fbpx

Author Archive

sandbag shouldering

How To Make A Strong Affordable Sandbag

The sandbag is one of the best multifunctional training tools there is.  The sandbag builds a unique strength that carries over to any sport or daily life activity.  The sandbag can pack on some serious muscle and it becomes an awesome fat loss tool.  

The constant shifting of weight is why the sandbag is so effective.  Plus if you have a sandbag with no handles on it then you have a great grip strengthening tool as well.  Anyone who has trained with a sandbag knows that it is no joke.  

If you are looking for something to help take your strength and conditioning to new levels then I highly recommend adding in some sandbag work into your training.  Don’t have a sandbag?  No problem, I will show you how to make your own.  

You could easily buy an expensive sandbag with a ton of handles, but they are very easy to make and a lot more affordable.  The thing I don’t like about the fancy sandbags is that they come with nothing in them you have to fill it yourself.  Plus they have a ton of handles on them, which defeats the purpose of training with the sandbag.  

One of the main reasons to train with a sandbag is to work the grip plus it gets you familiar with lifting odd objects.  Last I checked balls, people, stones, and couches don’t have handles on them.  

Alright with that said let’s dive into the meat and potatoes of making a sandbag.  The first thing you will need is a heavy-duty duffle bag.  I prefer the top-loaded army duffle bags.  They are made out of a nice thick canvas and come in different sizes.  You can get these at any army surplus store.  

Next, you will need some heavy-duty zip ties and duck tape.

 

Then of course you will need the filling.  Even though we are making a sandbag I have never used sand to put inside of them.  The reason I don’t use sand is that if the bag does break I don’t want to have to deal with cleaning up the mess.  Instead, I like to use rubber mulch or wood pellets.  The wood pellets take up less space and weigh more.  The rubber mulch is lighter and takes up more space.  Both are great choices for sandbags.  Depending on how heavy of a sandbag you want will determine how much you need.  

In this example, I am using wood pellets because I am making a 120lb sandbag.  

The first thing to do is cut off the metal piece used to hold the bag together.  Then cut off the strap and the handle.  

Next, fill the bag with your choice of stuffing rubber mulch or wood pellets.  

Once the bag is filled zip tie the top together.  I use two heavy-duty zip ties and it works like a charm.  If you want to use more than that go for it.  Another option is that you could use a heavy-duty rope instead.  

Cut the excess part of the zip ties off.

Then duct tape around the zip ties.  The reason for this is to cover up the sharp plastic ends of the zip ties.  So give it a lot of layers.  

There you go now you have your sandbag ready to play with!

Easy peasy right?  You also just saved a lot of money by switching to Rockfit!  Sorry, bad pun but I just couldn’t resist.  These sandbags will last forever.  Out of all the sandbags I have made I had only one break open with a small hole at the bottom.  A quick and easy fix for that is just buying another bag and put the new bag over your old bag.  Then you will have a double-lined bag making it even stronger. 

Like I said sandbags are great to train with, they are easy on the joints, and they are soft so if it falls on your foot no worries.  Now you know how to make a sandbag.  So go ahead and start adding them into your training and you quickly find out how they can improve your strength and conditioning.   

 

Enter your email and get access to more information about increasing your performance and becoming a better athlete.

duck walk

How To Do A Duck Walk

What it works:

Legs and Hips

Why do it:

Increases strength in the legs and hips; improves mobility in the hips and ankles; great for conditioning.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Squat all the way down so that your thighs are on your calves
  • As you take a step forward one leg the other leg is lowering its knee to the ground
  • Keep your torso upright as you are doing the duck walk

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

gator walk

How To Do A Gator Walk

What it works:

Arms and Core

Why do it:

Increases strength in the arms and core; great for conditioning.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Keep low to the ground your body should be hovering over it
  • Make small steps with your hands as you use your feet to help move you forward
  • You can forward or backward when going backward push the ground away with your hands

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

crab walk

How To Do A Crab Walk

What it works:

Triceps and Core

Why do it:

Increases strength in the triceps and core; improves mobility in the wrists and shoulders; great for conditioning.

Key Points to Remember:

  • When you crab forward reach with your feet and push the ground away with your hands
  • When you crab backward push the ground away with your feet and reach back with your hands
  • Keep your hips ups and don’t let them touch the ground

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

jowett push ups

How To Do Jowett Push Ups

What it works:

Chest, Arms, and Core

Why do it:

Increases strength in the chest and core; improves stamina.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Find 4 chairs or some objects of equal height, you will place a hand and foot on each object
  • Since you are up off the ground you are able to go deeper than normal
  • Space the chairs out so that you are in a straight line when doing the push-ups

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

push up with knee to elbow twist

How To Do A Push Up With Knee to Elbow Twist

What it works:

Chest, Arms, and Core

Why do it:

Increases strength in the chest and core; improves mobility in the hips and back; increases stamina.

Key Points to Remember:

  • After the push up bring your knee up to your chest and twist it to your opposite elbow
  • Round your back when you bring your knee up, it will allow you to get it closer to your body and elbow
  • If you can touch your elbow with your knee great if not try and get it as close as possible

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

finger tip push ups

How To Do Finger Tip Push Ups

What it works:

Chest, Wrists, and Core

Why do it:

Increases strength in the chest and wrists; increases stamina.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Spread your fingers apart and press them into the ground
  • Keep your fingers fully extended don’t allow the joints in the fingers to bend
  • Go slow and keep tension throughout your body this is not a fast movement

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

clapping push ups

How To Do Clapping Push Ups

What it works:

Chest, Wrists, and Core

Why do it:

Increases power in the chest and arms; improves wrist strength; increases stamina.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Keep your hand’s shoulder-width apart and close to your stomach, keep a wide stance with your feet
  • Bend your arms just enough so that you can launch yourself into the air
  • Once in the air claps your hands and then return your hands back to the same position on the ground

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

power push ups

How To Do Power Push Ups

What it works:

Chest, Wrists, and Core

Why do it:

Increases power in the chest and arms; improves wrist strength; increases stamina.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Keep hands shoulder-width apart and closer to your stomach, keep a wide stance with your feet
  • You don’t need to lower all the way to the ground you just need enough bend in the arms to propel you up
  • Don’t worry about how high you go you are just trying to get space between you and the ground

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.

offload push ups

How To Do Offload Push Ups

What it works:

Chest, Triceps, and Core

Why do it:

Increases strength in the chest, arms, and core; great for conditioning.

Key Points to Remember:

  • Place one on a ball, kettlebell, or any object.  Place the other hand on the floor
  • Lower down keeping most of your weight on the arm that is placed on the object
  • You can do one side then the other or you can alternate sides and even add in some plyometrics

Enter your email and get access to more exercises, workouts, and information about increasing your performance and living a better life.