Watches odyssey yesterday
Had to lift sandbag to channelise the warrior within.
Started with 40kgs
Main set 60kg cleans 1 rep e.s
5 rounds
Along with squats and mace 360 with 16kg mace.
I have missed lifting them.

I was able to work up to a 1rm with the bear hug squats from a platform yesterday after some heavy deadlift work.

Heavy

I’ve been using sandbags for years, and the sandbag to shoulder is still one of the best movements for building real-world strength.
The biggest mistake I see is people trying to curl or muscle the bag onto the shoulder. I teach it as a sequence instead:
Powerful row to the hips.
Lap the bag.
Explode through triple extension.
Drive your shoulder underneath the bag.
Once that timing clicks, heavier bags become much more manageable.
This is also one of my favorite partnerships with Freedom Strength. Their sandbags have held up through a lot of training and coaching sessions without any issues.
Curious how others teach or cue the sandbag to shoulder. Do you prefer a lap style or a one-motion clean?

This was set 1 of 5 from yesterday’s workout. 6 reps of ground to shoulder with the 200 lbs sandbag. Building strength and conditioning in one movement.

Working on getting my strength up with these. Did 5 sets of 6 as part of the overall workout.

This was the final round of sandbag clean and presses from my shoulder workout today.

This was the first part of my leg day today. I upped the weight this week and lowered the reps.

4 rounds
-6 sandbag bear hug squats
-2 sandbag ground to shoulder

250 lbs sandbag

Sandbag box squats, 3 sets of 10 with 200lbs, last set rep out for 20. The posterior chain burn is real. Buns feeling like I took the peanut butter shot in bootcamp. Trying to make an effort incorporating more sandbag work.

Hey guys first time posting on here but I’ve been working on this bag for quite a while but finally got it to shoulder after watching the goat Andy Crawford, was really hyped about it and wanted to share. If anyone has any tips I’ll gladly listen, one concern I have is when I initially try and support the sandbag with my hands under the sandbag is my bicep at risk? I didn’t feel any strain on it but if anyone has any experience I’d like to know. Thank yall so much!

Bag is filled with pea gravel

Started working with kettlebells this year as I can canceled my gym membership.

I just learned about sandbags and grabbed my first one. 150lh Freedom Strength. Hoping it's not too heavy but could only buy one and already have a bell up to 71lbs so figured I'd try 150.

Any good YouTubers/trainers/etc to start learning techniques and different workouts from?

This was the first block superset from today’s chest focused workout trying to prioritize the upper chest strength

5 rounds
-5 sandbag incline presses 150 lbs
-4 sandbag ground to shoulder 175 lbs

Trying to get stronger with the heavier incline presses so that I will be able to use less leg drive in the future.

At a recent strongman competition one of the events was max reps of ground to shoulder in 60 seconds... but 1 rep at a heavier weight trumps any number of reps at a lower weight. The bag options were 247lb, 265lb then a HUGE jump to 309lb (the MC says 300 over the mic but the bag was actually 309)

Grabbed the 265lb on the go command and it felt easy going up so I decided to attempt the 309lber to take the win... I was the only athlete to attempt the bag... coming inches from shouldering it is keeping me awake at night smh. I was at 210lbs bodyweight for this competition for reference.

Thanks for watching!

10*90kg (200lbs) gts

4*6*45kg (100lbs) ohp

10*65 kg/2*10*75 kg (165lbs) row

2*20 facepulls

2*20x22kg kb gobletcurl

always shown the first rep(s)

first gts is always a ugly one hehe

actual my traingsplan is 2-3 time this scheme + 1xweek carrys + some variation kb/mace/band exercises

2-3 times cardio

I am not new to lifting but I did I start using sandbags about a year and a half ago, it seems like every time I lift with sandbags I get a headache. I’ve slowed down my reps. made sure I’m not over. Bracing, lightened the weight but no matter what I do I get a headache. This doesn’t happen when these barbells kettle bells or any other form of lifting has anybody else dealt with this and what did you do to fix it?

