Thank you to all those who took part and attended the Invictus Games. They were a great success!

The Invictus Games were are a great success. We hope that future games are as good (if not better) as these were.

Sandbag Training Workouts: Great Results & Benefits with the Right Routine

For future games, there are likely to be more sandbag elements to the competition.

As the name implies, sandbag training is a form of exercise that utilizes sandbags as your weight of choice, as opposed to dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, or other weights. Sandbag training is extremely popular in the military for their workouts, it’s utilized by StrongMan competitors (World’s strongest man competition), and athletes who engage in CrossFit training. But you should know that a military sandbag workout is not for the faint-hearted!

Why exactly are sandbags a better choice of weight than dumbbells or barbells (or any weight for that matter)? It’s not that they’re better, it’s just a different way to train different muscle groups. Sandbags are highly effective as functional training tools.

The weight in sandbags isn’t distributed evenly, as is the case with a dumbbell. Therefore, the body utilizes core strength, and targets different muscle groups, in order to lift, carry, push, or pull the weight. What are the primary benefits of this?

Benefits of Sandbag Training

There are several sandbag training benefits that you’ll soon realize when performing a workout with sandbags. The shifting weight in sandbags makes it much more difficult for you to create a constant flow/movement. Therefore, every lift is like the first lift in a set, and you’re working out stabilizer muscles repeatedly. These are some of the primary benefits you’ll quickly notice with your sandbag training.

Build Stability

By constantly shifting your center of gravity, you’re constantly having to reestablish a starting point. This helps build strength and stability. It’s also great if you have to carry around objects which have uneven weight distribution, or are an awkward shape.

Improve Core Strength

You’ll put forth quite a bit of effort to control the heavy sandbags and their shifting weight. This will result in a stronger core over time. Your core supports your entire body, so this is obviously beneficial. You’re utilizing your abdominals, obliques, arms, shoulders, glutes, and other important muscles with each lift you perform. By having to focus on specific muscle groups with each movement, you’re stabilizing and building strength simultaneously.

Increase Grip Strength

Working out with sandbags requires an extreme amount of gripping, pinching, grasping, and squeezing. We don’t focus on these exercises with traditional weight lifting routines.

This will help improve your ability to perform daily tasks in the office, at home, or even at the grocery store (carry 10 bags to the car in one go!) It’ll help improve function and form as well.

Versatility

There are some exercises you can’t do with a bench press bar or seated lat pull machine (you’re pretty limited, the name of the equipment tells you what you can do). With sandbags, there are no limitations. Your imagination is the only limit. Lunges, squats, deadlift, overhead presses, curls, endurance, running, and so forth. You name it, or think of an exercise, and you can do it with sandbags.

Affordability and No Excuses

With sandbags, you can workout anywhere. The park, at home, on vacation, and virtually any time you choose. They’re fairly affordable as well, especially if you consider not having to pay a monthly gym membership to use them. And, replacing sand is fairly cheap if the bag starts to empty over time.

Many people overlook the functionality and intensity that sandbags can deliver. But, if you consider the different types of training options, you’ll clearly see how beneficial training with sandbags can be. These are just a few of the many benefits you’ll experience utilizing this form of training.