How to Make a Sandbag

Cost Effective and Simple!

If you want to know how to make a sandbag of your own, you have come to the right place!

Making a sandbag that can be used for strength training and conditioning is simplicity itself and takes an hour or so to do.

Once done you will be left with a super effective tool that is durable and can be lifted, pushed, pulled, dragged, jerked, thrown and slammed!

Everything needed to make a sandbag.

To make your sandbag you will need to buy the following items - all of which should be available from larger hardware and garden stores such as Homebase or B&Q (in the UK)

- 1 Army surplus duffell bag or sea canvas bag (available from sailing stores).
- 1 or more 20kg bags of building sand (coarse).
- 1 large roll of duct tape.
- 10 - 20 heavy duty plastic rubble bags.
- 2 metres of rope or twine (climbing rope is ideal).
- A pair of scissors.

Make a Sandbag - The Process

I personally suggest constructing your sandbag using a series of small sand weight packages. The beauty of making your sandbag this way is that it is easy to adjust the weight by simply adding or removing the packages as required depending on your strength for different exercises.

1) Begin by opening up the big bag of sand.
2) Partly fill a plastic rubble sack with sand; I suggest using between 1-2.5kg of sand per rubble sack.
3) Squeeze as much air out of the sack as possible and twist shut approximately 6 inches below the top of the sack. Fill rubble sacks with sand to make a sandbag weight.
4) Take duct tape and wrap it around the "neck" of the rubble sack to ensure a tight, secure closure.
5) Place this rubble sack inside another empty rubble sack, squeeze as much air out as possible, twist and seal again using duct tape.
6) Repeat this procedure until you have used the desired quantity of sand. As a point of reference, for an average man, 20kg of sand can provide a challenging workout with 10-15kg of sand being suitable for most women.
7) Next take your sand weights and fill the duffell/sea bag with the desired number of sandbag weights.
8) Gather up the neck of the duffell/sea bag and twist closed so that approximately 4-6 inches of the bag sticks out of the top. How to Make a Sandbag - Finished Product!
9) Take your rope and bind the neck of the bag tightly and tie shut with a series of over hand knots.

Your sandbag is now ready to train with!

An Alternative Way to Make a Sandbag

A quicker way to make a sandbag is to leave the sand in the original bag and rather than portion it down into rubble sacks, simply place it into another rubble sack and tape tightly shut with duct tape.

Repeat this process twice more to ensure security.

This method of making a sandbag is much quicker than the multiple sandbag weight method, BUT what you gain in ease of construction is lost in versatility and adjustability.

As your functional fitness develops, make more sandbag weights and add them to your duffell bag ensure you stay challenged at all times!

I mentioned that it is possible to take a sandbag with you on holiday so that you can continue to train. Simply take all of the items with you listed above (excluding the sand!) and then use sand off the beach for the duration of your holiday.

Incredibly simple and very very effective!

Sandbag Workouts Can Transform Your Body - Read How Here!

Go to Read More High Intensity Training Articles Here.

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