Written by Ivan Miroslavov Dimitrov
Everyone knows how important are strength and conditioning workouts for the athletes involved with combat sports. The popularity surrounding Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts nowadays has made some of the forgotten methods resurface. These methods have been used extensively by some of the athletes who are well known for the best endurance and physical strength of all martial arts practitioners – the wrestlers.
The Bulgarian Bag is crescent-shaped exercise equipment used in strength training, polymetric weight training, cardiovascular training and general physical fitness. The creator of the bag is the former Bulgarian Greco-Roman Olympic athlete and U.S. Olympic Grego-Roman wrestling coach – Ivan Ivanov. He was looking for a tool which would help his athletes be more dynamic in movements involving pushing, twisting, swinging, pulling, bending, rotating, squatting, lunging and throwing. The Bulgarian Bag was made so that even the smaller muscles in our body, the ones we often overlook, take part in the exercises which we are doing. It is an effective, fast way to stay in shape, develop strong grips, increase your muscular endurance, coordination and improve your shoulder and joint mobility. The more you practice the more quick and agile you get. Strength and agility – those are two of the most valued qualities for Brazilian jiujitsu competitors and with the bag you can improve them substantially in no time.
25.11.2012. – This day was very important for all people who love combat sports and physical health in Bulgaria, because one of our best known wrestlers around the world came to his homeland to present his exercise equipment which has already taken the sports world by storm. In Sofia, Bulgaria inside the brand new Twisted Jiu-Jitsu dojo, in attendance of more than 45 people, coach and SUPLES Master Ivan Ivanov held together with his team a 3.5 hour long seminar, or a so-called Bulgarian Bag Workshop. The main goal was to introduce everyone to the various exercises possible with this bag and for those who already have had some experience, to give them the opportunity to polish their technique and get some tips and new ideas from the creator of the bag himself. Ivan Ivanov showed his creativity not only when he demonstrated over a dozen different ways to use the bag, but also when he introduced the rest of his inventory. Everything you need for a draining functional workout was there.
In the clip you see one of the big names in our sport Andre Galvao, training with the bag.
And here is the man himself- Ivan Ivanov demonstrating his work of art. The effectiveness of this one piece of equipment for combat sports is definitely second to none. If haven’t tried yet, just hurry up, because in the meantime someone else is developing his functional strength and he might be your next opponent on the mat!
