The One Item Every Home Gym Should Have

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what’s the one piece of gym equipment you would take with you? Ok, I’m sure for most of you that’s the last thing you would be thinking of, but for me it would be a sturdy bag with strong handles – yup- that’s it. This versatile bag (be it a duffle bag, back pack or something similar) can be filled with weighted items and used to intensify all types of exercises.

Seriously though, if you want to be able to get a good intense workout at home without investing much, if any money, this is THE thing for you. If you look through your closet you are bound to find some form of bag you can use. This gym gear does officially exist as a sandbag or weighted bag and you can buy these at your local sporting goods stores (about $30 and up). They are manufactured to withstand heavy weight and have reinforced handles in all the right places for a variety of different holds. They also come with bags that can be filled with sand (hence the name) or the more expensive types come with specially designed rectangular plates usually in 10-pound increments.

FILLING: If you stick to the MacGyver method – you can still fill your backpack or duffel with sandbags (made by you), cans, weight plates, dumbbells (this is what I use), books, kitty litter or even the colorful gravel rocks for fish tanks. The key is to ensure they are securely contained and won’t burst open with the handling of the bag (it tends to get dropped and thrown around). You can use rocks, bricks (or even coconuts if you were on a deserted island), whatever you can find in and around your home to add weight. I wrap my “weights” in towels or blankets to add a little cushioning in the event that the bag hits, bumps or rests on my body – which is inevitable.

EXERCISES: Pretty much any exercise you can think of can incorporate the weight of your bag to add intensity. You can hold the bag on the back of your shoulders, in front at chest level, straight overhead or on one shoulder for unilateral work. Use the handles to do all types of rows, bicep curls and triceps work, leg press and ham curls (feet through the handles). Use the weight and bulk of the bag for abdominal work from plain crunches, seated or standing twists, plank drags and pulls, to dead lifts and clean and presses. Lastly you can use the bag for momentum work like the sandbag swing; straight and lateral axe chops.

Check back under “Move of the Week” in upcoming weeks for exercises specifically using a weighted bag

So back to the deserted island – if I exercised with a bag full of coconuts, I would be strong enough to bring said coconuts back to my camp for food. See? Versatile. Just saying.