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Sandbag Training Bodybuilding

What are the Benefits of Sandbag Training?

Sandbag training is one of the more unique manners in which to train the body. And it provides a great training cycle or a good element to add into your own program. It is different enough from standard training and it forces you out of your comfort zone, and that is one of the keys to new growth. It is also fairly simple and can be done at home, and can be done inexpensively.

You can create your own sandbag (fill a partial inner tube with sand and tie off both ends, use a boxing style punching bag, or buy a bag made especially for sandbag training. The advantage of buying the specialty made bag is that it will typically have handles where you can grasp it and this opens up a lot more training options. These bags usually don’t cost a ton and you fill them with sand when you get them, so shipping costs are minimal as well.

The base move for the best body development is the squat, and you can absolutely apply sand bag training to the squat. You can put a sandbag across your back, as in the fireman’s carry (drape it across the shoulders) and this move can be performed with all your sandbags.

Another option is to have the sandbag draped across the front of your shoulders, move into a front squat position, the press the bag overhead.

Simply carrying a sandbar around can help you train. It improves your grip vastly. And you can drape it over one shoulder or both for more challenge when you run. It mimics what it would be like to have to pick someone up and carry them over a distance.

The military style press can be performed with a sandbag. Getting it up to just shoulder level may require a real effort, and then you press it overhead. From there, you push on to perform it with several repetitions.

You can perform sandbag curls. You can drape a light sandbag across your shoulders and perform a dip as well. One exercise that lends itself well to sandbag training is the lunge, and walking lunge. The sandbag is great for most manners of lunging.

You can also work your core by hugging the sandbag to your body and twisting from side to side. Don’t start with a real heavy load on this action as the torque on the waist can be significant.

You can also perform the bench press with a sandbag, and one unique variation is to lie on the floor, shoulders on the ground, but elevate your hips off the ground, to get the effect of a decline bench press.

Sandbag training is unique and tough and forces you to learn to work with a tool that isn’t always balance, which shifts heavily during the action and causes your body to have to use all those supporting muscles it has. And that’s a good thing.

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