A weighted bag is an accessory that will allow you to build muscle at home. It is in the form of a cylindrical bag filled with sand or an equivalent in terms of weight and provided with a covering most often in leather or imitation leather. The weight of a sandbag can vary from 5kg for beginners in cross-training up to 30kg for the more experienced. It is also equipped with thick fabric straps so that it can be grasped for various exercises.
During a sports session with a weighted bag, it can be grasped in different ways depending on the exercises performed to work on different areas of the body. You can keep it on an area of the body in the same way as you would carry a traditional bag. As mentioned above, you can also do your bodybuilding exercises directly by holding the weighted bag by a handle or by hanging the two. It is possible to carry out any type of exercise with sheathing, pulling, or even using it as an obstacle to jump above during certain training.
What is the best weighted bag?
Before buying one, we recommend that you see all the options of the market, which we have summarized for you in this comparative list with the best 5 that are available in the moments. Here you can compare the least expensive models with the most luxurious, evaluate their quality, their materials and the different weights and features they offer.
We have also prepared the most detailed and in-depth information on this equipment later on. So do not wait, read on and you can learn more about everything these teams have to offer, how long they are and how to choose them.
BlackPack PRO sandbag
We speak of a professional quality sandbag that can be recharged with water or sand according to your preference. S
Apart from this, it comes equipped with several handles that allow you to change the type of training. E
RDX Crossfit Sandbag
This model of 10 kg is also available in other presentations of 5, 15, 20 and 25 kg for each type of exercise you need to perform. It is a weight bag of good quality that perfectly replaces your cufflinks or medicine balls and can be used indoors or outdoors.
It comes with a zipper to access the inside, where you can change the bags for filling and adjust the weight. Includes several handles.
POWRX Training Sandbag
This brand offers us an economic product of 10 kg of weight, although it also has other models of 5 to 30 kg that cover almost all types of training possible.
It is a model with two grip handles covered in rubber that allow you to change the way you use the bag. That’s why you can do any type of exercise with this bag of sand, regardless of whether it’s for the gym or home.
Bag filled with sand Fitness Health
We speak of a bag that although it does not allow you to change the weight when removing or adding padding bags. It is a really convenient model thanks to its handles that allow you to tone your muscles and improve your strength, stability and durability.
Thanks to this bag you can do squats, deadlifts, burpees, bicep curls and much more. You can also be calm if you release it or throw it because it is made of very resistant materials.
MADX training sandbag
You can buy it without filling or with a weight of 5 to 30 kg, so it may be the least expensive of the list. It is made of synthetic leather, contains sand or pieces of suede and comes equipped with padded handles with foam that allow a more comfortable and secure grip at all times.
It is available in black and grey or black and blue and you can vary its weight by changing the filling bags.
Benefits of training with a weighted bag
Training with a good bag of sand has several important advantages, from giving you a healthier body, through the work of various areas of the body such as the buttocks, quadriceps, hamstrings and twins to the lumbar, dorsal, shoulders and arms. That’s why you can be sure that you can exercise your entire body with this convenient device. Keep reading a little more because now we will thoroughly explain all these benefits and more:
Improve the functionality a lot
These devices are ideal to give you greater muscle stability, it makes you have a stronger body. A
Maybe you wonder why sand-filled sacks offer all these training possibilities. These devices don’t have an exact or predetermined shape but change it constantly depending on how you lift or use them, as the sand moves freely inside the bag.
Thanks to this you will not be able to memorize a specific routine, so you will always have to make the maximum possible use of your strength and your muscles, especially the stabilizers. Thus, the exercise will be much more demanding and you will have better results.
The more you practice, the more you can adapt to a training routine and better understand these equipment, but even so, each routine will be different and will vary due to the unpredictability of these bags. So you can gain muscle mass much more quickly than with most conventional workouts and this is why many amateurs and even professionals consider weight bags as the best training of functional strength and endurance.
The weighted bag is effective
As you could already notice, this type of weighted bag routine turns out to be one of the most functional, complete and convenient that you can perform to gain strength and endurance due to its simplicity and the good results it offers. At the same time, they are usually very good quality equipment that is also quite durable, so you will not have to worry about having to change them in a good time.
In general terms, weight bags are excellent conditioning equipment, since they have the ability to double your heart rate in just a series of exercises. This contrasts with different training equipment such as weights or bars because regardless of the weight of the bag, has this great capacity for conditioning.
Economical and flexible
We all know that gym equipment can be really expensive. Each machine can cost hundreds of euros and even weights and accessories can also be pretty bad for your pocket.
That’s why weighted bags stand out as one of the most convenient options for saving, since not only are they very affordable, but in a single purchase you already have several training times for the gym or home and also because they are quite durable.
What you should look for when choosing a weighted bag
In case you still have doubts about the effectiveness of this training equipment, keep in mind that even in the armies they use them for their routines. In fact, they use special military-type models that have certain specifications and characteristics.
