A Lesson from the Mighty Atom

A Lesson from the Mighty Atom

Light Sandbag Training vs. Heavy Sandbag Training

esterday we received a tremendous amount of web traffic for sandbag training centered around the Arizona area. I have no idea why this was but welcome everyone and if you placed an order, Ivan just informed us that they are on the way.

Anyhow: December 5th, 2005 - that was the date that I began featuring sandbags on my website. Man, that seems like a long time ago and look at how time flys. Of course, I trained with sandbags long before that both at home and at the University of Michigan while I was still playing football.

The reasoning behind this early training was simple: first of all, it was simply another alternative to normal "weights" and second of all, the grip benefits were tremendous.

The theory was that grabbing the loose cloth of the sandbag was akin to grabbing a jersey -- obviously important in my case as a defensive football player. And so, I simply treated sandbga training like any other form of training: properly performed effort, progression, recovery etc etc.

Of course sandbag training is different, just like any other form of training is different -- it has its unique advantages and benefits.

Now, a lot of people think of sandbag training only in terms of heavy sandbags - shouldering, carrying etc -- yes, all good exercises which certainly have their place but having trained primarily with "light" sandbags over my career, that is where I feel the real benefits lie. And something that most people don't quite "get" until they try it themselves.

You would be surprised at just how heavy a 15 or 25-pound sandbag can feel for basic exercises, especially after doing a set of hand grippers first -- oops, did I just let that "secret" slip out?

Dont blame me if you have to have someone else cut your steakfor you after that kind of workout.

Interestingly enough, over on the other side of the world Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestling coach Ivan Ivanov trained his athletes in the same manner -- not with the heavy, heavy sandbags but lighter sandbags in more combat specific drills.

This is why we offer our sandbags in the lighter sizes - but please dont let them fool you. And, if you want to go heavier, simply take a look at the heavy-duty duffelbag we feature as well. If you want to load it up heavy and put it on your
back or bearhug it, you can have at it all you like.

Check it out here: Canvas Duffel Bag

And how do I train with sandbags? Well, just about every exercise I use and have used is featured in the short video clips on the specific pages. Im sure I could dazzle you with my creativity insofar as coming up with unusual movements
but I prefer to pass on the exercises that I actually do and know will work.

Knowwhatimsayin?

In either case, look for more sandbag training material soon, we've got a new surprise in the works...

Train hard,
John Wood.

Go See The Express

About a year and a half ago we got a frantic phone call: "We need climbing ropes NOW - can you do it?" (The short answer was yes, but we needed a bit more information.)

The woman at the other end of the phone explained that here name was Francine and the she worked for a production company in Chicago. They were shooting a new football movie and needed six 2-inch climbing ropes for one of the scenes.

The first thing we did was calm her down and get some of the details -- "Yes, I'm sure we can get whatever you need but we will need some more information first."

She explained that there were several scenes where members of the football team would be climbing ropes on an outside tower which is something that the team actually did back then.

She was also adamant about getting 2-inch ropes, which, at that point was not something we featured on the site but that our manufacturer could do. From there we got the proper length and things were set. (These ended up being the first 2-inch ropes we ever sold)

Our very quick and capable rope manufacturer was able to get their ropes to them by the end of the week so they could get their shooting done on schedule.

As for the movie itself, its about Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, a great,great football player and the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy (Something that even Jim Brown couldnt do)

Imagine my surprise when the scenes with our climbing ropes ended up in the movie trailers.

They did the shooting at Chicago's Lane Tech high school and built everything from scratch, I hear from my buddy Victor Soto, a former manager at Michigan who now works in the movie business.

You've probably seen all the commercials by now, the movie opens tonight and I'll be first in line to see it. It looks like a pretty good one although I may endup shedding a tear or two by the end of it.

In any case, if you want to climb the same ropes that they do in Hollywood movies, you can get em here: 2-inch Climbing Ropes

Hey, what can I say, just another day at the office.

Train hard,
John Wood