Last week I posted a video going over a combo drill called the Butt Blaster 4000. After you get past the funny name you find a deceivingly tough workout that really targets the specific types of cardio you need on the mat.
One of the exercises in the routine is called the Bulgarian Goat Bag Swing and yes, it is another Dan John special. He loves funny names for things he comes up with and I’m not going to argue with him about it.
After learning the Bulgarian Goat Bag Swing, it instantly became one of my favorite lower body exercises. It is perhaps the best way I have found to teach someone how to keep a strong core and really drive with their hips when doing a Hip Hinge movement pattern.
This is important because the Hip Hinge is the movement pattern behind things like bridging on the mat and doing deadlifts and kettlebell swings in the gym. Most people I have worked with had some serious issues with their hip hinge which put a lot of stress on the lower back and made it hard to do some moves on the mat.
In this video I show go into the Bulgarian Goat Bag Swing and show you how to use it to help improve your hip hinge, which will pay off big time in a lot of other areas.
If you know that you need help with your hip hinge then I suggest replacing all swings and deadlifts with them for a few weeks. Doing 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps each time you train will really get your hip hinge nice and grooved.
If you have a good hip hinge (or at least think you do) then try doing 1-2 sets of 10 reps as part of your warm up to get the hips hinging properly before attacking your deadlifts and/ swings. I’ve found that this has helped a lot with my workouts and my first reps feel much more “connected” after doing some Bulgarian Goat Bag Swings.
And like anything else, your focus and attention to detail are what will ultimately determine your results. You wouldn’t bang out sloppy, unfocused reps when drilling on the mat so you can’t do that in the gym either.
Until next time…
Roll Strong,
James Wilson
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