Say hello to the Ultimate Sandbag designed by strength coach and powerful fitness entrepreneur Josh Henkin.
While kettlebell and bodyweight workouts are great for getting you to your fitness goals and fill a good portion of my training dance card, I don’t ignore other worthwhile training tools and fitness programming methods that have been proven to get superior results as well.
The Sandbag is classified as a “Live” training implement meaning that it is constantly shifting in your grasp and “Fighting” you every step of the way as long as it is loaded properly and not stuffed to the gills allowing the sand to shift and flow.
This forces your body to compensate by recruiting more muscles to perform the exercise.
And recruiting more muscles to perform an exercise means achieving a greater metabolic effect – resulting in solid strength, cardio and conditioning gains as well as ramping up your metabolism to aggressively chew up a lot of calories.
Now that’s a pretty sweet fitness results deal for your precious time invested regardless of your fitness level or how amazing people tell me their fitness program is.
Five Minutes Of 50 Intense Squats
Got five minutes to spare?
Great! Then I am about to show you how to achieve one of the most productively intense, brief and worthwhile training sessions you may ever experience.
My friend, athletic coach Moses Correa joined me in demonstrating the Ultimate Sandbag five minute squat workout developed by solid coach Troy Anderson who inspired us to give it a go.
I was skeptical of this challenge at first, but it really kicked my ass in a productive and sustainable way that fits perfectly with my desire to practice maximum exercise in minimum time to produce stellar fitness results.
Here’s a demo of this five minute squat workout and how we got our fifty reps in:
This was very challenging, intense , exciting and immensely fun all at the same time!
Since Moses is a powerhouse, he earned the privilege of ( got stuck, lol!) using the old school burly canvas sandbag which was incredibly unstable and fought him every step of the way.
I would look over at mighty Moses and it looked like he was wrestling with a live German Shepherd in the bag, but he adjusted well!
How To Perform The Sandbag Workout
Perform 50 sandbag front squats to a 12 inch high box in 5 minutes with whatever rep scheme you can handle without going to failure on any set.
Not going to failure means keeping 1-2 reps in reserve or “in the tank” on each set – preserving that precious central nervous system energy.
This is also a great lesson in learning to listen to your body by imposing enough of a challenge to see powerful fitness results without counter productively pounding it into submission.
It’s probably the greatest fitness lesson to learn if you want to stay in the game and be rewarded with sustained success.
I used a repetition scheme of 15, 15, 10, 5, 5 to get to my 50 repetitions within the five minute time limit on this particular day.
Experiment a little since everybody’s recovery time will be different.
By front loading the bulk of my repetitions on the first three sets, I knocked out the majority of my reps while my body was fresh while not going to complete failure on any set.
Your rep schemes per set will be different dictated by your fitness level and how your body is feeling on the day you train.
Just get to your 50 reps in five minutes with good form. Your body will let you know the best way to rack up your reps on each set- just listen to it!
This type of training is so deceptively powerful, that I guarantee these five minute time investments will get you more results than most people get in a month at the gym as they muddle through their stale time consuming routines!
TIPS and GUIDELINES:
Take the time to do a proper warmup before you do this sandbag workout
Approximate Sandbag weights for men to use based on your body weight are:
Body weight under 170lbs – Use an 80lb Sandbag
Body weight 171-210lbs – Use a 100lb Sandbag
Body weight 210 plus – Use a 150lb Sandbag
Ladies try starting with a 40lb sandbag to do this squat workout. Scale the weight up or down depending on your fitness level.
Perform each exercise safely with good form
Rest as much as you need between sets, but keep it challenging and keep an eye on the clock
If your form starts to falter – stop and rest a little bit more between rounds to ensure proper technique
Keep the exercise area free of obstructions and pay attention to your surroundings and spread out a bit from all participants.
If you can’t get the 50 Sandbag Front Squat reps in the 5 minute window – don’t worry – just keep the clock running until you do and aim to improve next time!
Try to use minimal footwear or go barefoot for greater effect if conditions warrant
Please keep in mind that this is a very demanding total body workout and should not be attempted too often in order to avoid over training.
Give yourself a week minimum before attempting to repeat this sandbag workout challenge and listen to your body – some may need more recovery and some less – we are all different!
Why Train Like This?
I gravitate toward training methods that promote performing the minimum doses of exercise that reward you with the greatest fitness benefits.
I choose to perform these types of exercises as they allow me to stay strong and lean, move well and pain-free, keep fat off and live a high quality healthy life without boring the hell out of me or wasting my precious time.
The benefits of Sandbag Training are worth checking out if you are interested in performing highly productive and fun workouts that will accelerate your fitness to new heights while promoting a strong and movement rich quality of life!
Blast fat, build muscle, gain insane levels of conditioning, boost your metabolism and feel awesome with this total body workout using one of the best no-nonsense, time tested implements – the Sandbag!
Once again, a tip of the hat (sandbag) to coach Troy Anderson for developing this challenging, intense and results rich total body workout that is a keeper in our fitness playbook!
Stay Well! Take Action! Be Consistent! Train and Eat Smart! Get Rid of the Drains and Pains in Your Life! Value your loved ones and friends and get out and have some active, safe fun!
Related: Sandbag Training For Fantastic Fitness Results
Related: What Kind Of Fitness Trainee Are You?
Related: Go Barefoot For Better Fitness
I’m Mark Mellohusky (Mellow-Husky)
An often barefoot eternal student of health and physical culture who will not go quietly into the sunset since I have learned how to age gracefully by adopting sane eating strategies, staying strong and lean, moving well and pain-free and conquering nasty fat.
All without spending hours haunting gyms doing hours of sappy low value media endorsed exercises or gulping down questionable and expensive supplements.
While I share A lot of tips, techniques and fitness philosophy on my site, it is unrealistic to try to adopt it all into your fitness plan as we all have different health and fitness gaps in our programs we need to address.
So take what you need to succeed even if it’s just one concept and fill those fitness gaps, dare to get out of your comfort zone and experience the thrill of doing what works and realizing your goals!
It’s amazing the results you get when you stop following the fitness herd to nowhere, dare to be different, get out of your comfort zone and do what works!
I treat the world and people for what they are – not how I want them to be.
I never try to be everything to everybody – that’s a loser’s game which will fast track you to a poor quality of life every time!
I Eat T-Bone Steaks and Lift SandBag Weights
Seven Stars Fitness