Problem Solving Ultimate Sandbag Training Style
The internet has great pros and some unfortunate cons. One of the biggest pros to the internet is the vast amount of information to your finger tips. At the same time, the con is that it can be really difficult to tell who really is an expert and who has mastered internet marketing. After almost 18 years in the industry and working with such a wide array of people I have realized one important thing. There are no easy questions! To answer a fitness questions accurately you have to take into consideration many variables. However, in the age of quick internet information and blog posts this can be lost. That is why it is my goal at Ultimate Sandbag Training to give you a honest and far more in depth answer to your fitness needs. Let’s look at some of those VERY incomplete, but common fitness recommendations.
-A Tool is Just A Tool: If you think about the pride that so many other industries take in their equipment it is a shame the fitness industry down plays theirs so badly. In most other industries professionals use specific tools because it allows them to create success in their line of work. Construction workers, surgeons, engineers, and many more are very adamant about using the right tools to achieve the desired results. Heck, if you can use something that does the job BETTER than something else you would be silly not to use it. Even my good friend, Martin, who does house appraisels is proud of the high tech he equipment that allows him to accomplish his work faster and more effectively.
Hmmm, then it isn’t a question of a tool being just a tool, but using the RIGHT tool for the job! That is why we work so hard to teach people the value of different Ultimate Sandbag Training progressions and programs. If you understand the value of the entire Ultimate Sandbag Training system you won’t see “just a bag of sand” or “just another tool”.
-Master Body Weight First: It is complicated enough to define what “mastery” actually means without trying to identify which movements you must master. The idea is that load being placed on dysfunctional movement patterns causes more compensations. In this respect the advice is good! However, this assumes we are always placing load in a position challenging your movement patterns. Using Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises such as the Bear Hug Squat and Zercher Good Mornings can actually help TEACH you proper position and alignment. Using the feedback of Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises will speed up the learning process to even more complex movements and avoid a lot of frustration of wasting time performing ineffective exercises.
-Train Heavy! At first glance this would seem hard to argue. Really this piece of advice is especially difficult out of context. Should everyone train heavy? No! Funny we tell people to master body weight and in almost the same breathe tell them to lift heavy. The truth is that really heavy lifting should come after a significant time building good movement patterns, ligament/tendon strength, muscle balance, and a base level of fitness.
In Ultimate Sandbag Training we have several ways of preparing the body for heavier lifts. The first is to simply slow down the speed of movement, particularly the eccentric phase (lowering phase). Research has shown such training to build better overall strength and is critical in teaching how to absorb force, alignment/posture, and strength/muscle gains. As Strength Coach, Christian Thibaudeau, states;
“Accentuating the eccentric stress during a session will lead to more strength gains. The reasons are related to structural as well as neural adaptations.” and goes on to say, “If you de-emphasize the yielding portion of your strength exercises (lowering the bar very fast, not contracting your muscles during the eccentric portion, etc.) you might as well not be training at all, at least if maximum strength and size are important to you.”
Ultimate Sandbag Training gives you the added benefit of getting some great core training because of the unique holding positions. Slowing down gives you the opportunity to maximize Ultimate Sandbag Training core work in almost every exercise you perform.
Working on altering how you hold the Ultimate Sandbag and the body position in which you perform your Ultimate Sandbag Training from can also go a long ways in making a weight feel heavier but also improve your stability training. Usually when one trains “heavy” the focus in on the prime movers and the smaller stabilizers don’t get stronger as well. Using this formula of Ultimate Sandbag Training allows you to get the best of both worlds!
-Keep Training Simple: We do live in an era where people will try to implement advance training strategies that they are just not ready to use. People can also feel confused by some experts that try to convey a message by using overly complicated terminology. This can result in people thinking if they “stick with the basics” then all their needs are covered. This too is a false ideal.
For one, it is very hard to get people to agree on what the basics actually mean! Secondly, it is an excuse NOT to think and find better ways and more practical means to advance their training.
In Ultimate Sandbag Training we help people from falling into this trap by introducing new ways to train the body. For example, instead of just focusing on performing an exercise like the Power Clean and consistently upping the weight, we can use Ultimate Sandbag Training to perform similar lifts from all types of postures and positions. Exercises such as Rotational Lunge Cleans, Lateral Lunge Cleans, Staggered Cleans, Rotational Cleans, just to name a few! Just by changing the position in which we perform such Ultimate Sandbag Training exercises allows us to make the body smarter amount movement, more mobile and athletic, and stronger in ways that go beyond JUST weight. Training doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but as performance coach, Scott Sonnon, says, don’t get “stuck in stupid simplicity (S.I.S.S.)”
-Running/Sprinting is a Great Way to Burn Fat!: Such a statement is definitely NOT helpful for someone who already isn’t pretty lean. Exercises such as sprinting places forces upon the body 8-10 times ones own body weight! So, if you aren’t already strong and can absorb such forces, sprinting may be one of the last forms of exercise you use. The faster you move in any form of movement the more skilled you have to be at that movement. Unfortunately, most people were never taught how to run correctly and within a short amount of time performing a well meaning exercise they develop all types of aches and pains. Many forget that sprinters and track athletes spend a great deal of time working on technique and while “going out for a run” doesn’t seem like a big deal, can actually be your undoing! The combination of all these variables definitely makes sprinting and such work much more challenging to implement than some would have you believe.
While sprinting is a hard form of exercise to progress and let’s face it, takes the right surface and space as well. Ultimate Sandbag Training solves both problems. The drills in Ultimate Sandbag Training have such a wide range of progressions that any movement pattern has an appropriate level of the variation. Doesn’t matter if you are JUST starting to train or have been training hard for years, you can find some pretty awesome Ultimate Sandbag Training drills to meet your goals. Did I mention Ultimate Sandbag Training can build your flexibility while you are training as well? Meanwhile it takes great flexibility (not just good flexibility) to sprint and run well.
I know you are worried about the results, well, what if I told you that Ultimate Sandbag Training can produce the same if not better results? As with everything we do, we had put Ultimate Sandbag Training to the test and the results weren’t surprising to us at all! Check out this post to see for yourself!
Is Ultimate Sandbag Training That Good?!
I am not claiming that anyone is out to hurt or mislead anyone. However, what often seems like a simple question usually has to be far more explained if we are to provide a REAL answer about achieving great fitness goals. Many people would think that I would talk a lot more about the design of our Ultimate Sandbags than the Ultimate Sandbag Training itself. While I think we have the absolute best sandbags on the market, this is only part of the equation, the Ultimate Sandbag Training System offers far more solutions to any other in the industry. While many will say that every program has a flaw, I find a hard time finding one in Ultimate Sandbag Training, why? Because we continue to prove and use science our results!
