Sandbag workout, also known as the sandbag training or weighted bag is a kind of military-based exercise that is done to build full-body strength and develop strong muscles. The workout is performed by using a single piece of equipment that is a bag filled with sand. For fitness newbies, it is a good choice of exercise to begin as a weight training exercise. Sandbag is an alternative exercise to kettlebells and dumbbells. As pandemic has hit hard especially for fitness freaks, sandbag comes to the rescue. You can just do this exercise by lifting the bag at your home and get the same fitness benefits as you get in the gym.
Sometimes you might get bored with other kinds of gym workouts like pullovers, cable pushdown, dumbbells, etc. Lifting weight with a sandbag will give you a new feeling and you will try to step away from gym-based rooms. Since the bag is filled with sand, the gravity forces change rapidly as you keep moving. The sandbag changes its shape as you load it furthermore, it helps you to push forward and work harder at every step. Let us go through some relevant information about sandbag workouts.
How to do Sandbag Workout
To begin with this exercise, you just need to warm up a bit. Place the sandbag on the floor. Keep your hands on the bag and start doing push-ups with a sandbag. This will help you to activate your arm muscles and get familiar with your sandbag.
- If you are a beginner then start doing sandbag row chest.
- Just stand on the floor with a slight distance between your feet.
- Lift the sandbag with both your hands like you lift some heavy bag.
- With a full range of motion and keeping your legs straight lift the bag to your chest and then bring it back down.
- Do it continuously for around 10 reps.
After doing this workout, you will soon notice your weight lifting capacity and then you go on increasing bag weight by adding more sand. This exercise targets your biceps and chest muscles.
Sandbag Variations
Sandbag Clean
Stand on the floor with a slight distance between your feet. Squat a bit, grab the handles of the bag and then lift the bag with both your hands. Bring the bag up to your shoulder. Once you lift it, stand straight. Keep the bag down again. The whole movement should be as dynamic and quick as possible. Shoulders, arms and legs get strengthened with this exercise.
Sandbag Swings
Place the sandbag in front of you at some distance. Your legs should be shoulder-width apart. Slightly bend your knees to grab the bag with handles. Keep your back erect and by engaging your lats, pull down the sandbag between your legs. Then, swing the bag up till your shoulder level. The whole movement will look like swinging your bag to and fro between your legs. Do not pause in between the movements, keep on doing it for 10 reps. This variation will improve your body balance and stability.
See also: How Decline Bench Press Will Help You Get Strong Chest
Sandbag Bear Hug
As the name suggests, you just have to hug the bag. Stand on the floor with little distance between your feet. Squat and lift the bag, remember to lift it in a vertical position. Hug the bag and bring it down again. Do it repeatedly for 30 seconds. This form will create tension around your arm muscles and it identifies your potential of lifting heavy loads.
Round the world
This is a bit difficult variation but an effective one. Lift the bag with your hands up to your thigh level. Move the bag in a clockwise direction over your head and bring it back to its starting position. Do it rapidly and repeat the movement. You have to be very careful about your movements otherwise due to heavy load you will end up hurting your head. So move around the bag cautiously.
See also: Elliptical Bike Workouts to Quickly Lose Your Body Weight
Benefits
- Since this bag is easy to carry, you can do this workout anywhere at any place and time.
- These days modified versions of sandbags are available online. They come in different amounts of weights and quality bags. So according to your suitable capacity and choice, you can choose whichever type of sandbags you want.
- Sandbag training boosts your overall athletic performance and improves your mental strength too. The transition between your workouts helps in critical thinking ability.
- If you want to build maintain your body structure and target most parts of body muscles then a sandbag is the ultimate choice for you.
- Sandbag is a great travel companion for fitness freaks too. You can carry them anywhere you want.
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