Sandbag Strong

Awkward weight, honest strength — lift it, shoulder it, carry it like you would a bag of coal.

Bootcamp
Mixed ability
45 min
Works for 8–16 (one bag between two)
1 instructor
Effort 4/5
Park or pitch
outdoor
sandbag
strength
carries
partner

The ClassPlans programming teamLevel 3 group-fitness qualified · 10+ yrs teaching

Kit: 6–8 sandbags in a 10–20kg mix (heavy duffels stuffed with old towels and a bagged sand core work fine), 8 cones for lanes, mats for the wet-ground version of floor work.

Warm-up8 min

Hinge Before You Lift

RPE 3

Setup: Bags on the ground in a line, untouched. Group in a semicircle facing you — the bags wait until the hinge is rehearsed.

How it works: Two minutes of easy pulse-raising: jog a loop, side shuffles back. Then the hinge school, empty-handed: hands slide down the thighs, hips push back like closing a car door with your backside, flat back, stand tall and squeeze. Ten slow reps. Add five squats, five torso rotations each way, ten shoulder rolls. Finish by deadlifting a bag once each, slowly, just to standing — that single rep is the audition for the whole session.

Common mistakes

Letting keen members throw bags around before the hinge is taught — bags stay down until you say.

What to say

“Hips back, chest up, back flat as a table — the bag never gets lifted by a round back.”
“The legs push the ground away; the arms are just ropes.”
“If the audition rep looks rushed, that member gets the lighter bag — decide now.”

Easier

Hinge to a higher hand position, mid-thigh only; audition with the lightest bag.

Harder

Audition rep with a three-second lower back to the grass.

Workout11 min

Ground to Shoulder School

3 × 5 teaching reps, then 6 min you-go-I-go × 3 repsRPE 6–7

Setup: Pairs, one bag between two, spaced three metres apart in a semicircle so you can see every lift side-on.

How it works: Teach the shoulder lift in three steps: one — deadlift the bag to standing. Two — deadlift, then hug-clean it to the chest. Three — from the chest, roll it to one shoulder and stand proud. Five reps per step, partners alternating reps and watching each other's back position. Then the working set: six minutes, you-go-I-go, three reps ground-to-shoulder each turn, swapping shoulders every rep.

Common mistakes

Bag too far from the feet — the lift turns into a back lift instantly.
Dropping the bag from the shoulder; the lower-down is half the strength work.

What to say

“Bag close to the shins before every lift — hug distance, not arm's length.”
“Punch the hips forward to float the bag; the arms guide, the hips lift.”
“Alternate shoulders every rep — even work, even backs.”
“Partners call one thing they see: flat back or round back, nothing else.”

Easier

Stop at step two, deadlift and hug-clean only; lightest bag.

Harder

Add a two-second hold at the shoulder and a slow controlled return to the ground.

Workout11 min

The Carry Gauntlet

3 rounds × 3 carries, you-go-I-goRPE 7–8

Setup: Four 15-metre lanes, cones at both ends. Pairs split across lanes, bag at the start cone of each.

How it works: Three carries, worked you-go-I-go while the partner rests and spots the lane: round one — bear-hug carry down and back. Round two — shoulder carry down, swap shoulders at the far cone, back. Round three — front-rack carry at the chest, walking slow and tall. Three rounds of the trio, resting while your partner works. Wet day: shorten lanes and slow every carry; the load does the work at any speed.

Common mistakes

Racing the carries — speed is the enemy of posture here; score nothing, cue everything.

Rounds: 9 working lengths each

What to say

“Walk like the bag is not there — tall, level hips, quiet feet.”
“Bear hug: squeeze the bag hard and breathe behind the squeeze, short breaths through the nose.”
“If the bag starts winning, stop, park it, reset the grip — never wrestle it mid-lane.”

Easier

One length instead of two per turn; lightest bag; bear-hug only, all three rounds.

Harder

Add a deadlift at each end cone; heaviest bag on the bear-hug round.

The rest of this class plan is free — along with 3 more this week.

ClassPlans programming team

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