Questions for Sandbaggers page

[Buffalo Chip]

I'm looking to put on some muscle mass. I'm not really concerned with controlling bodyfat, as I already have a pretty low bodyfat composition.

I used to belong to a gym and followed/was pleased with a high weight/low rep routine doing the "big lifts" - squats, deadlifts, benchpresses, rows, etc.. However my membership lapsed and I found it a pain to drive out to the gym all the time so I'm looking for solutions for working out at home.

I'm a little skeptical of the sandbag routines because, as I said, I was doing high weight/low reps before and most sandbags max out at around 100 lbs. I was deadlifting in the mid-high 200 lb range, IIRC, back when I had access to barbells and what not.

I looked into getting a "safety cage" for squatting in my house, but my ceilings are too low, so I'm looking for things I can do in my back yard or around the neighborhood (e.g. take the dog for a walk by the playground and do pullups on the monkey bars).

Can anyone comment on their results with sandbag workouts or otherworkouts that don't require a lot of equipment?

[Coach Palfrey]

It's entirely possible to follow a standard strength training program with sandbags - the main issues you'll come up against are actually getting the bag into position for most of the lifts. For my heavy sandbag work I use a Brute Force Heavy Hitter (Heavy Hitter) and that loads up to 200lbs.

I'd really say that the key thing is to re-evaluate exactly what you want or need from your training. If it's to get a big deadlift and squat (and I mean BIG) then replicating that with a sandbag is tough.

But if you want to build useable strength and muscle then the sandbag is a great option. Trust me, if you can clean and press a 200lb sandbag then you're in the big leagues.

The other good thing about sandbags is that you can also add in lots of strongman-style work like load carries, platform loads, drags and throws. These are all great ways to build muscle and strength.

This is me with a 130lb Heavy Hitter:

DSCN1109.jpg

[IcarianVX]

Depending on how much muscle mass you want to add, a sandbag is probably more than adequate. Load it up with as much weight as you can handle, pick it up from the ground and up to head level (on shoulders, whatever) move it some distance, put it down and repeat. To grow you have to utterly shock your body into adapting. Plus, you gotta eat a lot.