You've probably seen them pass by on our website and/or social media: The BigBoy Sandbags! But why are they the ideal tool to train with? Personal Gym Zwijndrecht wrote a blog about why the sandbags are so effective and functional during a training.


"Since a few weeks we have the BigBoy sandbags at Personal Gym Zwijndrecht. The name says it all: they are bags filled with sand. But why are they so useful and why are the sandbags effective and functional during a training?

With the sandbags, unlike typical training equipment, the weight shifts continuously when you move with it. This creates a more dynamic and challenging workout. It requires that you use a variety of stabilizing muscles that are not normally used for simple lifts, especially with higher repetitions.

Advantage 1: functional movement

A great advantage of the sandbags is that the center of gravity does not remain in one place. You also force your body to use other muscles that you might not normally use. In practice you often see people training on an unstable surface, for example with a bosubal. This is seen as functional, whereas in everyday life you hardly have to deal with an unstable surface. How functional is this really? In practice it is more common that you have to lift something where the center of gravity is not in one place. Think of lifting heavy groceries to the car, doing your gardening stuff or carrying your child after a challenging walk. I would rather see this as functional.

Advantage 2: increase your ‘bear hug’ strength

Another advantage is training your squeezing force. A heavy sandbag ensures that your hands / forearms have to do more work than they normally would, because the sandbag is difficult to handle. In fact, many traditional fitness equipment requires minimal strength from your hands or forearms. And yet it does occur that certain strength is required in your hands and arms when you want to move certain objects around in your house.

Conclusion: the sandbag is a functional tool that can give your training a different dimension and in which you can benefit from daily life. In addition, you use certain muscles that you do not or hardly use with easy lifts."