Sunday, July 8, 2012

New athlete (and pendulums)

Sport Sandbags is proud to introduce Meagan to our athlete family. Meagan is a rock climber, runner, and adventure racer who just finished racing the "Tough Mudder" event in Whistler.  Stay tuned for training videos featuring Meagan coming down the line in the next couple of weeks.


We also wanted to drop a quick training segment that we shot in the early Spring.
The Pendulum is a great multi-joint exercise that incorporates the legs, lower back, shoulders, and hands in a coordinated movement. This is an ideal training exercise for throwers and people who want to develop serious grip strength.

PENDULUMS



Perhaps the best place to start is with the grip! Grab the bag right just above the middle and hold on tight. Sandbags provide an excellent medium for developing strong hands but they can fatigue quickly with repetitive gripping and grasping. Remember to terminate the exercise if you are unable to hold on properly to the bag....this will avoid injury to you and others.


Lift the bag off the ground in a squat position. The bag should be directly underneath you!


Swing the bag upwards while "pushing" upwards out of the squat. The legs provide force and momentum. The arms should be straight throughout the movement.


Hang on!


The movement should finish with the arms directly overhead and the legs extended. Remember to return to a squat position as you lower the bag.


Repeat!

Remember to keep your lower back as straight as possible throughout the movement. The torso moves UP and DOWN not back and forth. With some practice you will begin to feel the legs propelling the motion.  

Anyway, that's all for now. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks for new exercise videos (sorry for the delay).

Till next time.....


SS