Sandbag Training for Ladies

Ladies, here is how you too can do sandbag training. It is not just for big guys. You can do it too. Just use smaller workout sandbags, or do less reps.

Either make your own exercise sandbags or buy one from many of the online merchants who sell them. You need to match your size, strength, and power ability with the right size sandbag. Notice I said "size and weight". Many fitness sandbags come in a small size that hold about 40 pounds of sand. But did you know that they can also hold about half that weight of rubber mulch pellets? Or, you can fill it only half full with only 25 to 30 pounds of sand. Most medium sized sandbags hold 70 to 80 pounds of sand.

 But the same size can be loosely filled with 50-65 pounds of sand. The benefit of filling any size sandbag only partially is that it gives even more of the shifty sand effect, which actually makes it better exercise for your stabilizer muscles. Again, you can use rubber mulch pellets to cut the weight in half instead of sand. Many large sandbags hold from 80 to 120 pounds of sand. But they can also be filled with only 40-60 pounds of rubber mulch pellets.

There are the options for either partially filling your sandbags with sand or using different filling material. You can also use wood pellet stove fuel. These pellets can be gotten at home centers and farm supply stores. Keep in mind that different sizes and weights of sandbags can be used for different exercises. To protect your hands, you can use leather work gloves.

Regardless of your size, some exercises are so hard that you can only do them with a small sandbag. Pushups with the sandbag on the back is one of them. Many experts consider it superior to bench presses. And it sure is a lot safer. An exercise I call the X-lift is another that is hard to do with anything other than a small sandbag. It is done by drawing an X across the body with the sandbag from beside one foot on the floor to above the opposite shoulder in the air. Then repeat the other way. Again, use less weight.

Both the X-lift and pushups are hard to do for guys with a small sandbag. So lighten yours up accordingly, and do less reps.

A medium sized sandbag, that is one that weighs from 70 to 80 pounds, is what most guys train with. And it is usually power training, which does fast movements in higher reps. You can simply do the same movements in much lower reps, and it will be strength training for you. One such exercise is the smackdown. It is a modified snatch. The sandbag is lifted from the floor beside one foot and carried over the head, and smacked down beside the opposite foot. This is a good exercise for you to simply drop down to the small size sandbag. Otherwise, use less sand, the rubber mulch, and/or do less reps.

One more favorite medium sandbag exercise is the lateral throw. Lift the sandbag from the floor again from one side of the body, and throw it across the other side of your body as far sideways as you can. Make sure your dog or cat is not in the room. Again, ladies, either the small sandbag or a medium sandbag with much less weight is the way to go. And, of course, you can do less reps.

So, ladies, however you do your exercise, consider using sandbags. Either make your own or buy from an online merchant. But be sure to keep it safe and keep it fun.

For more information, contact Dale at http://www.workoutsandbags.com/.

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