Sandbag Training Bible: Functional Workouts to Tone, Sculpt and Strengthen Your Entire Body

By Ben Hirshberg

A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE STRENGTH-TRAINING PROGRAM USING THE SIMPLEST, MOST AFFORDABLE "UNSTABLE WEIGHTS"
An ideal strength-building program for men and women alike, the sandbag training approach unleashes the power of functional training to help you reach your fitness goals. The awkward, unstable nature of sandbags forces your body to use all its muscles, including often-neglected stabilizers for a total-body workout that guarantees you’ll:

•Burn fat
•Build muscle
•Improve health
•Sculpt your physique
•Boost athleticism

With its low cost and simple design, the humble sandbag is an amazing and smart piece of equipment. Sandbag Training Bible shows how to maximize its effectiveness with straightforward exercises, whether you’re using a bulky bag for heavy resistance lifts or a lighter bag for calisthenic circuits or endurance training.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ulysses Press
• Release date: Nov 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781612435022

Book preview

Text copyright © 2015 Ben Hirshberg. Design and concept copyright © 2015 Ulysses Press and its licensors. Photographs copyright © 2015 Rapt Productions except as noted below. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the Internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published in the United States by

Ulysses Press

P.O. Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-61243-502-2

Acquisitions: Kelly Reed

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Editor: Lily Chou

Proofreader: Natalia Jaster

Indexer: Sayre Van Young

Front cover/interior design and layout: what!design @ whatweb.com

Production: Caety Klingman

Photographs: Rapt Productions

Artwork: concrete texture © Kues/shutterstock.com

Models: Lauren Lee Robinson, Zachary Seale, Christopher Wells

Makeup: Sabrina Foster/SabrinaFosterMakeup.com

Please Note: This book has been written and published strictly for informational purposes, and in no way should be used as a substitute for consultation with health care professionals. You should not consider educational material herein to be the practice of medicine or to replace consultation with a physician or other medical practitioner. The author and publisher are providing you with information in this work so that you can have the knowledge and can choose, at your own risk, to act on that knowledge. The author and publisher also urge all readers to be aware of their health status and to consult health care professionals before beginning any health program.

This book is independently authored and published. No sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with any trademarked brands or products mentioned or pictured, is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The author and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands and other products mentioned and pictured in this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part 1: Overview

Introduction

Why Sandbag Training?

Training Smart

Before You Begin

How to Use This Book

Part 2: Programs

Creating a Customized Workout

Scheduling Your Workouts

Sample Workouts

Essentialist Workouts

Sets & Reps Workouts

Eustress Workouts

Endurance Workouts

HIT Workouts

Circuit Workouts

Part 3: Exercises

Overhead Press

Push Press

Chest Press

Bent-Over Row

Muscle-Up

Pull-Up

Push-Up

Dip

Skull Crusher

Curl

Shrug

Deadlift

One-Leg Deadlift

Sumo Deadlift

Shoveling

Sandbag Swing

Shouldering

Wall Sit

Back Squat

Front Squat

Front Squat with Arm Extension

Overhead Squat

Sumo Squat

Good Morning

Static Lunge

Forward Lunge

Side Lunge

Step-Up

Around the World

Calf Raise

Forearm Plank

High Plank

Side Plank

Reverse Plank

Glute-Ham Plank

Bird Dog

Superman

Hand-to-Feet Pass

Bicycle

Sit-Up

V-Up

Frozen V

Ground Slam

Wall Ball

Barrel Toss

Overhead Throw

Chest Toss

Bear Crawl

Crab Walk

Duck Walk

Gorilla Walk

Inchworm Walk

Army Crawl

Snatch

Clean & Jerk

Thruster

Thruster with Lunge

Overhead Chop

Side Chop

Turkish Get-Up

Sprint

Side Shuffle Sprint

Carioca Sprint

Backpedal Sprint

Shoulder Farmer’s Walk

Suitcase Farmer’s Walk

Overhead Farmer’s Walk

Burpee

Rolling Burpee

Sled Pull

Jumping Jack

Jumping Rope

Sandbag Whip

Box Jump

Split Lunge Jump

Vertical Jump

Long Jump

Distance Ruck

Stair Ruck

Upper-Body Ruck

Warming Up

Jumping Jack

Mountain Climber

Running in Place

Butt Kick

Hip Gate

Windmill

Toe Kick

Walking

Workout Sheets

Acknowledgments

About the Author

PART 1: Overview

INTRODUCTION

Ever since I was a youth athlete, I’ve endeavored to improve my health and athletic performance. My interest in health and fitness grew as I read dozens of health books and became a World Instructor Training Schools-certified personal fitness trainer and a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified fitness nutrition specialist and youth fitness trainer. Through a combination of reading fitness books, completing certifications, and putting theory to practice in the real world, I’ve come to love using sandbag training in my workouts.

Old-school sandbag training isn’t as flashy as newfangled fitness trends like vibration plates and balance boards, but its no-frills essence is precisely why sandbag training is so effective. Fancy, complicated training methods can sound appealing at first, but simplicity is a strength, not a weakness. The simpler the exercise modality, the fewer barriers there are to a good workout. When training with a sandbag, the only thing you need to think about is the single bag in front of you. You’re essentially just picking up, pressing, and carrying large, awkward objects—a perfect training method that prepares you for everyday activities like moving furniture, carrying groceries, and going on backpacking trips.

So let it be known, sandbag training is not some passing fad. Whether you’re a desk jockey or a professional athlete, incorporating sandbag training into your fitness regimen will take standard bodyweight moves to a whole new level.

WHY SANDBAG TRAINING?

Training with a sandbag isn’t easy, and that’s the point. If your workout allows you to idly chat with a friend without breaking a sweat, it probably isn’t making you stronger. Don’t get it twisted—your workout doesn’t need to kill you in order for it to be effective. But it does have to give your body a challenge, and using sandbags—essentially resistance training—is a great way to do that.

Incorporating sandbags in resistance training is great for both men and women. When done properly, it’s helpful for nearly all fitness goals, including fat loss, muscle gain, health improvement, and athletic development. This is because resistance training excels at one of the most important facets of any exercise modality: muscle engagement. Aerobic training methods like running, jumping rope, and biking are all awesome, healthy things to do. However, aerobic activities don’t work the musculature as effectively or efficiently as straight-up resistance training, making resistance training an unparalleled way to develop a fit-looking, strong body.

The biggest advantage to using a sandbag is its large, awkward, unstable nature. This forces your body to recruit the oft-neglected stabilizer muscles and engage in the movement from head to toe. Training in this ultra-functional manner means more metabolic benefits and a stronger body. Sandbag training aims to combine the benefits of intentional, high-load barbell training and real-world manual labor.

Sandbags are also relatively inexpensive and portable. If you buy