KOH PHYSICAL THERAPY LAB SERVICES What is Active Release Technique® (ART)? | Graston Technique® | Russian Kettlebells Training | Cold Laser Therapy Heavy Rope Training | Massages/Neuromuscular Therapy | Kinesio-taping | Sandbag Training | Myofascial Stretching Sandbag Training Sandbags have a very rich history, maybe more so than any other training implement. For hundreds of years (possibly thousands) sandbags has been an integral training tool for athletes. Why? They are an inexpensive tool that is incredibly versatile and can offer the benefits of unstable training with a challenging load. This is a benefit that many of today’s unstable gadgets cannot provide. However, the benefits don’t stop there. Greater stabilizer, trunk, and grip strength can be developed with sandbags as well as sport-specific drills, mobility work, and a great conditioning tool. In the famous book, Dinosaur Training, Brooks Kubik states, “You feel sore as you do because the bags (sandbags) worked your body in ways you could not approach with a barbell alone. You got into the muscle areas you normally don’t work. You worked the “heck” out of the stabilizers.” (Kubik, p. 115) The non-cooperative nature of sandbags makes using every muscle possible to lift it crucial. More stable and predictable implements can cause the body to find a particular groove. Once this groove is established then one becomes more efficient at performing the lift and the body actually decreases the amount of muscles utilized. This becomes especially true of explosive sandbag lifts such as cleans, throws, snatches, and shouldering. The trunk muscles (including those of the low back and abdominal area) have to work harder to stabilize the body against the awkward load while moving very quickly. This is very unique to sandbag training.   Copyright © 2009 KOH Physical Therapy. All Rights Reserved