Here is a great video from coach Josh Henkin that shows some exercises you may not have seen before – exercises that really challenge your core.
He has described this video as fighter fitness but it will work equally well for many non-athletes. I like exercise tools that can provide a great workout for an elite athlete but also work well for “average” people who want to lose weight and be in great shape.
Sandbags and the TRX definitely accomplish this goal, providing results for all ages.
I tried the TRX rotation exercise for the abs this morning and it works great.
My client Pete, a National Guardsman, does “basic training” for a year long mission in Afghanistan. Sandbags, parachute straps, ropes and bodyweight exercises take the place of weight machines found at the typical healthclub.
One such piece of equipment is the TRX suspension trainer which was developed by a former Navy SEAL to provide an effective workout using your own bodyweight as resistance. The straps fold up into a small pouch which takes up little space and is easily portable, attaching to any post, tree, or even a Humvee.
Sandbags are usually easy to find on a military base and make a handy form of resistance training. The particular bags that he uses are known as the Ultimate Sandbag and come with different handle positions built into the bag for doing various exercises.
Soldiers wear body armor and gear that is quite heavy, requiring plenty of core strength in order to carry out their duties in the field. Pete has had previous hip and back issues in the past, but since taking up this “basic training” routine has noticed a big difference.
Recently he spent the weekend doing drills and had no problems while wearing all his gear. Previously, Pete had done the typical weight machines at a local gym and knew that something was missing. His current training regimen has him doing multi joint exercises that target the abs and low back, integrating them with the upper and lower body.
These exercises require several muscles to work together, making it easier to perform work or sport duties by allowing you to function more efficiently. These simple but rugged workouts take place in my small studio. Little rest is allowed between exercises in order to burn greater calories overall.
This can also build mental toughness which might help on the battlefield. Pete is getting married a month prior to his deployment. He is scheduled to attend officer training after his mission, before heading to physical therapy school.
While these workouts can be tough they can be modified to fit an individual’s needs and strengthen past weak spots or injuries. A related article that you might find interesting is The Skinny People are Over There.
Sandbag training is a great way to increase your core stability and your athleticism. Every exercise puts some demands on your abs and low back, strengthening them in the process.
I recently started doing sandbag squats to increase my leg strength and I’ve been doing pushups with a 30 pound sandbag on my back, for upper body strength.
These two exercises really work your abs and low back.
But you can also do rotational exercises for your midsection, along with explosive movements that increase your power and athleticism.
Here’s one of Josh Henkins’ videos that you might enjoy.
I had a great ab workout yesterday without doing any crunches or situps, which are mostly a waste of time. So what exercises did I do for my abs?
Simple, I did complex movements like front/Zercher grip sandbag squats and handstand pushups with my feet against the wall. These exercises require intense stability work for your abs, and are pretty good for your back too.
When you do squats with a fairly heavy sandbag in front of you, it requires your abs and low back to work hard to stabilize your spine and maintain good posture. It also works your mid back muscles along your thoracic spine, again, great for your posture.
For the handstand pushups I place my back to a wall and put my hands on the floor about two feet or so, in front of me on the ground. Then I walk my feet up the wall until my body is fairly straight and then do some pushups.
Not just a great upper body exercise (if strong enough), I also really feel it in my lower abs and internal obliques. Those muscles are working hard to provide stability. This is how these muscles work in real life settings.
These exercises provide a lot more intensity than lying on the ground and doing crunches, which are pretty much a waist of time in my opinion – because they lack proper intensity and require too much time (inefficient).
Doing squats or stepups with a sandbag on one shoulder is also a great ab workout. They force your obliques (sides) to provide plenty of stability for your spine since all the weight is positioned on one side.
Do you see a theme happening here? Training your abs with exercises that involve other muscles not only saves you time but gives your abs a more intense workout. It also builds total body coordination which is important for playing sports but also for avoiding injury in everyday life.
