Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Sandbag Training


The Wall Street Journal ran an article in today's paper (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304360704579417141446599718?KEYWORDS=Sandbag+training&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304360704579417141446599718.html%3FKEYWORDS%3DSandbag%2Btraining) about training with sandbags.  A client of mine and I were discussing at her training session this morning and I gave her my thoughts.  Like any other style of training, the modality needs to be specific to the person's goals, needs, limitations, etc... A phrase that's been around in the fitness industry for many years now is "Functional Training."  I've always said anything is functional if it is purposeful.  Does it apply to the client's needs?  

When I look at Sandbag Training, these are some the populations I'd implement it with:

  • Nurses, Health Care Aids, etc... who regularly have to transport non-ambulatory patients
  • Fire/Police/EMS personnel who have to carry injured/disabled persons
  • Family members of handicapped individuals where they are required to lift others
Long story short.....I like sandbag training for a select group of people.  In your typical commercial gym setting, I see no need for it.  

No comments: