In this half of a two-part series, I'm going to look at some simple ways to build yourself a sandbag using cheap supplies and an afternoon of labor. Part two of the series will discuss training philosophy, technique and program design.
Stuffing Options
Lead shot and small stones or pebbles will produce a very dense bag. Small bags are great for speed and power development, so this is definitely an option to look into. Plus, if the bag breaks, cleaning up lead shot or small stones is much easier than cleaning up sand.
Sand is still the classic option for filling a bag, and it is easy to find when you need more. The trade off is clean up, which can be a hassle if the bag breaks. You will need a large volume of sand to make a very heavy bag, but that's not a big deal. When I built my home-made sandbag, all I did was go down to the beach and swipe some. Didn't spend a dime.