IOL Strength and Conditioning

 This is a guest blog post from our friend, “the sandbag guy,” Josh Henkin.

Why use something so primitive? It isn’t in an attempt to be hardcore or “a bad ass.” There is a lot of science behind what makes what was once an old-school training tool into a standard for the modern lifter.

Core Strength

I hate that term more than most, not because everyone is using it, but because of the misuse of the it. The core is more than the abs; it’s the hips and low back as well, and some argue it’s even hard to separate the lats from the equation. Because the sandbag is so awkward to lift, it incorporates more of the core muscles more than any other training method. We do this instinctively to help become more efficient at the movements as the muscles work synergistically to deal with the awkward sandbag.

Sandbag training allows lifters to better develop the core because every traditional lift becomes a core exercise with the sandbag. For example, squatting has always been known as a great way to strengthen the midsection. With the barbell you have three options: You can perform front, back or overhead squats, all fantastic drills. However, only the overhead squat is a situation where the load isn’t perfectly loaded on the body’s strongest leverage points. In sandbag training, one can use eight different holding positions to challenge the body’s core to maintain posture during the squatting motion.

For example, in shoulder squatting one holds the load on one side of the body. This provides similar axial loading as it challenges the body to resist lateral flexion and rotation. The lifter will also find one leg actually works harder, a great way to strengthen the posterior chain. Such exercises quickly expose weaknesses as “filling in the holes.”

The list is endless with variations of squatting, lunging, step-ups, get-ups and pressing. With any traditional lift, the sandbag can add a new twist to stimulate new muscular strength and growth.

Get Stronger

Most are familiar with the term “farm boy strength.” Most people have met that one guy who grew up on a farm and never lifted weights yet has this tremendous strength that seems to transfer to everything. What did this guy do? He lifted odd objects all the time and developed tremendous strength lifting in different positions with implements that didn’t have comfortable handles or well-distributed loads.

The benefits of odd-object hefting didn’t elude many old-time strongmen. In fact, they often used sandbags to build the incredible strength they demonstrated in a variety of acts or in wrestling matches. In one of the most landmark books in strength and conditioning, The Encyclopedia of Wrestling Conditioning, author John Jesse outlines the following:

“Sandbags over 100 pounds are awkward to handle and provide a true test of all-around strength, particularly in lifting them overhead or bringing them to the shoulder with one hand. Some of the old-time strongman wrestlers would shoulder a 180 to 220-pound sack of grain to the shoulder with one hand and then walk several hundred yards with the bag on their shoulders. A few were capable of pressing the same bag overhead with one hand after bringing it to the shoulder.”

Sandbags build ligament and tendon strength like few other tools can. They fill in the holes that most strength exercises miss because of limited movement and predictable patterns. Strength expert Brooks Kubik best stated why sandbags work so well:

“You feel sore as you do because the bags worked your body in ways you could not approach with a barbell alone. You got into the muscle areas you normally don’t work. You worked the heck out of the stabilizers.”

Bodybuilding and Sandbags

There was a time when there was no difference between being a strength athlete and a bodybuilder. Many methods and tools crossed the lines between these two arenas and one could be strong and muscular at the same time. Even some of today’s biggest bodybuilders have used odd objects in their training.

Renowned strength coach Charles Staley calls sandbags our “most uncooperative” training tool. A lifter can use a sandbag for everything from a clean and press to a biceps curl. Whatever the drill, the sandbag adds a new dimension from coordination to gripping strength. This seems to integrate more muscles than a standard barbell or dumbbell lift and can introduce a much-needed variation to many programs.

Recently a strength enthusiast named Anthony Sharah shared with me, “In the past I followed a bodybuilding routine. I could never get my upper body size to grow to match my lower body. There is no doubt that sandbag training recruits more muscle fibers, or that it is different than barbell training.”

So many bodybuilding routines try to hit muscles from different angles, hit different fibers, and try to integrate muscles in so many different ways. In truth, those striving for muscle growth may find sandbags to be a great compliment to their training program because few training methods and tools can stimulate more muscles in new ways than the sandbag.

Filling in the Holes

Let’s say you believe that sandbags have a place. How do you integrate them into your training program? There are host of different strategies.

• Alternate sets of your favorite classic lifts with a sandbag variation. For example, barbell squats alternated with Zercher or shoulder sandbag squats; deadlifts, alternated with rotational deadlifts, half moon snatches, or even shouldering. The list quickly becomes endless and fun!
• Finish off your sets with a sandbag finisher. Want a more complete physique? After your bench press series, perform one all-out effort of sandbag clean and presses.
• Every cycle, switch out a traditional barbell or dumbbell lift with a sandbag variation. Perform shoulder lunges instead of dumbbells, work bear hug instead of barbell good mornings; use shouldering instead of deadlifts, overhead chop instead of your kettlebell swing.

In the End

Sandbags are not a fad; there just has never been a system of implementing the work into a rational strength training program. My goal is to not simply reintroduce the lifting community to sandbags and their variations, but to the powerful impact these can have on a well-structured program. Random assignment of sandbag lifts is as useless as doing such with barbells, dumbbells or even kettlebells. Utilizing them with extremely focused intent and purpose makes them a tool no strength athlete should pass up!

In the arena of functional fitness and sports performance, Josh Henkin is a widely acclaimed innovator. He is the creator of the Ultimate Sandbag and Sandbag Fitness Systems. In addition, Josh lectures internationally at conferences, top fitness facilities, and elite sports performance programs. He can be reached via email at jsandbags@hotmail.com.