Sandbag Conditioning Training
Where strength training aims to build muscle mass and create the most muscular body possible given the level of training and the general capacity of the person undergoing the training, conditioning training is designed to increase your aerobic fitness (heart and lungs) and increase your endurance. In short, strength will allow you to do some physical feat, while conditioning will increase the length of time you will be able to do it. Sandbag exercise can be used for conditioning, too, once again showing how useful and flexible this simple but effective fitness device can be.
Sandbags are well suited to conditioning training, to build your endurance, because they involve your whole body in the exercise process. This can easily serve to increase both your heart strength and lung capacity, depending on the sandbag exercise you choose.
When you are conditioning yourself with sandbags, you want to focus much less on actually lifting the sandbag or throwing it around in space, and instead use it to add weight to various aerobic style exercises that you are carrying out. This will enhance the effectiveness of the exercises by a considerable margin, while keeping the focus on building tone and endurance rather than muscle mass.
Walking and squats are the main sandbag training exercises for conditioning, though the adventurous (and highly fit) may want to try throwing in some running or sprinting as well, to boost the effect on heart, lungs, and stamina. The key to a successful conditioning session with this unusual but practical piece of fitness equipment is to work in several short sets of around five to seven minutes, with a one to two minute break in between them.
During the set, you should never put down the sandbag, even if you pause to catch your breath for a second. The sandbag should always be working its magic on your muscles, prompting your heart to beat faster and your lungs to expand with oxygen, during a given set. You can put the sandbag down during your brief rest periods, of course. Carry out as many sets as you can without bringing yourself to total exhaustion – probably three to four for a reasonably fit person, and more for an athletic type.
You can open a typical set by holding the sandbag against your chest and walking for the first part of the set. Then, shift it onto your shoulders and start doing squats. Do a set of squats with the sandbag on each of your shoulders, then held in your arms in front of you. Alternate squats with more walking, with the sandbag either held against you or held between extended arms, or raised to your shoulder. Sprinting is best done with the sandbag on your shoulder or held against you, since running with the sandbag held out at arm’s length could affect your balance.
