HIIT workout: sandbell Tabata

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Train your core and grip with these 10 moves.

Medicine balls are well-suited for slamming, sliding, and tossing. The same is true of the sandbell, though it has a few characteristics that set it apart.

For starters, its smaller, disc-like shape allows you to hold the tool in different ways, says Devin Buchanan, group fitness instructor at Equinox locations in Chicago. This allows for more holistic grip strength training, since you can pinch and crush the tool.

In the moves below, for example, you pinch the sandbell during the backwards lunge and crush it in the cross-body slide. Holding the medicine ball typically requires a flat palm and fingers, a position that doesn't work all those tiny muscles in your hands and forearms. 

Another difference: Rather than bounce, the sandbell comes to a complete stop when you slam it. “That means your next movement is a deadlift,” says Patrick Hageman, Tier X coach at The Loop in Chicago. Your muscles have to work harder to lift dead weight off the floor than they do when you’re catching a load mid-air.

Buchanan points out that while the medicine ball maintains its spherical shape no matter what you do with it, the sandbell is malleable. The pellets shift as you move it, which challenges your core and stabilizer muscles more so than a static weight does. 

The workout below, created by Buchanan, will give you all the above benefits. 

To do it, choose 6 exercises from the batch, making sure to include both upper- and lower-body moves. (They all hit the core as well.) Then, follow this Tabata protocol for each: Work for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and complete 8 rounds for a total of 4 minutes per move. Rest for 60 to 75 seconds between exercises. 

For best results, make this your HIIT routine as often as 3 times per week, Buchanan says.

Staggered push-up to cross-body slide (upper body)

Cross-body slide to staggered push-up (upper body)

Start in a high plank with a sandbell under your right hand. Grip the sandbell and slide it across the floor to your left foot, then back to start. (Your body should be in an inverted V when the sandbell reaches your foot.) From there, perform a staggered push-up. That’s one rep. Continue, alternating sides with each 20-second set.

Long jump slam to reverse inchworm (lower body)

Long jump slam to reverse inchworm (lower body)

Stand with feet at hip-width and a sandbell on the floor a few feet in front of you. Jump forward, landing with one foot on either side of the sandbell. Squat to pick up the sandbell, then simultaneously stand tall and bring it overhead. At the top of the motion, slam the sandbell onto the floor, bending your knees for momentum. Jump back into high plank with one hand on either side of the sandbell and perform a reverse inchworm, walking your hands towards your feet, then stand tall in your start position. That’s one rep. Continue.

Isometric figure-eight squat (lower body)

Isometric figure-eight squat (lower body)

Assume a sumo squat with feet wide, toes turned out, quads parallel to the ground, and a sandbell in your right hand. Maintaining your squat, pass the sandbell behind your back and between your legs to the left hand. Repeat with the left hand to return the sandbell to start. That’s one rep. Continue, alternating directions with each 20-second set. 

Russian twist slams (upper body)

Russian twist slams (upper body)

Sit with heels resting on the floor and a slight bend in the knees. Lean back to engage the core and hold a sandbell overhead with both hands. This is your start position. Slam the sandbell on the floor to your right next to your glutes, then pick it up and bring it overhead. Repeat on the left side for one rep. Continue, alternating sides.

Toe tap to tuck-jump burpee (upper body)

Toe tap to tuck-jump burpee (upper body)

Stand tall with a sandbell on the floor directly in front of your feet. Hinge at the hips to engage the core, then perform four alternating toe taps on the sandbell. Place one hand on either side of the sandbell, jump your feet back, and immediately perform a push-up, lowering until your chest touches the sandbell. Jump your feet forward and perform a tuck jump, bringing your knees to your chest at the top of the movement before landing softly in your start position. That’s one rep. Continue without pause.

Squat jump with heel click (lower body)

Squat jump with heel click (lower body)

Stand tall with feet wider than shoulders, holding a sandbell with both hands in front of your chest. In one fluid motion, squat to tap the sandbell on the floor, then explode up, bringing the sandbell overhead and clicking your heels together mid-air before landing softly. That’s one rep. Continue without pause. 

Reverse lunge with torso rotation (lower body)

Reverse lunge with torso rotation (lower body)

Start in a reverse lunge with left leg forward, right leg back, holding a sandbell with both hands at your left hip and a slight rotation in your torso. In one fluid motion, stand tall, raise your right knee to hip-height in front of your body, and rotate your upper body so you’re facing the right with the sandbell in front of your chest. Reverse the motion to return to start. That’s one rep. Continue, alternating sides with each 20-second set. 

Squat with overhead toss (upper and lower body)

Squat with overhead toss (upper and lower body)

Stand tall with feet at shoulder-width, holding a sandbell with both hands in front of your chest. Squat, then simultaneously return to standing and toss the sandbell directly overhead, catching it at the top of the movement and returning it to your chest. That’s one rep. Continue.

Alternating rainbow hops (upper and lower body)

Alternating rainbow hops (upper and lower body)

Start in a narrow half squat with feet together, holding a sandbell with both hands at your right hip. Simultaneously stand tall and bring the sandbell overhead, then take three hops to the left. On the last hop, lower into a narrow half squat and bring the sandbell to your left hip. (The sandbell should move in an arc pattern from one side to the other.) Repeat in the opposite direction. That’s one rep. Continue, alternating directions. 

Lateral lunge slides (lower body) 

Lateral lunge slides (lower body) 

Start in a lateral lunge with the left knee bent, right leg extended, hands clasped in front of chest, and a sandbell on the floor inside your right foot. Push the sandbell with your right foot to the inside of your left foot, then land in a lateral lunge to the right. Repeat in the opposite direction. Continue, alternating sides.

Photography by Mohamed Sadek

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