When I first thought to write a blog, I considered writing as a “fitness critic”. I find myself refuting a lot of nonsense in my exercise science classes and find much of what is “new” in the fitness industry to be little more than marketing and buzz words. I wisely steered clear of this route. At the time, I was in a more negative place—more critical than usual—and following this direction would have worsened me. I chose, instead, to focus on the positive side and drive myself (and, hopefully, others) toward what I call “well-centered fitness”. Today, though, I want to share a bit as the positive fitness critic.
I finally get to stop using quotation marks around the phrase “Bulgarian bag”. A number of years ago, I came across the Bulgarian Bag® (Suples, Ltd., www.suples.com). It reminded me of the old “Russian conditioning” drills my high school wrestling coach, David Kling, used to have us do. Indeed, the Bulgarian bag was originally developed by Ivan Ivanov for wrestlers. I didn’t have the budget for the real deal and I wanted some to use at the sports performance training center I owned at the time. So, I found a few YouTube videos on DIY “Bulgarian bags”—sand-filled inner tubes with duct-taped handles. Being a staunch believer in intellectual property and copyright, I continued to use air quotes when I talked about “Bulgarian bags”.
The bags served their purpose and worked well. I still have all but one of them (two are holding down lacrosse gear in the driveway). I lost one when it ruptured against the safety bars on my power rack in the garage. (Reason #1 why you should buy the original Bulgarian Bag®.)
After the mishap with my DIY “Bulgarian bag”, I went the next least expensive route. I bought a knock off that you fill yourself. It was a canvas version from Daan Industries, Inc. (http://mmagrapplingdummies.com/fitness-bags). It took some effort to fill it correctly, but I had a bag that served my purposes. Its shape is modified from the original Bulgarian Bag, which creates my only criticism of their model (which they, rightfully, don’t even call a “Bulgarian bag”). The handle angle creates a point of weakness at the stress point. My first model was slightly defective and immediately ripped at the stress point. I believe this was exacerbated by a poor balancing of the sand on my part (Reason #2 why you should buy the original Bulgarian Bag®), but the customer service at Daan was phenomenal. I called and had a replacement in less than a week. To be safe, I added some stitching myself to the stress point and have had no problems. I was even able to overweight the bag and fill a 15 kg model to 18 kg. I have had no problems. The only other limitation I find is that the stuffing in the grips tends to shift when I do extended sets of my core workout. Not a big deal, though. It builds grip strength/endurance, and the added straps help. The bag has served me well.
Thanks to my wife and children’s love on Father’s Day, though, I can now lose the air quotes. My 17 kg (large) Bulgarian Bag® arrived on Friday! I had ordered the less-expensive canvas model (which happened to be out of stock and was reserved, which saved me shipping costs!). I received a call last Monday from customer service informing me that the bag did not come on the latest shipment and would not arrive until August. I was offered a no-cost upgrade to the synthetic leather—which I, of course, accepted. (Reason #3 why you should buy the original Bulgarian Bag®–customer service is awesome!)
I was a little giddy to open the box. I had used the original Bulgarian Bag® before in my exercise science lab, but now I owned my own. The balance and feel is Reason #4 why you should buy the original Bulgarian Bag®. It is an amazing tool.
I use the Bulgarian bag mostly for core work. I like the acceleration/deceleration it offers—something you don’t get in most traditional abdominal and core training. I also like the versatility for general conditioning—burst-style training.
I do what I call my “core 550” workout. This includes 5 sets of 10 each of the “hip hinge” (similar to the kettlebell swing), swing right, swing left, spin right, and spin left. I allow for 1-minute rests between super-sets. The workout takes about 9 minutes. We estimated in my lab that it burns between 120 and 160 kcal, not counting the elevated metabolism post-exercise.
The possible workouts are endless. Now that I have the real deal, I am sure I will get creating and make this a more regular conditioning workout.
Start with the DIY “Bulgarian bag”, if you must. Progress to the original Bulgarian Bag® as soon as possible. You won’t be disappointed.
Enjoy! Carpe momento!