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December 2025
Every call demands something from our bodies, whether it’s climbing stairs in 60 pounds of gear, crawling through heat and smoke, or simply helping lift a patient from the floor. It goes without saying that this job requires a solid level of physical fitness. That said, this isn’t another typical fire service fitness article loaded with statistics about how unfit the fire service has become; we’ve all heard them before. Instead, the goal here is to present a simple, effective solution that removes excuses and builds functional strength. Let me introduce the sandbag.
I have a love-hate relationship with sandbags. I love that they’re inexpensive, versatile, and effective. But somewhere in the middle of a workout, I usually have a few choice words for that same bag. All jokes aside, the sandbag has given me some of the most challenging yet rewarding workouts I’ve ever done. Thanks to its design and shifting weight, it’s also one of the best tools for building real-world strength and conditioning that directly transfers to the fireground. Before we get into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why.”
Sandbags might be the most underrated piece of training equipment in the fire service. They’re cheap, portable, and demand total-body control. Because the sand shifts as you move, every lift challenges your stability, grip, and core, the same muscles that protect your back and shoulders on the job. A barbell moves in a straight line. A sandbag fights you every inch of the way. That instability forces you to engage your entire body, just like when you’re dragging a charged line or lifting a patient from an awkward position. Sandbags are also joint-friendly and require less technical skill than Olympic lifts. You can squat, press, drag, carry, or throw them without needing a weightlifting platform. Heavier bags build strength and power; lighter bags test your endurance and conditioning. With one sandbag, you can hit every major muscle group in twenty minutes, and believe me, you’ll feel it the next day.
Most importantly though, sandbag training looks and feels like our work. Firefighting isn’t symmetrical or predictable, and neither is a shifting bag of sand. It teaches you to brace under load, move awkward weight, and stay composed under fatigue. It’s not pretty, and that’s exactly why it works so well.
To frame the “Why”, let’s look at Greg Glassman’s ten domains of fitness: cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance, and accuracy. Sandbag training checks every one of those boxes. The workouts below show how a single tool can develop all ten. At the core of my own program is the twenty-minute workout, roughly the length of a SCBA bottle during intense work. Don’t get me wrong, short, high-intensity sessions and long, grinding workouts both need to be integrated for a well rounded workout program, but my go-to conditioning sweet spot is between fifteen and twenty-five minutes.
Example Workout #1 - Short duration workout: Emphasis on speed
In 5 minutes, perform as many repetitions as possible of:
1 sandbag clean + 2 sandbag jump overs
2 sandbag cleans + 4 sandbag jump overs
3 sandbag cleans + 6 sandbag jump overs
Continue this pattern until the 5-minute time is up.
Use your medium-weight bag.
Example Workout #2 - Medium duration workout: Emphasis on cardiovascular and respiratory endurance
*modified Hero Workout in honor of Lt. Brian Sullivan (FDNY).
In 20 minutes, perform as many rounds as possible of:
20 burpees
10 sandbag shoulder-to-overhead
20 sandbag alternating lunges
10 sandbag squats
Use a light or medium-weight bag.
This modified version removes the need for specialized equipment like rowers or boxes while keeping the same cardiovascular and muscular endurance challenge.
Example Workout #3 - Long duration workout: Emphasis on stamina
*Workout from GORUCK.
4 rounds for time:
4-minute ruck
30 sandbag thrusters
4-minute ruck
30 lateral pulls + mountain climbers
Use a light or medium-weight bag.
Example Workout #4 - Strength-biased workout: Emphasis on strength
Every 2 minutes for 20 minutes perform:
10 sandbag squats
Use a heavy-weighted bag.
Each workout has its own emphasis that targets a specific fitness domain, but if you dig a little deeper into the individual movements, you’ll see how each one develops multiple areas. The sandbag clean from the short-duration workout builds power. The sandbag jump over develops agility, balance, and accuracy. The sandbag thruster (a squat plus overhead press) challenges coordination and flexibility. Together, these movements replicate the many demands of the fireground.
This article was designed to give a practical solution for fitness that actually matters. You don’t need a fancy gym. You just need a sandbag. Go online to Rep Fitness, Rogue Fitness, Brute Force Sandbags, GORUCK, or even Amazon, and pick one up for under $25. Having three bags, light, medium, and heavy, gives you an entire gym for under $100. The investment is small, but the payoff of being stronger, more durable, and ready for the job, is huge. Remember, the most important tool on the fireground is the firefighter. Make sure it’s ready.
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