We absolutely love the Bulgarian Bag. Get one for yourself by following the link below, or continue reading to discover the benefits and features of this innovative piece of fitness equipment.
Everything You Need to Know About Bulgarian Bags
Bulgarian bags were originally designed to assist with the training of wrestling, grappling and combat sports.
It’s success has meant that it is now considered a great universal fitness tool that helps develop functional and primal strength. In recent years, the popularity of Bulgarian bags has expanded into the mainstream, with Crossfitters, athletes, gym-goers and weightlifters adopting this tool as part of their workout routines.
It’s also a fantastic bit of gear for anyone simply looking to get functionally fitter and stronger. It helps develop strength that helps in everyday tasks – which is something we love here at Fitness Drum.
Benefits of Bulgarian Bags
· Very versatile
· Durable
· Can be used in many different workouts
· Mobile – great for personal trainers and fitness classes
· Come in various sizes and weights – great for any level of fitness
· Movement focused – improving functional strength that will support you in everyday life
· Improves anaerobic fitness
· Improves grip like no other fitness tool
Bulgarian Bag Workouts
The Bulgarian bag is a great investment due to its versatility. There are many Bulgarian bag workouts you can follow, but you can also be creative with it and use it in a custom workout. It can easily target legs, shoulders, chest, back, arms and in particular, core. You can choose to target specific muscle groups or adopt a more integrated approach.
Check out the video below for some Bulgarian bag inspiration!
Many of us dream of improving our muscular endurance, strength, power, agility, balance, flexibility and speed. All these can be achieved through Bulgarian Training Bag workouts.
The classic half-moon shape complements the ability to use it in many different ways. It has flexible handles to allow for targeted fitness exercises. Bulgarian bags are great at developing grip strength which is very useful for not just wrestling but for everyday life.
Grip strength is often ignored but it’s such a vital aspect of general strength and fitness. Having a strong grip is a big advantage in many sports as well as making gym workouts and exercises easier. Having to squeeze tightly to the handles to maintain control of the training bag means you will develop superior strength in the hands and forearms.
It is one of the best examples of a piece of fitness equipment aimed at developing functional strength. You can use it to throw, push, twist, bend, rotate, balance, pull and pretty much any other functional movement you can think of. They also provide a very intense anaerobic conditioning workout and will optimize your overall health and fitness.
Bulgarian Bags can also be used to enhance traditional body-weight exercises such as push ups, squats, presses, etc. The bags offer great variations to these traditional exercises and well as being suitable for innovative sport-specific movements.
They develop practical movements and this is why Bulgarian training bags are such a useful tool.
Bulgarian Bag Weight Recommendations
If you’re wondering what weight or size Bulgarian Bag to get, we’ve listed out some general guidelines below. The Weight Chart below identifies which bag will be more suitable for your fitness aims.
Bulgarian Bag Weight Chart
XS (3kg, 5kg) – Yellow Handles.
This is recommended for lighter athletes (-40kg) and beginners. The lightweight bag will be fine to throw and push for any level of fitness, including beginners. These bags are great for anyone wanting to do high rep training.
This sized bag would also be very appropriate for children incorporating movement-based activities into their fitness.
S (6kg, 8kg) – Green handles.
This is recommended for athletes with a body weight of between 40-65 kg, who want a relatively light bag.
The green strapped bag represents a light bag that is perfect for children, women and people recovering from injury. This can be a useful sized bag for rehab and sports physiotherapy sessions.
M (10kg, 12kg, 14kg) – Red handles.
This is recommended for individuals with a body weight of 40-65 kg, who want a slightly more challenging bag.
This is a good all-round bag that can be used for a variety of athletes and levels. It’s a good bag for men who are just starting out with Bulgarian bags as it will be a challenge but will be achievable.
Both men and women should find this bag good for going through all the functional and rotational movements. This bag will challenge the athlete in all aspects of fitness, from anaerobic capacity, muscle endurance, grip strength and endurance.
L (15kg, 17kg, 19kg) – Silver handles.
This is recommended for individuals with a body weight of 68-86 kg.
These larger bags are designed for people who already train hard or those who are naturally strong. Even if you go to the gym frequently, if you’ve never used Bulgarian bags, this weight might be a challenge. This bag will place a lot of pressure on the grip.
XL & XXL (20kg, 22kg, 26kg / 30kg, 34kg) – Brown handles.
This is recommended for individuals with experience of Bulgarian bags and who feel confident in performing workouts to a high standard with additional weight.
The strength and endurance needed to complete the swinging, rotational and pushing movements with these weights requires outstanding strength and anaerobic conditioning.
These brown handled bags are for the top level athletes.
Buying Bulgarian Bags
Bulgarians bags is a name used for the half moon shaped fitness tool, however, technically it’s not the brand name. Suples, created by Ivan Ivanov, is the company behind the original Bulgarian bag. These guys create the highest quality and most reliable Bulgarian bags out there.
Like most successful products, other manufacturers have copied the design and created very similar types of products. These are often cheaper, however the quality is often unknown.
As a result, I would always recommend going for the Suples original Bulgarian bags. If you can’t afford it, then I would actually suggest trying to make your own, instead of buying cheaper knock-off versions.
The original Suples bags come in genuine leather, synthetic leather and canvas.
Over recent years Suples have launched some new variations of the Bulgarian bag to target different needs.
The Original Bulgarian Bag Model
This is the original model which boasts all the main features that made Bulgarian bags so popular. These are durable and built to last.
The Bulgarian Bag Fit Model
The main added feature of the Fit Model is the bands that mean you can include even more workouts to your Bulgarian bag workout routine.
The Bulgarian Bag Strong Model
The Bulgarian Bag Strong Model has been adapted to suit the demands of strength and power training. This bag is designed for people who want a heavier bag to use and one that puts more emphasise on building strength, as opposed to the original bag which builds strength endurance.
The additional handles at the top also mean it’s easy to incorporate more exercises too.
Our Verdict
Bulgarian bags can be used in a variety of workouts and exercises. From group sessions that focus on cardio, to individual strength programmes, the Bulgarian bag has the ability to develop strength, fitness and overall health.
The rotational and functional movements carried out with the bag mean you are likely to see improvements in the type of strength and fitness that is actually useful for everyday life.
Regardless of whether you want to use it for endurance exercises, strength exercises or a mixture of both, this piece of fitness equipment is a must for anyone wanting to take their fitness to the next level.
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