So I took down my Jungle Gym XT and installed my Gym Rings from the outdoor patio girder. The Rings isn't easily adjustable as the XT, as I will need a chair to reach the adjuster's height, but might as well since I don't want to abuse my XT any further.
Did some ring exercises yesterday:-
25 pull ups
25 dips
25 false grip rows
30 plache push ups
40 knee tucks
5 x 10 sec hold tucked manna's
Why the manna's? I learned that one good exercise for the abs and hips (to achieve the required ability to do more rings exercises) is the manna. You will have to contract your abs and hold up your legs via your hips to hold the position. Plus its mean towards your triceps too (since the force loaded is slightly diagonal).
The false grip rows is to strengthen my wrists (I have fairly weak wrists) to prepare myself to the muscle up, since it uses the false grip to transition the pull up (pulling) to a dip (pushing). Most websites and videos said this is the most vital part for an olympic rings muscle up (bars might be easier, as the bars stay in place and you can use momentum to ease the transition).
All in all a sore workout. I hardly place any emphasis on pull ups (usually chin ups, but they recruit the biceps more) and now my upper back is slightly sore.
On another note, my sandbag arrived today, and I'm still thinking of ways to fill it up.
I went home during lunch (to collect my slippers for Friday prayers) and the postman was just outside the house. I quickly opened the package at the back porch, and lo and behold, a large blue bag, with nicely soft cordura and a few inner filler bags (they, too, are huge! Should've gotten more of the smaller ones rather than 2 large and 2 small ones).
Why sandbags? First and foremost, they are versatile.. Not as versatile as weights maybe, but having a home gym setup with tiled floors, you can't drop weights onto the floor without cracking the damn tiles.
Secondly, they are cheaper. I bought 2 bags of sand for RM8, with each bag being around 40kg each. Plus the bag, its around RM350 in total. Weights costs around RM7.50 per kg here, so to get a 80kg equivalent it'll cost RM600, and that doesn't include the handles. Normal dumbbell handles costs RM50 each! While other handles costs from RM150 (EZ bars) to RM1,000 (olympic bars). Still saves me a tonne of money!
The sandbag I got is a large Ironmind sandbag. Its just an empty cordura bag (huge bag btw.. Imagine Santa's bag) with a velcro wrap on top. Unlike other types of commercial sandbags, it has no handles, but who needs them? If I wanna do swings , I'd use kettlebells. If I wanna clean them to my chest or shoulders, I'll wrestle it there. It'll work my gripping power so it's proportion to the rest of my body (conventional training tend to lack that).
The best thing is, unlike other types of commercial sandbags, this can fill up up to 300 lbs!! That's 136kg! Of course I won't be able to clean (let alone grip or press) that weight... Yet.. But with some webbing I'd be able to tie around it and do my deadlifts, at home, under RM400!
So what can you do with it? Actually its for me to train my basics when I can't go to the gym (which nowadays is a lot). I can squat them, clean and press them, chest press them (now I need a bench....) do a bear hug and carry them..
Why I prompt this bag rather than the Ultimate Sandbag or Brute Force Sandbag:-
a) It holds more weight. It may not be relevant to me now (considering I'm not that strong), but means that in the future I can load it up more than other bags)
b) It'll work my grip. Ok so maybe having handles may be easier. But get this, besides from luggage bags, how many other heavy things have handles on them? Boxes, gas tanks, etc.. Nada.. Plus I really do need to work on grip power, like, now.. Got an arm wrestling competition coming up early next year and I just wanna beat the guy whose won it a few times..
c) Its cheaper. For the price, I can get 2 large Ironmind sandbags for 1 medium Ultimate Sandbag. Of course I was considering the Brute Force Sandbag too (nicer design, cheaper than Ultimate), but being Malaysian, the 3x conversion factor doesn't help much. At least I can still justify the price with the amount of sand I can fill in..
d) Durability. Having no handles means the bag isn't lifted from 2 (or 4) points only. You'd take your time to safely carry it. Say what you want, but handles sewn on (no matter how well its reinforced) will eventually rip, especially with handles you'd tend to do ballistic style exercises (you'd tend to pull and swing the bag like a kettlebell). Unless its welded or its one piece of iron, I'd say no thank you.
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