If you have been following my social media posts over the past two days, we hosted a DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Certification with Steve Holiner a.k.a. Coach Fury at Iron Body Studios this past weekend.

Eric and I also attended the certification.

I have never trained with Ultimate Sandbags (USBs) before, and knew nothing about the details of the USB system going into the certification except that they seemed like a tool that would very nicely compliment both the kettlebell training and bodyweight training that we do at Iron Body Studios.

I love being strong and becoming stronger and when I am learning to work with a new tool and a new system, if I am relatively comfortable with the movement and/or skill I am always interested to see how strong I am with that movement or skill by applying the new tool and system to that specific movement or skill.

When we learned leg threading and Turkish get-ups with the sandbag yesterday, after I tried it out with some lighter weights of 25lbs and 60lbs, I was curious to know if I could complete the movement with an 80lbs burly sandbag.

Yesterday I posted on Instagram a clip of the video and explained that I wasn’t able to roll up from the ground with it but I was able to clean it to my shoulder and do a get-down to get up with it. Afterwards I even tried to clean the 100lb burly sandbag but I could not hoist it up beyond my chest. In due time I will get that sucker up!

(Read more from Coach Fury about how training with an Ultimate Sandbag can help to improve your get-ups overall in his post Using DVRT Training To Improve Your Turkish Get-ups.)

You can watch the full 80lbs burly sandbag get-down to get-up here…

(NOTE: This USB is 70% of my bodyweight and my technique of cleaning the bag to my shoulder and learning how to support the weight on my shoulder needs some improvement. Learn how to do a Turkish Get-up with an Ultimate Sandbag from Josh Henkin, CSCS and creator of the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training System HERE.)

When I talk about mindset at my strength workshop I Am Not Afraid To Lift, three of the things I talk about are:

1. Challenge Yourself In The Weight Room and Beyond!
2. Own It – In the Weight Room and in Life!
3. Get Strong and Do Not Be Afraid To Get Strong.

I applied all three of those things to the get-up with the 80lbs burly sandbag yesterday.

I looked at the TGU with this heavy weight with a new tool as a great and “fun” challenge and as a test of my strength and skill.

Even though I wasn’t sure if I could clean the bag over my shoulder after not getting it off the ground with the roll-up, I had the mindset that I was going to attack this lift and own it!

Trying to lift 80lbs with a new and different tool demonstrates my desire to get strong and to not be afraid to get strong.

Next time you have any self-doubt, whether it’s in the weight room or in life outside, remember these three points:

1. Challenge Yourself In The Weight Room and Beyond!
2. Own It – In the Weight Room and in Life!
3. Get Strong and Do Not Be Afraid To Get Strong.

If you do, I assure you that you too will be able to clean an 80lb sandbag (or hoist a child or small human out of necessity) over your shoulder and not just complete a get-down to get-up, but OWN IT.

*****

If you would like to learn more about mindset and how to improve and strengthen your mindset in the training room and beyond then I hope that you will join me for my Power Of Mindset Special Event at I Am Not Afraid To Lift Boston on November 7, 2015 with Dr. Lisa Lewis. Read more HERE about this special event and complete 2015 workshop schedule listed below…

• Dulles, Virginia on October 3, 2015 at Beyond Strength Performance Northern Virginia (BSPNOVA)
• Needham, MA on November 7, 2015 at Iron Body Studios – Early bird ends on October 11, 2015.

Learn more about the workshop HERE.

Register HERE under the “Events” tab.

Also join me for my 1/2 day workshop Keep It Simple Nutrition and Conditioning.

Schedule and registration link is listed below.