All About The Sandbag Clean
If you are looking to improve you fitness and develop both strength and power, the clean is an exercise you’ll likely want to consider. This said, you don’t necessarily have to use a barbell or a kettlebell when doing the clean. In fact, you can use a sandbag and get just as great of results, if not better.
What muscles will the sandbag clean work and how do you perform it properly? Let’s go over what you need to know about this important exercise that should be a part of your regular workout routine.
What Is The Sandbag Clean?
The sandbag clean is a multi-muscle exercise that will stimulate the entire lower body as well as the core and even some of your upper body as well. It’s considered to be a compound exercise, so is a great one for both building muscle strength as well as burning up calories quickly.
When doing the sandbag clean, you’ll notice that your heart rate does get up quite high, which is going to help give you the cardiovascular workout you’re looking for.
Stack a few sets of sandbag cleans back to back and you could easily do away with a conventional cardio workout you’ll be getting in such great shape.
Muscles Worked When Doing The Sandbag Clean
So which muscles specifically will the sandbag clean utilize? This exercise is going to work the quads, hamstrings, glutes, as well as the core, while also bringing the upper body into play as well. You’ll engage the shoulders, biceps, and even the triceps as they act to help stabilize the movement pattern.
The back will also be involved for stabilization purposes and to help ensure that you stay upright throughout the entire exercise.
How To Perform The Sandbag Clean
To perform the sandbag clean, you’ll want to first position a sandbag down by your feet, feet about hip width apart.
From there, you’ll bend down, bending from the knees while keeping your back relatively straight and then reach forward and grab a hold of the sandbag handles.
At this point, you should be in the full squat position with the back flat and tight. Now press up through the legs, and as you do this, bend the arms to drive the bag up towards the shoulders.
As it passes the midway point in the body, you’ll actually release the bag, moving the arms down beneath it so that you can catch it so it’s balancing on the upper arm with the elbows and forearms wrapped around the bag.
Move into a full standing position and then keep the elbows up so that the upper arms are parallel to the ground, balancing the sandbag.
Now bend the knees and while keeping the back straight, slowly lower the sandbag down to the ground until you release it and begin to prepare for your next rep.
Continue on until all reps are completed.
Adding The Sandbag Clean To Your Workout Protocol
Because this is a compound exercise, you’ll want to add it towards the start of your workout program, early on before fatigue has set in. If you are doing squats or deadlifts, do those exercises first but then once that’s done, move into the sandbag clean.
Do two to four sets of 5-10 reps depending on how heavy of a bag you are using. If you want to get more of a cardiovascular workout in with this exercise, take your reps up to 15-20, using a lighter bag as you execute the movement pattern.
So there you have the facts to know and remember regarding the sandbag clean. Make sure that you are not missing out on this exercise.