WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats
WORKOUT
Complete 2-3 rounds of the isometric circuit and then 5-8 rounds of the metabolic circuit. Rest 1 minute between circuits and then 1-3 minutes between rounds of the metabolic circuit.
CIRCUIT #1:
30 seconds – 1 minute Warrior II Hold
30 seconds – 1 minute Scapular Wall Hold
30 seconds – 1 minute High Plank Hold
30 seconds – 1 minute Glute Bridge Hold
CIRCUIT #2:
20 seconds Reverse Lunge with Rotation
20 seconds Shoulder-to-Shoulder Overhead Press
20 seconds Plank with Pull Throughs
1-3 minutes Rest Between Rounds
COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats
NOTES:
Do as many reps in the 20 seconds as you can. You may want to give yourself a 5 second transition period between exercises not so that you can rest, but so that you can set up and then work the entire 20 seconds.
Take between 1-3 minutes to recover so that you can do as much work the next round as you did the first one.
My favorite sandbags for this workout are the Ultimate Sandbags.
EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Warrior II Hold – Set up in a nice wide stance with one foot forward and one foot backward. Turn the back toe out so your feet are perpendicular. Sink down into a lunge, keeping the back leg straight. Try to get your front knee bent to 90 degrees and your quad parallel to the ground. The lower you sink in the lunge, the harder the move will be. Do not let your front knee cave inward. Squeeze the glute and keep the knee in line with your hip and your ankle. While in the low lunge, open your arms out at shoulder height. Reach one forward over the front leg and the other back over the back leg. Keep the chest open and do not lean forward. Keep your weight centered in the lunge.
Scapular Wall Hold -Stand with your back to the wall. Step a couple of inches away and bend your arms to 90 degrees. Keep your elbows in by your sides and drive them back toward the wall. Lean onto your elbows on the wall. Do not let your upper arms or back touch the wall. Relax your head back. Pinch your shoulder blades down and back while keeping your core tight as you lean into the wall. You should feel this move low between your shoulder blades. To advance the move, move your feet a bit further from the wall.
High Plank Hold – Set up on your hands and toes (advanced) or hands and knees (beginner). Feet are together and hands are underneath your shoulders. Draw your belly button into your spine and squeeze your quads, glutes and adductors. Your shoulder blades should be down and back and your shoulders shouldn’t be up by your ears. Do not let your upper back round. Keep your head in line with your spine. If you really draw your belly button in and tilt your pelvic forward, your abs should almost instantly start shaking.
Glute Bridge Hold – Lie on your back. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the ground about hip-width apart. Bring your heels in close enough to your butt that you can touch your heels when you extend your arms down by your sides. Then bend your arms to 90 degrees with only your forearms on the ground. Drive up through your heels, lifting your glutes up as high off the ground as you can. Squeeze your butt and keep your core tight. Do not hyperextend your low back. Also make sure your knees do not fall open and you are not pushing yourself backward. You want to drive straight up. Beginners will want to stick with a two-leg glute bridge while more advanced exercisers will want to progress to a single leg glute bridge.
Reverse Lunge with Rotation – Grab the sandbag by two handles so that your palms are facing each other. Standing nice and tall, you are going to step back with one foot. As you step back, bend the front knee to sink into the lunge. Do not worry about bending the back knee. Rotate the sandbag outside the front knee, hinging forward just slightly. Do not round forward. Then bring the back leg in and stand up nice and tall, stomping the back foot into the ground as you stand up. As you stand up, also swing the sandbag back to the front. Then quickly lunge back on the other leg, letting the sandbag swing outside the front knee. Advanced exercisers will want to use the momentum of their lunge to propel the sandbag from side to side quickly. They will want to swing it and rotate with it as they lunge. Beginners will want to “place” the sandbag outside the leg instead of using the momentum and swinging the bag to the outside. By placing the bag instead of swinging, they will have better balance and more control.
Shoulder-to-Shoulder Overhead Press – Hold the sandbag in both hands on one shoulder with your feet about hip-width apart. Then bend your knees just slightly and quickly come back to standing as you press the sandbag overhead and up and over to the other shoulder. Lower it down to the other shoulder then quickly bend your knees and use your legs to press the sandbag back over to the side you started on. Press overhead from shoulder to shoulder as quickly as you can.
Plank with Pull Throughs – Place the sandbag on the ground and to one side of your body. Set up in the high plank position from your hands and toes or your hands and knees. Your hands should be under your shoulders and if on your toes, place your feet wider to make it easier to balance. The closer together your feet, the harder the move will be. Reach one hand under and through to grab the sandbag. Without rotating your hips, pull the sandbag through and across to the other side of your body. Again without letting your hips rotate or your butt go up in the air, reach through and pull back to the starting position. Do not let your hips sag either. Keep your glutes squeezed and your belly button pulled in toward your spine. The goal is to fight all rotation and keep your core completely still as you pull.
