More Garage Gyms

I always love getting emails from people who are following the blog, especially if they include pictures of their homemade training kit!

James has constructed a 50kg sandbag from 2/3 of truck inner tube - it acts a little like a Bulgarian Bag. This is a great example of ingenuity and a serious piece of garage gym equipment.

Here's the beast on his homemade loading platform:

I spoke about getting started in a recent blog post and this just goes to show that you can do just that - without having to invest a lot of hard earned cash.

This is my original range of homemade sandbags (costing a total of around $10):

My advice to those of you who lurk on this blog (and there are now quite a few!) and haven't yet started sandbag training is to get going today. Use whatever you can get your hands on and then upgrade to a custom made sandbag as and when you are able to.

Train hard!

Free Bulgarian Bag Book Giveaway!

My good friend Troy Pesola from CubeDwellerFitness is currently giving away (that's right, for free) his eBook 'The Bag Basics: Getting started with a Bulgarian training bag' on Amazon. This extra special offer is available Thursday 14th and Friday 15th June only so don't miss out.

The book is a great introduction to the Bulgarian bag training method and includes the following:

• Which Bag For Me?
• The Core Movements of the method
• Warm Up
• An initial training program
• And how to make your own DIY Training Bag

What I like most about the book is that it is that it's actually full of useful stuff - there's no padding. Plus, Troy explains how to make your own Bulgarian Training Bag and what to do if you want to purchase a custom made bag.

This is a great deal and I highly recommend you pick up a copy.

And don't worry if you haven't got a Kindle - you can also download free Kindle Reading Apps for a variety of other devices.

Click here to get your copy

You can also see Troy Pesola's Amazon Author Page here

Todays Workout - Sandbag Strength and Milo Update

Work up to your max weight for:

Sandbag Back Squats 5x5
Sandbag Overhead Press 5x5

Take a 3-5 minute rest between each set of exercises. The weight of your sandbag should be such that you struggle to complete repetition 5 in each set.

Record your weight.

Plus, if you're following the Milo Experiment then you should be on Day 6. If you haven't yet started and you want a simple way to build your strength then check out the post here

Train hard!

Todays Workout - The Milo Experiment

Starting today, I'd love for you to join me as I embark on a new project at Sandbag Fitness.

Milo of Croton was a Greek wrestler who lived in the 6th century BC. Famous for his immense strength, he once performed a feat where he lifted a young calf everyday. He did this until it reached maturity; then able to lift a fully grown bull.

The Sandbag Fitness Milo Experiment involves the following:

• Take a handleless sandbag or duffel bag and fill it with around 25% of your bodyweight in sand

The Brute Force Heavy Hitter sandbag is perfect for this

• Perform a single lift from the ground-to-overhead, then add a small amount of sand (around 1kg)
• The following day, complete another single lift from the ground-to-overhead
• Repeat this process daily until you can no longer lift the sandbag overhead

The target is to lift a sandbag equal to your own bodyweight (or more!) overhead.

I think it's pretty easy to get bogged down in various systems, programmes and protocols so this is a nice, straightforward way to build strength through linear progression.

Since you are only completing a single lift each day you should be able to train as normal alongside this experiment. 

Please feel free to add pictures, video or feedback to the comments below.

Train hard!

Overcoming The Barriers To Exercise

Most people think that the Sandbag Fitness Blog is about sandbag training. Well, it sort of is and it sort of isn't.

You see, what it's really about is my attempt to make exercise (most notably resistance training) as accessible as possible to as many people as possible.

I started the Sandbag Fitness Blog because I didn't have the money or the time to get to the gym. A bag of sand is both easy to find and inexpensive so it seemed like a great option. And if you can't get a bag of sand then you can get a bag of soil, or wood chippings or pea gravel...you get the point. Between deciding to try sandbag training and having a 'fully equipped' sandbag training facility was a period of 2 days. I simply went out and purchased 100 kgs of sand and a roll of tape and I was good to go.

I fully understand that motivation also plays a huge part here. But when you start taking away some of the natural barriers that stop people exercising then I think you're increasing the chances of someone starting.

I know people that talk about starting a training programme. Lots of people. I know one guy who has been talking about it for nearly 10 years. A decade of procrastination.

I often talk about the benefits of sandbag training on the blog but I rarely talk about the reason behind this blog - and perhaps the greatest benefit of all.

Anyone can start today. Right now.


