NiaShanks.com

photo by aad.born

• Posted 08/27/2009
• Tags:
  workout, sand bag, strength training, weight loss, equipment, and fat loss
• 2 comments

The other day I showed you how to make your own sand bag. If you missed that video, make sure you check it out => How To Make Your Own Sand Bag.

Now that you have your own sand bag (or bags if you made a few with different poundages) it's time to use it! The great thing about sand bag workouts is that you can use them for many different purposes: burning body fat, improve conditioning and endurance, increase strength, and even building muscle.

If you have never used a sand bag before, be prepared: they are tougher than you might think. Since the sand bag moves around while you workout, you have to work harder to control it. Also, sand bag workouts are fun because it's a great change of pace from lifting free weights, doing traditional cardio, etc.

If you never train with a sand bag, you truly are missing out on some very fun and highly effective workouts. So, build a sand bag, and then give these workouts a try.

Oh yeah, one more thing: if you do this in the yard, make sure you dodge the dog crap. : )

This first workout combines the following exercises:

-Shouldering

-Clean & Press

-Bent Over Row

-Zercher Squat

You should perform this as a circuit - perform each exercise one after the other without resting. The number of reps you do depends on how heavy the bag is; I would shoot for 8 to 12 reps for each if you are trying to improve your conditioning or burn body fat. Use a heavier bag and keep the reps around 5 if you are trying to improve strength.

Here's another sand bag workout that combines the following exercises:

-Thruster

-Good Morning

-Bear Hug Carry for distance

Perform this exercise as a circuit, and follow the same guidelines for the first sand bag workout.

Finally, here is a third sand bag workout that consists of one exercise: squat thrust with clean and press. You can add a push-up to make it even more challenging as I show in the video:

As I mention in the video, I would do this workout in one of two ways:

1) Perform as many reps as possible in a set amount of time. Example: 10 minutes.

2) Perform a set number of reps (i.e. 50) as fast as possible.

This is a great workout that can replace your traditional cardio workouts, and one of my favorites.

Give those workouts a try and leave your comments below.