There is no denying the fact that things change over time, in general, they evolve and become more efficient, slicker and easier to use. Some Things however, are so effective that, it doesn’t matter what you do to them, they will, essentially, still be what they were when they were first introduced which is great really because, it also means that they won’t have lost any of the attributes that made them so effective in the first place. Weights are one of those areas that people have ‘tried’ to improve on but, other than looks, you can’t really ‘reinvent the wheel’ and be successful, sandbags are a prime example but, why?
Why are sandbag workouts so effective?
The main reasons are versatility and practicality, which are absolutely vital when it comes to building muscle or creating a ‘leaner’ look for yourself. Weights need to do precisely what they say on the tin, or their purpose is pretty pointless. Similar to the idea of a chocolate teapot which might conjure up some tasty ideas, but would soon become a complete load of nonsense should you try to use it as a teapot.
When it comes to the effectiveness of using weighted sandbags in your workout routine, then, you probably won’t find a better example. You can pretty much do any kind of workout you like and include a sand bag to provide extra weight to make your muscles work that bit harder, which should, in turn, provide you with toner, bigger muscles over a period of time.
Why use sandbags as opposed to metal weights?
The main difference with sandbags when compared to conventional dumbbells or weight made out of metal is that there is a much lower risk of you injuring yourself when either using them, or storing them. Clearly a 3kg bag of sand is going to weigh the same as a 3kg weight made out of metal, however, there would be a distinct difference in terms of injury should you happen to, for example, drop one of them on your foot whilst not wearing any shoes to protect your feet.
More often than not, metal weights are cumbersome and not as ‘user friendly’, mainly because of their shape, not to mention the fact that, if you are using metal plates, you’ll also need a bar and some clamps in order to keep the weights on the bar. With sandbags, you don’t need to worry about any of that, you can pick them up, put them in your bag, if needed and head off to wherever you want, with ease.
Making sure you are being effective
It’s all well and good, using something that is effective at what it does and offers you the chance to get exactly what you pay for but, you also need to be doing something in return. You could train everyday or every other day and you should start to see the benefits in a reasonably short amount of time. If, however, you choose to only pick them up once a week then, you’ll probably not see much change at all. Equally, it’s crucial that you get the correct weight of bag, too heavy might mean injury, too light and you may as well not have them, you’ll also want to ‘up’ the weight gradually over time.