If strength and conditioning is your passion it’s likely you will know the British fitness equipment company Mirafit. They’ve been around since 2014 and have established themselves as one of the best online companies for training gear.
Some of the world’s top strongman athletes, Tom Stoltman for example, use Mirafit’s products. During spring and summer, we put one of their 25kg sand filled power bags to the test. Find out what we thought in our review below!
Design
Like much of their training equipment, Mirafit’s power bags are coloured a distinct, and attractive combination of orange and black. Both ends of the bag show its weight and the company’s logo. There are five handles firmly attached to each bag to allow for variation in workouts. The bags have a durable PVC outer, and a high density foam liner so that the product maintains its shape.
Build
The power bags are available in six different weights, starting from 5kg and increasing in 5kg increments all the way up to 30kg. Each power bag is 55.5cm long and 21cm wide.
Performance
Training with barbells and dumbbells is a surefire way to get strong. As great as they are, it’s always best to have a range of tools to help you attain your goals. Sandbags are a product suitable for building strength and improving your conditioning, and it’s definitely something different from lifting iron.
To add some variation to my own training, and find a way to improve my conditioning and reduce body fat, I added a Mirafit power bag to my routines to stimulate some new results. Already armed with some knowledge and experience from using sandbags a few years back, I tried out some exercises on the Mirafit bag that were familiar to me. I chose overhead presses for my first lift.
The handles on this power bag made this an easy task to get the item to my shoulders, enabling me to get some strict reps in to target my delts and triceps. One of my favourite back builders, bent over rows, felt fantastic and the reinforced handles felt solid and secure while doing a few sets of fairly high-rep sets.
Curls proved to be quite demanding with the power bag, and the 25kg weight was more than enough to blast my biceps and forearms. Being an ex-powerlifter who loves squats, I wanted to try the power bag on the “king of all exercises”. With the sandbag positioned behind my neck, I did a handful of sets to elevate my heart rate and get a satisfying leg pump.
Pleasingly, the Mirafit bag felt more comfortable than other sandbags I’ve tried before. Other squat variations -bear hug squats and Zercher squats for instance- were just as good. In fact, several lower body exercises were superb with the power bag including the deadlift, another favourite of mine.
As you can see, a plethora of exercises can be performed with the power bag. It’s a versatile training tool and just about every muscle in your body can gain from a solid workout here. There’s an almost endless list of possibilities for using the power bag; circuit training, core training, and bodybuilding workout finishers are three great examples. Below, I’ve included a list of exercises that are well worth trying out.
Recommended Exercises
1. Walking Lunge
Hold the bag on one shoulder, behind your neck, or even overhead. These make for the perfect addition to a full body or leg workout.
2. Bear Hug Squat
This is one you definitely can’t do with barbells or dumbbells. The legs, core, and upper body are effectively trained in this squat variation.
3. Suitcase Carry
Your grip strength and core strength will be challenged when you carry the Mirafit power bag over short or long distances. Great as a finisher after lower body training.
4. Shoulder to Shoulder Press
A fine pressing variation, you can expect some gains in shoulder size and midsection strength and stability with consistent use of this exercise.
5. Bent Over Row
A great upper back builder, these feel much more comfortable than the barbell version and are less stressful on the lower back.
6. Shouldering
The most advanced exercise on our list of sandbag lifts. Many upper body muscles, and of course, the shoulder muscle groups are used in this lift, and it will get you breathing hard!
Value
Mirafit’s prices for their well-designed power bags are excellent. Obviously, prices vary according to the weight of the bag you wish to purchase. The lightest power bag (5kg) costs £29.95 and the heaviest one (30kg) costs £49.95. Delivery is £4.95 for addresses in the UK.
Summary
Just about anyone can benefit from adding a sandbag to their training programme. Whether it’s for improving performance or developing a shredded physique, some solid training with one of these will help you achieve your goals.
Mirafit have produced a high quality power bag that’s affordable and useful for serious athletes and weekend warriors alike. After plenty of productive and enjoyable workouts with this product, I feel keen to buy another Mirafit power bag to add to my own repertoire of training equipment.
Do you use sandbags in your training? Which exercises do you like doing with them best? Let us know in the comments below and on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!
