6 Best Exercises Using Sandbag to Build Muscle and Strength

Sandbag training is awesome, irrespective of your fitness level. If you're fairly new to working out, sandbags are a great way to build up your base for squatting. If you've been in the game for a while, sandbags allow you to switch up your workouts to continually push forward and master new moves.

You can easily take one with you on your travels, to the beach in the summer or even fill one up with dog food or rice and use it as a makeshift weight sack for cardio. Sandbag is the most versatile piece of equipment you'll ever come across, suitable for heavier and strength-based exercises to lighter cardiovascular movements.

Sandbag Workout Moves to Incorporate in Your Daily Routine

Here's a look at six such workouts:

1) Lunge With Rotation

The Lunge with Rotation can help you build core strength and get a solid workout.

To do a Lunge with Rotation:

Hold two handles of the bag you've placed in front of your legs.
Step back so that your weight is over your back knee, and swing the bag to the same side as your front leg.
Swing your other leg forward, and repeat.
The momentum of the bag will force you to engage your core so that you don't fall over.

2) Zercher Squat

The Zercher squat requires you to support the weight load over your anterior chain so that you can target your quads and hip flexors.

Here's how you do this exercise:

Stand with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart.
Hold the bag up at your chest with your arms wrapped around it.
Keep the bag at chest level as you squat down as far as you can while keeping good form.
Squat back on your heels, not up onto your toes.
Only go down as far as you can with good form; don't let your back round or lean forward.
Drive back up to a standing position, and squeeze your glutes at full extension.

3) Bear Hug Squat

The Bear Hug Squat makes keeping your chest up and abs tight easier than if you're using a sandbag for regular front squats because of the way you use your arms to hold the weight.

To do a Bear Hug Squat:

Hug the sandbag tight against your chest with your feet between hip- and shoulder-width apart.
Keeping your chest up, sit back and down till your butt touches your heels.
Do not let your back round forward; keep it straight, and make sure you're sitting back in your heels.
Stand up, pushing through your heels. At the top of the movement, squeeze your glutes, and stand tall while hugging the bag close to you.
Sink back down into another squat.

4) Bent-Over Row

This is a great exercise to work the big muscles in the back, chest, shoulders and arms while also engaging your entire core.

To do a Bent-Over Row:

Hold one handle of the bag in each hand.
You can hold the rope in a variety of ways, including the parallel grip and palms-away grip.
Bend at the knees slightly while hinging over keeping your back flat; row up to your chest driving down with your elbows towards the ceiling.
Do not curl your forearms up as you row.
Keep tension in your back as you lift, and straighten back out as you lower.

5) Alternate Overhead Pressing

One of the best pressing exercises is the Sandbag Alternating Overhead Press. It's a great way to work the shoulders and core without having shoulder or upper back mobility issues from sitting at a desk all day.

To do an Alternating Overhead Pressing:

Hold the sandbag at hip level with your feet about hip-width apart.
With your core engaged, press the bag up and over your head to the other shoulder. Bring your arms down to that shoulder, and push back to the starting position.
If you want to make the move more explosive, you can get your legs involved by moving them forward while pressing the bag overhead.

6) Duck Under Lunge

The Duck Under Lunge is a great exercise for working on hip mobility, as well as triple extension (the extension of the ankle, knee and hip of the back leg when you pivot).

To do a Duck Under Lunge:

Hold a sandbag at your chest with your arms wrapped around it.
Squat down, keeping your chest up as you sit back and down.
Stand back up nice and tall, and pivot to each side by turning toward that side.
Do not let your foot stay put and your knee cave in, or let your back round towards the ground, or lean forward to reach farther down.

Takeaway

The Sandbag workout can deliver new gains, over and beyond the standard strength programme. It’s a functional way to build powerful muscles that look great. You won’t achieve huge muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger's, but you will achieve functional fitness for your everyday needs.