Hirshberg - Sandbag training bible: functional workouts to tone, sculpt and strengthen your entire body

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.

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ISBN: 978-1-61243-502-2

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Editor: Lily Chou

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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.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ever since I was a youth athlete, Ive 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, Ive come to love using sandbag training in my workouts.

Old-school sandbag training isnt 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. Youre essentially just picking up, pressing, and carrying large, awkward objectsa 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 youre a desk jockey or a professional athlete, incorporating sandbag training into your fitness regimen will take standard bodyweight moves to a whole new level.

Training with a sandbag isnt easy, and thats the point. If your workout allows you to idly chat with a friend without breaking a sweat, it probably isnt making you stronger. Dont get it twistedyour workout doesnt need to kill you in order for it to be effective. But it does have to give your body a challenge, and using sandbagsessentially resistance trainingis a great way to do that.

Incorporating sandbags in resistance training is great for both men and women. When done properly, its 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 dont 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 or make one, your house becomes your gymno membership fees, commute, or interminable wait for equipment to become available. And when compared to the cost of a full home gym, sandbags are incredibly cost-effective, portable, and take up very little storage space.

Adaptability is another benefit of sandbag training. Many personal trainers have a single training philosophy. Some are proponents of heavy resistance training, others prefer calisthenic circuits, and others are adamant endurance advocates. Sandbags can be incorporated into all those methods, allowing you total flexibility to switch between different training goals.

Personally, I believe theres no one, universal best way for everyone to train because all of us have different preferences and goals. My general training philosophy is constructed from ten primary workout principles. Theyre as follows:

1. Train with functional, compound movements. Working small muscles through small ranges of motion makes no sense. Exercising in that way provides a much smaller metabolic benefit and a smaller hormonal response. Additionally, big, multi-joint movements build functional strength, which is beneficial for sports and daily life. Functional, compound exercises make sense because theyre much more efficient and effective at helping you hit your workout goals.

2. Train the whole body. Neglecting certain muscle groups or movement patterns can lead to muscle imbalances, which are bad on both a functional and aesthetic level. Besides looking funny, muscle imbalances can affect our posture and movement patterns, and sometimes even lead to injury. To avoid this trap, train your whole body from head to toe!

3. Put in at least a good effort when training. Unfortunately for the throngs of people who go to the gym to slowly walk on a treadmill or pedal on an exercise bike, half-heartedly exercising isnt particularly helpful for any fitness goals. The body needs to be challenged for exercise to have its full range of positive effects, so be sure to give a good effort at the very least.

4. Dont feel compelled to do long or extremely arduous workouts every single time. It isnt necessary to go balls to the wall for every workout to benefit from training. If youre someone with a very high drive, then more power to you. Especially if youre a competitive athlete, youll get increasing levels of returns from a higher effort. However, long or excruciatingly difficult workouts arent required for good results. Dont feel like you have to push yourself to the point of sickness for a workout to be worth it. Youll still get immense benefit from working out even if you dont feel 100% spent at the end.