Emilee Sutherland: DIY: Adjustable Sand Bag Lift

Not sure if many of you know this, but Mr. H is a Personal Fitness Trainer. You could say fitness is a HUGE passion of his. So obviously, I hear about it a lot =) So I listen... because that is what good wives do.. plus he has to put up with all my crafts constantly taking over the dining room table, and all my constant events where I need his muscles haha. Lately, he's been really into these sand bag lift exercises. The only problem is, these bags can cost upwards of $100/piece. That can get kinda pricey if you want multiple for different weights. As Mr. H was telling me about these bags and how cool they are, and how expensive they are... he said something that sounded like music to my ears, "You know, I think I could make this!" Ahh my love for DIY's has somehow passed on to my husband! So we set out to re-create this weight ourselves and it turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself =)
But check it out for yourself... and my hubby even created a simple workout that any one of you guys could do to whip you into shape! I might actually try this one =)

{SUPPLIES}
50 lb bag of sand or gravel stone - we used gravel stones, but both will work
contractor strength plastic bags
zip ties
duck tape - 2 rolls
canvas duffle bag
scissors

First, decide how you want to divide up your weight. Most girls should probably split the bag in half or in 3rds. Let's do 3rds for this example. Mr. H made a 100lb bag, so he had many more. So put about 1/3 of the sand into the contractor bag and press all the air out. Twist the bag tight and secure with a zip tie, then re-enforce with duck tape.

Next, you need to fold up your bundle in the extra plastic bag so it's all wrapped up in the layers like pictured above. Secure your folds with duct tape. We found that marking an X help get things started. Then, we just wrapped and wrapped until there was no black showing.

Now, depending on how much weight you want, you can place your bundles into your duffel bag. Make sure your bag is strong enough to withstand the weight. We found an awesome army surplus bag on Ebay for only $15. Army bags are great because they are super strong and already have handles on them. If you want to add more weight you can just make more, or take some out to have less weight.