Si-Sand Bag: a training experience suitable for every user

🇮🇹 Leggi in Italiano

The Si-Sand Bag is a unique tool among the functional training equipment, with characteristics that have been studied to be suitable for every kind of user, athlete, or functional training enthusiast. This bag filled with sand, apparently similar to the Flow-Bag but different from many points of view, can be successfully applied to many different kinds of training: Strength, Endurance, Speed.

What are the technical features of the Si-Sand Bag?

The vast range of weight of these bags enables different applications to different training goals. The 5 and 10 kg bags are indeed particularly suitable for extreme Joint Mobility sessions, which imply dynamic movements performed with an overload. Indeed, it would make the warm-up exercises much more concrete and effective for those who want to increase their range of movement.

The bags from 15 to 25 kg, instead, are particularly suitable for Strength or Strength Endurance exercises, in which it is necessary to control the intensity, basing on the goals the user wants to reach. For example, with this kind of load, it is possible to perform essential exercises like Squat, Deadlift, Press, and all the other movements that involve the Strength as main training quality.

Also, you will be able to perform ballistic exercises with this tool, to make more dynamic your workout and to train Speed and Power.

For these reasons, being very versatile, the Si-Sand Bag can be used in many different modalities, but this adaptability does not preclude all the benefits of being a really simple tool to use and to manage during the ballistic trajectories if compared with the other tools. The Flow-Bag, for example, does not allow any distraction when passing from one exercise to another, as a loss of the correct posture would imply critical phases from a physical point of view and, potentially, also injuries.

The Si-Sand Bag, instead, is a tool that partially “forgives” the incorrect movement of the user, even if we should always consider that it is nonetheless a weight load that conditions our way to train. Indeed, before to use it, it is advisable to take the correct precautions in terms of training space around the user, to study the different positions both from the ground and standing, to become familiar with the weight you are going to use for the different exercises and to focus on the correct posture.

What exercises can be performed with the Si-Sand Bag?

As we were saying, the main exercises that it is possible to perform with a Si-Sand Bag are Squats, Deadlifts, Presses, and Forward / Back / Cross / Combined Lunges. These are all pure Strength exercises, performed on the first two Plans of Movement (Frontal and Sagittal), using the bag with both hands or, in case of advanced users, also with a single grip.

Thanks to the many possibilities offered by the 8 grip handles, it is possible to perform a large number of different exercises in all three Plans of Movements and to easily pass from one to another without having to lay it on the ground.

What is the correct technique for the execution of the exercises?

Starting from a standard situation, with the Si-Sand Bag on the ground and the user standing in front of it, the correct starting movement is to flex the hips backward (to correctly activate the back muscle chain and the hamstrings), with the torso stabilized by the activation of the core, the abdomen together with the activation of the latissimus dorsi muscle through the stabilization of the shoulder girdle. Starting from this position, it is possible to choose how to bring the Si-Sand Bag at the preferred height. For example, through a deadlift or rotation, it is possible to reach the “rack” position, from which you can start performing every exercise.

Another possibility is to start with exercises performed on the supine position, grabbing the bag and bringing it to the chest, and then choosing the more congenial movement to start the workout.

What physical qualities can be trained with the Si-Sand Bag?

First of all, the global Strength, as it is essential in all the exercises performed with a conditioning overload on the frontal and sagittal plans of movement. In this case, we will have a vast range of training possibilities, with exercises performed in the standing position or on the knees, with a single grip or with both hands, in the eccentric, isometric, or concentric phase, in which the bag will be positioned as we prefer and will not be able to oscillate, enabling a total control on the tool and allowing the user to focus on the correct movement during the performance.

Thanks to its “soft” handles, suitable for any kind of user, the Si-Sand Bag is also a better solution than other tools like kettlebells, Si-Clubs, Flying or Flow-bag, as it has good levels of grip training while being comfortable for the hands. Indeed, not only the rubberized handles put at ease any user, but their ductility makes using the Si-Sand Bag much more enjoyable.

Therefore, integrating the use of the Si-Sand Bags in your gym workouts can be very useful to strengthen your grip, in particular when you are already fatigued and you are no longer able to correctly control rougher tools. In similar situations, you can continue training with the Si-Sand Bag, extending the workout duration and, therefore, improving also your Endurance.

Differences with the Flow-Bag

The Si-Sand Bag can be very effective also to train the Transverse Plan, too often ignored in the gyms. The Si-Sand Bag can indeed be used for ballistic movements on the Transverse Plan just like the Flow-Bag, from which it differs for the fact that it is easier to be kept along the trajectories and safer to be managed from any kind of user. The only precaution we recommend is to choose carefully the correct bag (and consequently weight) basing on the exercise you are going to perform.

Compared to the Flow-Bag, another advantage is that you can easily switch from one exercise to another, changing rapidly through the use of the different grip handles, both in static and in dynamic situations, but also during ballistic movements, as the rubberized handles allow a safe transition between different positions and facilitate good sync of the movements.

In conclusion, the Si-Sand Bag can be suitable for every user, whether he or she is an amateur, an intermediate, or an advanced because it can combine in a single tool many essential exercises and guarantee a safe performance. The elevated versatility makes it equally suitable both for men and women and allows them to use it not only in the gym but also at home or outdoor, being it also very resistant and easy to be brought along.

Davide Bertola
PalestreUFC