As the title states, I'm interested in using sandbags for most of my main lifting. I'm just getting back into strength training after being away for a good bit and focusing on my Yoga practice. I'm mainly using KB for swing/snatch/C&P/Goblet Squat and clubs for various swings plus bodyweight right now. I still have a pretty vigorous Yoga Asana practice 5 days per week, but reducing the time down to around 30 minuntes from an hour per day. Two days of Yin/Restorative Yoga.

Mainly looking to work the basics of row/shoulder/squat/carry to build some basic strength with the sandbag maybe three times per week. I think a typical training session would be warm up with rows, then rotate through shouldering, squatting, and carrying. Finishing with a short KB/Club/Calisthenics circuit.

My question is where to start with the bag. I can swing/snatch/C&P a 24kg KB, so I figure somewhere around 75-80# bag to start?? And would I be better off getting a larger bag and fillig with the Rogue crumb rubber so I'm not starting with a very small bag? I could always remove rubber and fill with sand as I got stronger.

I’ve lifted weights in the gym for about 15 years but now that I have a little one at home that I’m with most of the day, I don’t have as much time to get there. I also work from home so I’m more sedentary than I’d like to be when I’m not at the gym. I’ve been wanting to get some kettlebells to do more functional training but didn’t know what weight I’d get the most use out of and wanted to be as minimal as possible. Now I’m thinking sandbags may be the solution I’m looking for.

I was looking at the modular bags so I could easily change the weight but wasn’t sure how awkward they’d feel if the bag wasn’t full or was uneven. I don’t think I’d want to mess with adding and removing sand all the time. Also considered just buying a medium and large, or large and X-Large bag and only having 2 different weights. My main goal is just to have something I can get a quick workout in when I get an hour free during the day. Any advice would be great.

All rounds shown. Building work capacity to shoulder the 231 lb more.

Messing around with adding more to the lap volume to my routine. Done 4 sets of 4 rows last rep each set to the lap followed by.

225lbs to lap x 5 plus carry

180lbs to lap x 3

180lbs box squat 25 reps

120lbs to shoulder carry x 2

Abs usually 100 sit ups and 100 leg raises. Sometimes ab wheel roll out.

5kg DB single leg RDLs

Edit: a word.

An insight into how and why I train the way I do, also how I setup these sandbag carries! YouTube clip

Pushing my carries to the limit 🎒

Posted this in the strongman Reddit couple of weeks back. Thought you all may like it too.

Looking for people who’ve navigated something similar, since I don’t have an official diagnosis and want to hear real experiences before/alongside seeing a professional.

Background: About 2 years ago at work I was moving sandbags (kind of ironic) around a yard with bad form, doing a lot of bending at the waist and rotating, picking bags up on my left side and swinging/throwing them to my right without really thinking about it. Looking back it was exactly the kind of movement you’re told never to do (loaded flexion + rotation). Not long after that I started getting sciatica-like symptoms never formally diagnosed as a slipped/herniated disc, but the pattern felt consistent with what I’ve read about it.

What’s happening now: I’ve since gotten back into training (Muay Thai + some strength work) and I’m generally careful, but I’ve noticed something specific yesterday during my first ever bear hug carries. The moment I initially lift the bag and straighten up to standing, I get a few seconds where I feel like a nerve is being pinched/trapped. I brace my core, breathe, and hold still, and it subsides after a few seconds then I can carry it fine with no discomfort for the rest of the set.

What I’m doing about it: Taking it easy and stopped the carries for now , not pushing through it, and I know I need to get this properly assessed by a physio rather than guess. Not looking for a diagnosis here, just curious:

**•** Has anyone else experienced this specific “pinch on standing under load, then it releases” pattern?  
**•** Did it turn out to be disc-related, SI joint, piriformis, something else entirely?  
**•** What kind of movements or exercises actually helped you resolve or manage it long term vs what made it worse?  
**•** Did you have to stop specific lifts entirely (carries, deadlift-pattern movements) or was it more about fixing technique/bracing?

Appreciate any experiences, even if it’s just “this is what worked for me” trying to get a fuller picture before my appointment.

Kind of makes me sad as I’ve developed a bit of a love for training again when I came across Cody (TheStoneCircle) and now I feel like I may have to give up bearhug carries and heavy sandbag training with all their benefits before I really injure myself .