Bearing that in mind, it may be asked, if the military looks for specific models for their high-demand workouts, why should it be different for my routines? In fact, these teams can be designed specifically for Crossfit or even for other disciplines of high demand and high performance such as MMA, boxing, fitness and gym training.
That’s why now we’re going to explain to you how to choose the best one for you, that you can release it or throw it to the ground without it getting damaged and offering you the best results:
Weight Limit
You have to choose a weight that suits your possibilities and your strength. It’s no use having a weight bag at home or in the gym that you will not be able to lift because it’s just too heavy for you. At the same time, you have to keep in mind that, while you are getting stronger and progressing in your exercises, you will need a heavier, sturdier and more resistant model.
At the same time, you should consider if you plan to do leg work such as squats, for example. This is going to be key to determine the weight you need since for this type of exercise it is necessary that you have heavier bags and that you also have adequate shoes.
Keep in mind that, generally, these teams come in capacities that go from 5 to 5 kg, that is, you can find the same model invariants of 5, 10, 15 kg and so on. Therefore, if you get a brand that you like a lot and decide to stay with it for its quality and low price, you can buy several bags of different capacities for each of your routines.
Filling bags
The good models come with internal bags or stuffing bags that allow you to add or remove weight from the equipment without problems and at the time you want. Remember that the number of bags that the device admits will indicate the weight limit.
Apart from that, if you have this feature you will have the advantage that you can adapt your routines to different levels of difficulty as you progress or that you can even perform various types of training for any area of the body, from the buttocks, quadriceps, hamstrings and twins up to the lumbar, back, shoulders and arms.
Durability
These teams have many hits and fall because many times you will be so exhausted to finish a repetition or series, you simply have to release it or throw it to the ground to finish. Anyway, even if you do not like to drop or throw your equipment to the ground, sometimes it is impossible to maintain a good grip when we reach that high point of greatest fatigue.
Apart from that, nobody wants a model for the gym or home that breaks if it falls, since cleaning the mess that will be done can be a complete headache. Especially if you take into account that you are going to be quite tired because of so much demanding training.
We recommend you not only look for a durable model that is manufactured by an experienced and good quality brand. A
Training conditions
With the weighted bags, you can do a good variety of exercises, as we have mentioned before. It does not matter if you simply want to gain muscle mass, strength and balance or if you want to use it for a little more specific purposes such as CrossFit.
Each type of training has different conditions and that is why you must choose the model wisely depending on what you want to do and achieve. Thus, you can find sacks of force made more to gain power and others of resistance.
Price
First of all, it is important to be clear that it is not advisable to use sand-filled sacks made at home, such as simply taking a backpack, filling it with sand and starting to train. This can bring you serious headaches if it falls or you throw it to the ground and it breaks or if your backpack starts to lose the sand.
Of course, remember well that, depending on its capacity, the weight it has and other functions and features such as quality closures. The handles in different parts of the bag and if you can modify the weight using bags for filling, the price goes to increase. So before buying a model, have all your needs in mind, weigh all the options that are in the market and choose a model that suits your monetary capabilities but that offers excellent quality and performance.
How to train with weighted bag?
We really recommend the purchase of a weighted bag. What makes it a complete and essential bodybuilding accessory at home is that it is possible to perform a large number of exercises with it. Here is a non-exhaustive list of exercises with a weighted bag that you can do:
- Dead Bug: Lying on your back, legs stretched in the sheathing position, lift one leg then the other until you have it perpendicular to the ground. For the duration of the exercise, keep the weighted bag at arm’s length extended.
- Squat (front and back): Just like you would with a classic bar, you can do squats by holding the weighted bag in front of your head or behind by its handles.
- Clean and Press: While standing with the sandbag on the ground, bend to catch it on its face. Straighten up then roll the bag to have it in a front squat position. Then make a developed shoulder. Return to the front squat position, then “unroll” the straps until the bag is held in its fall to the ground.
- Horizontal rowing: Place yourself in the rowing position just as you would with a straight bar. Slightly bent legs, bust at 45 degrees and blocked back. Then make several prints by holding the bag by the handles.
- Slits: With the bag held in the front squat position, make slits keeping one foot on the ground and the other in front of you. Never try to put your knee on the ground and try to have the quadriceps going down parallel to the ground before going up.
- Lateral Rowing: You can use the weighted bag to do the same exercise as you do with your dumbbell kit. The rowing a lateral arm allows to work the thickness of the back very effectively.
- Sumo deadlift with high draw: This is exactly the same exercise as at the weight bar. Remember to keep your back sheathed
You can also use the weighted bag to make burpees and also all the variants of squat and lunges: overhead squat or lunge, squat with the weighted bag on one shoulder. To find new exercises do not hesitate to consult cross-training videos on the subject like this one below, they represent a good source of inspiration for working with a sandbag.