You need a bag of sand (or anything to start with) and the willingness to get going. Once you start to build momentum then you'll find it easier to keep going. And with momentum, consistency and hard work there is nothing you can't achieve.

Information Overload


Spending hours trawling through the web to find ways to exercise is just plain confusing.

Most people end up in a state of overwhelm and end up doing nothing as a result.

I try to avoid making any outlandish claims here on the blog. You'll find no promises of 'Hollywood Physiques' or single digit bodyfat percentages - although both are easily attainable. But I will make you one promise.

If you just get started then you'll achieve far more than the person that just thinks about it.

YOUR Barriers


It's easy to list a whole host of reasons why exercise is tough - no time, no money, no idea and on and on.

But what barriers have you overcome? Are you still struggling to overcome barriers?

What are your greatest challenges? And what are your greatest achievements?

I'd love to hear them.

Do Something Now


Try one of these workouts today:

Sandbag Fitness: Todays Workout: "Run 200m with a Sandbag, 10 Ground to Overhead with the Sandbag. Repeat for five rounds. Record your time. Train hard!"

Sandbag Fitness: Todays Workout: "100 Skips, 20 Sandbag Thrusters (35kg target). 5 rounds. Record your time. Train hard!"

Sandbag Fitness: Todays Workout: "5 Chin Ups, 10 Press Ups, 15 Sandbag Push Press, 20 Heavy Sandbag Back Squats. 5 Rounds. Record your time. Train hard!"

Train hard!

Matt

Todays Workout - Stagefright

I did this workout about a year back and have purposefully avoided it ever since. Hence the title, 'Stagefright'. If you're brave then you'll see why.

10 Pull Ups
10 Sandbag Push Press
20 Sandbag Back Squats

As many rounds as possible in 25 minutes.

Men aim for a 40kg sandbag; women aim for 20kg.

Record your time. If you can get more than 10 rounds done then I will personally buy you a drink.

Train hard!

'Stagefright', Def Leppard:

Weekend Sale - 80% Off!

This weekend only, you can get the Kindle version of The Complete Guide To Sandbag Training for just $2.99. That's less than the price of your favourite coffeeshop Latte - and it'll do a lot more for your health and fitness.

You'll get over 200 pages of the very best sandbag training exercises (fully illustrated), the benefits of sandbag training and three 10-week programmes. That's over half a year of programmes!

Get the guide now

Here's what others had to say about the book:

"Matt Palfrey has done a great job of providing clear, concise instructions on safely and effectively implementing sandbag training into your workouts. I've met few trainers whose knowledge or passion for sandbag-specific fitness rivals that of Matt Palfrey - he is truly an expert in the field. The photos and demonstrations in the book are also excellent. If you are looking for top notch info on sandbag workouts, you're in the right place." Al Kavadlo, author of "We're Working Out!" and "Raising The Bar"

"I work as a strength and conditioning coach in the uk and have been looking for a training protocol for my mma/jujitsu guys that has a direct carry over to their sparring work; specifically grappling and grip strength, which is harder to work on with a traditional strength and conditioning set up. I can honestly say that this book has provided me and my clients with the answers we had been looking for. As an added bonus we saw a major inrease not only in strength, but stamina as well when these principles were applied to our regular training schedule. This book contains everything you could possibly want to know on the subject of sandbag training and is a fresh and exciting addition to the world of results based fitness." Pete Stables, MaximumMuscle.com

"This book is simply the definitive written work on sandbag fitness. It outlines a huge variety of sandbag fitness training regimes, progressions and of course a huge array of the best and most effective sandbag excercises, all shown with high quality photos and discriptions. The book also throws in some great bodyweight exercises to compliment your training. It takes you through a 10 week course of weekly progressions to improve conditioning and strength. The 10th week being some sandbag fitness challenges to really test yourself. It is obvious that a lot of time and effort has gone into writing this book and this shows in the attention to detail throughout. There is one other thing I really like about this book - there is no fluff and it proves that you don't need a gym or loads of equipment to get super fit and super strong. It even shows you how to make your own sandbag for less than £10. Buy this book you wont regret it." Mike Eves, KickAssFitness.com

Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle - you can download the Kindle App for iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, Android Tablet, Blackberry, PC, Mac, Android Smartphone and Windows Phone 7 get your app here

Get the guide now

Train hard!

Matt, Sandbag Fitness