great exercise for them to practice. If your clients don’t quite have the mobility, strength or flexibility to perform this exercise. Try some of the following regressions; a) Windmill b) Turkish Get-Up c) Overhead carry d) Overhead squat.

A similar movement to the shoulder press but a little more dynamic. The sandbag push press incorporates a slight dip in the knees followed by an explosive drive through the legs to power the bag overhead. This knee drive will allow the lifter to press heavier weights overhead than the standard shoulder press. 

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Overview The sandbag hang clean can be performed in the hang or high hang position, for this example I’ll be

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Multi-Planar Movements Unilateral Loading Develop a Strong Core Micro Loading User Friendly Versatility Sport Specific Training Rotational Movements Functional Training

The most challenging part of the sandbag snatch is timing the punch at the top of the movement correctly so that you prevent the sandbag from flopping over the top and stressing the wrist flexors.The trick is to perform a high high-pull, then when the bag reaches the level of the top of the head punch vertically fast.

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Sandbags can be filled to your desired weight by simply adding more sand as you become stronger. If in doubt,

The sandbag sprawl to deadlift is a great combination lift for elevating the heart rate. During the sprawl get your hips down low, keep the chest up high and bring the feet as close to the bag as possible.

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Overview Many people stay away from barbell cleans because they feel intimidated by the complexity of the exercise or don’t

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Most sandbag strength movements require bio-mechanical breathing where inhaling is performed during the eccentric phase of a movement, and exhaling

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION Gripping Positions There are five ways to grip the sandbag; 1. Neutral grip2. Wide grip3. Parallel grip4. Carry grip5. Bag

BUY SANDBAGS ONLINE SANDBAG CERTIFICATION The sandbag is a versatile training tool and ideal for a large variety of pressing, pulling and ballistic type movements.

The sandbag is ideal for groundwork, this exercise is inspired by MMA style drills that we can do with a sandbag. These drills work great as a ladder where you start at 1 rep and build up by an additional rep on each round. These drills are also great for group training and boot camp style workouts where you want to challenge to add some fun and variety.

The Turkish get up is an old school strength exercise that was basically getting up from the floor into a standing position whilst holding a weight. This exercise can be performed a number of ways with the sandbag including the shoulder get up, bear hug get up, Zercher get up to name a few.

Sandbag burpee shouldering combines the burpee with a shoulder clean. Progress the exercise by adding a push up or by adding a jump. If you’re loading the sandbag onto the body and incorporating jumping movements be sure to have soft knees on the landing to prevent knee and ankle injuries.

The sandbag heel clean is excellent for athletes and clients that require greater speed development.

The sandbag high hang pull is the fastest of the high pulls and excellent for developing speed. The bag starts in the high hang position, which is in the lower pelvic region.

Sandbag ground to over the shoulder throws is another excellent leg builder and a great exercise to include in boot camps and group training. All the usual cues apply with the squat, try to ensure you’re lifting through the legs rather the back and drop the bag over the shoulder in any direction.

The sandbag split jerk is another great exercise and a similar movement as the power jerk, the difference with the split jerk is you’ll finish the exercise with one leg out in front.

The sandbag is ideal for performing carry exercises. Follow the cues outlined above for each of the positions for time or distance.

As the name implies this movement incorporates the sandbag clean, press, squat & lunge into one seamless combination lift. This is another fantastic full body movement that challenges the entire body as well as taxing the cardiovascular system.

Sandbags are versatile training tool that can be pulled, pressed, swung, thrown, carried and dragged. In this video I’m going to discuss several different sandbag drags that you can perform, which are not only fun, but add some variety to your training. These sandbag drag movements can be used for building upper and lower body strength as well as conditioning. The four sandbags drags that I’ll be demonstrating in this video are;

1. Sandbag Bear Crawl Drag
2. Sandbag Plank Pull Through Drag
3. Sandbag Table Top Drag
4. Sandbag Monkey Drag

The sandbag split snatch is essentially a multi-planar exercise that is excellent for developing functional balance, flexibility and explosiveness. Immediately after ripping the bag from the floor, explode one leg forward into the split squat position and stomp the front heel on the ground for extra power development and to stabilise the body in the sagittal and frontal plane.

A variation of the prisoner get-up, the added weight of the sandbag makes this already challenging exercise even more metabolically demanding. This exercise will hit the legs, work the core and elevate your heart rate.

The sandbag power jerk is an explosive movement and can be used to lift heavier loads overhead than a standard shoulder press or push press. However, the jerk is a much more complex movement and requires practice to become proficient.

The sandbag clean and jerk is an excellent for developing explosiveness, the movement allows the lifter to move a heavy weight which can also lead to strength development and hypertrophy. The exercise combines two lifts, the clean and the jerk.

The sandbag power clean to jump squat combines the pulling movement from the clean and the lower body pushing movement from the jump squat. This is another very challenging exercise that will get the blood pumping and tax the cardiovascular system.

The rotating sandbag snatch is another old school strength exercise that was performed with the barbell. The sandbag is a much safer alternative to the barbell and allows us to reintroduce this excellent movement that develops torque and functional core strength.

The sandbag lends itself perfectly to the sandbag half-moon snatch which is an excellent movement for developing core strength in multiple planes.

The sandbag man maker is another fantastic full body exercise that will challenge you metabolically. Only use the exercise with advanced clients that can control and stabilise the body in the plank position. To progress this exercise use two sandbags and row the sandbag like you would with a renegade row.

Pulling the sandbag from the heels extends the pulling movement working the glutes and hamstrings to a further degree.