Sandbag Lifting Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Sandbag Lifting

Posted on Friday, December 8th, 2017 by John Wood

The Oldtime strength athletes figured out a long time ago that sometimes lifting unbalanced, awkward objects build a very different type of strength than traditional barbells and dumbbells. This Italian wrestler was lifting sandbags back in 1906 and doesn’t look like a fellow that you would want to mess with.

What is Dinosaur Training?

Posted on Friday, August 15th, 2014 by John Wood

A short video clip (with sound) of several of the people, places and training topics that you’ll find in the pages of “Dinosaur Training” by Brooks Kubik.

Grimek’s Sandbag Training

Posted on Thursday, August 1st, 2013 by John Wood

Grimek's Sandbag Training

The York Barbell Company sold more iron than anyone, so why is John Grimek pictured here throwing a canvas sandbag around?

Well… a couple of reasons: This picture was taken during World War II when Iron and Steel were being used for the war effort. Hence if you wanted to lift anything, you had to make arrangements other than barbells and dumbbells. Lifting sandbags offered a very effective alternative.

Secondly, Grimek loved all different kinds of training and a sandbag offered a new challenge, something altogether different than regular barbells and dumbbells would provide. Not to mention that the sandbag provides more of a “grip” challenge than a barbell ever could and building extra forearm strength is always a good idea.