Think of a fireman carrying someone from a burning building. He either carries that person in front of him or on his shoulder. Doing crunches won’t help him accomplish this…..
So, you’ve never heard of training with sandbags and wonder why you should try them?
Simple – sandbag training is very effective for strength and conditioning and gives you a great core workout – basically, all the exercises work several muscles and joints at the same time, which means that you get results without spending hours and hours exercising.
These are the types of routines being used by the top fat loss experts.Most people have a limited amount of time to exercise and this is why they give up on traditional healthclub workouts or don’t even get started in the first place, because it takes too much time.
This is where sandbag training comes into play.Every exercise works your abs and low back, so you don’t have to spend extra time on the floor doing situps and crunches, which aren’t that effective anyway, which is why you have to do 15 minutes or more.There again, if you are limited for time, not very efficient.
I mentioned that all the sandbag exercises use multiple muscles.When you use the muscles of your legs and hips, back, chest and shoulders – you burn more calories than when you do isolation work for different bodyparts.These type of workouts
also elevate your metabolism for several hours after you are done exercising.
When you work your large muscles against resistance, you burn more calories, so again for those short on time, you get more bang for your buck.Sandbags are also a great tool for doing home exercises.You can do all kinds of different movements, all of which challenge your midsection.
So the sandbags are great for athletes, policemen, and firemen, they are also great for the average Baby Boomer who just wants a great workout without having to go to the gym and spend hours walking on a treadmill to nowhere, or riding a bike where the scenery never changes…….
pretty boring if you ask me, which is why most people don’t stick with their New Year’s resolutions – too time consuming and its boring.
When you do squats with the sandbags across your collarbone or on one shoulder, they really force your abs to work overtime to stabilize your low back.This gives you a strong midsection which is more resistant to low back pain.
It also makes your everyday activities that much easier, whether its getting the groceries out of your car, doing yard work or bending over to pick up your child or grandchild.
It makes these activities easier while helping you get in great shape at the same time.Because the sand has a tendency to shift while doing the various exercises, this provides an extra challenge to your muscles.It also lets you get great results while lifting a little less weight.It increases the coordination of all your muscles as they all have to work together to accomplish the lift.
If you are looking for fat loss and general fitness, go from one exercise to the next with very little rest in between.Or just pick two exercises to alternate from.Do one exercise, rest briefly and then do the other exercise, switching back and forth, getting more work done in a shorter amount of time.
That’s what interval fat loss training is all about – getting the most amount of work done in the shortest amount of time.That’s why it is effective and why it should be the preferred choice for busy people.Get your heart rate up while you are working your muscles with some resistance – the best of both worlds.
So why do I like Josh Henkin’s sandbags?Simple, they are well designed to stand up to the most rugged of users, and they also have multiple handle placements for doing many different exercises.They’re just plain fun to use.Right now, I’ve got 5 of his bags – 2 small, 2 medium and 1 large.
I just got the large bag and let me tell you it is pretty challenging.Most people would probably struggle to use the large bag and most people wouldn’t even need it.But if you are a fairly strong guy this bag may humble you when you first try to lift it.120 pounds of shifting sand is a lot different than lifting a barbell which is
balanced equally on both ends.Again, that’s part of the fun of lifting sandbags and why they are so efficient.
I don’t have any of the filler bags right now and have just loaded sand in contractor bags, which are industrial strength plastic garbage bags.I’ve double bagged them and had no sand leaking from the bags so far, which is another plus to Josh’s bags – the zipper and snaps for easy changing of the amount of sand in the bags.
So I can definitely recommend his sandbags and have seen some of the DVD’s,
which are also very good.Josh likes to combine sandbag training with kettlebells, while I like to combine them with flex band resistance bands.Either way, you will get a great workout .You can also combine them with dumbbells, which I sometimes do.
If you’re like me, you may prefer to exercise outdoors and sandbags are a great
choice.If you prefer to work out at home or don’t like exercising with lots of people around, they also are an excellent choice.
