Sandbag Training for Athletes, Weekend Warriors and Fitness Enthusiasts

You may think the idea of training with a bag of sand may be a bit crazy. You may be wondering why would I train with such a thing, could it be really that BIG of a difference? Heck, I have a whole gym full of equipment available to me, why in the world would I even CONSIDER sandbag training? Let’s face it, if you are reading this right now you aren’t happy with your results. You know they could be better, but you may not be sure what is missing from your programs. I’ll be honest, sandbags themselves will not solve your problems. I can tell you this from personal experience as I had high hopes for using sandbags for my own physical issues which was primarily a bad low back injury suffered during my athletic career. Being so frustrated with the failure of traditional therapeutic techniques I had to search so outside the lines that I was led down to the idea of old time strength training techniques. The idea of a “Physical Culture” was at the root of how these old time athletes lived and trained. These athletes were not just performing feats of strength that would be impressive by today’s standards, but they could move with the grace that would make the most elite athlete’s jaw drop. What secrets did they know that we did not? It was a challenge to identify what made them so successful as they all had their own unique methods and ideas, I couldn’t find any specific commonalities except for one! At one point or another it appeared that most of these old time strongmen lifted odd objects. Stones, giant logs, and large bags of a variety of implements. This all seemed counterproductive to someone who had the history of low back pain that I had experienced, yet, I was desperate! I needed SOMETHING that would make a profound difference for pain and discomfort, I simply could not go on living life in this manner. I didn’t want to use everything, I was hesitant and thought of the odd objects discussed by old-time strongmen which made the most sense? Heck, I wasn’t even sold that such a thing would make a difference for me. Exploring a little deeper it appeared that even some of the strongmen had their favorites and one of the most popular of the modern era, Brooks Kubik, spoke very specifically about the benefits and safety of sandbag training...