Unlike conventional workout tools such as barbells, kettlebells & dumbbells the weight of a sandbag shifts, is less stable and moves more dynamically & naturally. This requires you to use more balance, stabilizer muscles & your core which you wouldn’t use as much for basic compound movements.
The sandbag will shift, sag and form fit around the body as you use it. So a 40 lb sandbag would not feel the same as a 40 lb solid object. It is much harder to balance and stabilize which increases the overall difficulty, functionality & results you’ll get.
The biggest difference in sandbag & odd object lifting is the functionality & versatility that this tool provides. Sandbag training mimics real world functional movements like lifting bags of grain feed, cutting & stacking freshly cut wood, moving heavy stones, using a pickaxe or doing yard work. These types of movements work the entire body through a full range of motion and rely heavily on your core, grip strength & stabilizer muscles.
The problem with repetitive physical labor movements is that most of these activities are done using the dominant side of your body which could develop imbalances and overuse injuries. Also you might be predominately using your pulling muscles & not using your pushing muscles or visa versa.
By doing specific functional exercises with proper technique along with a few basic stretching & mobility exercises can go a long way in reducing pain, strengthening weaknesses, imbalances and over-compensation issues. Think of it as preventive training or pre-hab.
Functional fitness (strength, balance, flexibility & explosive power) is what you’ll get when you add sandbag training to your current workout routine.
Most exercise equipment & programs primarily focus on linear plane movements. Such as the bench press, overhead press, dead lift, pull downs/pull-ups & squats. All very good exercises but what these fundamental exercises are missing is the rotational & circular plane of movement. By adding these specific types of movements to your workout program you will see a big improvement in your overall strength, power & agility. Athletes such as shot putters, MMA fighters, baseball & tennis players (just to name a few) all rely on rotational force to generate maximum power.
The best benefits in sandbag training is the large variety & versatility of exercises which will help keep you from getting bored, will give you a full body functional workout without the need for a lot of space, and can be used indoors or out.
Key areas of development from sandbag training:
- Compound or multi joint movements: These build strength and focus on the large muscle groups.
- Explosive/dynamic movements: This will develop power, speed & endurance
- Rotational movements: Strengthen joints, ligaments & tendons.
- Ground based exercises: Develop, balance & strength endurance
- Core development: Center of power
- Stabilization development: Protect from injury
- Develops all three planes of motion: Builds agility, coordination & mobility
Major complaints about other sandbags
After many years of personally using the sandbag and coaching my fitness & martial arts clients, the one major complaint with all the other bags on the market was the poor handle designs. Most bags come with either a thin webbing strap that cuts & rubs into your hand making it too uncomfortable for many clients to use, or forcing you to stop training after a short session. The other design has a hard rubber handle that does not allow the bag to rotate as freely and also creates a hard surface that will hit the body during certain exercises.
The search for a more comfortable design
When my team and I designed the Slam-N-Gear sandbags the first thing we changed was to create a more comfortable handle that won’t dig into your hand and allows the handle to rotate freely. Also we padded the inside of the handle to give it more volume which improves grip & eliminates any hard surfaces. Then we did two more things, we used overlapping reinforced handles which adds strength & a six handle design that will provide you with a maximum of different exercise options & movement patterns that are foundational for good health, fitness & sports.
With sandbags there is no need for multiple pieces of equipment because each Slam-N-Gear ballistic nylon outer bag comes with two 30 lb vinyl filler bags, enabling you to go up to a heavy 60 lbs. This way you can fill one filler bag to 30 lbs of sand and fill the other bag between 5 lbs & 30 lbs which makes it super easy to add additional weight without having to dump or scoop out sand each time. Having two filler bags helps for quick switching from your lighter warm up, rotational or ballistic movements to your heavier compound movements. It only takes a few seconds to open the outer bag and drop in the other bag. Also great if two people of different strength levels are training together.
In conclusion, there are many different types of functional and old school training tools that you can use to reach your fitness or athletic goals but no one tool will build overall fitness, strength & power better then sandbag training.