Home Gym DIY : Build a Workout Sandbag

I won't preach to you about how all your fitness hopes and dreams will come true if you start working out with a sandbag, but trust me you need to add one to your home gym arsenal.  Its EZ to make, very durable, and can take the place of a expensive barbell set in many cases.  You can do Deadlifts, Cleans, Snatches, Turkish Get Ups, Squats, Carries, etc, you can even do curls with it in front of a mirror if that makes you happy.

Here is my version of a Home Gym DIY Workout Sandbag :

1)  Get yourself a military grade duffel bag (Army/Navy store ~$15-$20).  The size you choose depends on what type of filler you use.  Its all about Weight and Volume.  For a 60-80 LB I used a 21 x 36 bag.  Mine had a side zipper but not sure about the durability of that until I use it more.

2) Get durable bags and chose your filler.  You can find resources online how to make a bag with sand and zip lock bags, but thats old school.  Arguable a better (but more expensive) method is to use at least 3 Mil thick contractor bags (Home Depot ~$15 for 32 bags) and rubber mulch (Home Depot ~$9 / 20 LBS).  The rubber mulch is basically recycled tires and has a good weight/volume to make a full sandbag and way less messy.  In my opinion its worth the investment versus sand and your shoulders may thank you.  I know mine prefer rubber.

3) Put 20 pounds of rubber mulch in a contractor bag.  Tie off ends with a zip tie, seal with duct tape, and double bag it for piece of mind.  

4) For this size duffle bag I fit 3 individual 20 pound bags.  Total weight is ~63 LBs.

5) Because the bag gets thrown around a lot and this bag has a side zipper I used duct tape for extra protection and prevent the zipper from breaking.  So far the size zipper looks very durable but is unnecessary.

TOTAL COST ESTIMATE-
80 LB Bag - ~$50*
60 LB Bag - ~$45*
40 LB Bag - ~$40*

*Price will be significantly cheaper if you chose sand or other filler versus rubber mulch.

Workouts- there are many resources online but here is a start: