Workouts with a Canvas Bag – Part 1

In our move to Nashville, we live less than 5 miles from a Trader Joe’s, which is wonderful. Besides all the specialty food items we’ve been picking up, a very useful shopping bag has also been purchased. Case in point, the Trader Joe’s Canvas Shopping Tote. As I carried loads of groceries in, I noticed how little strain there was in the bag, supporting the heavy load of groceries with no issues.

If you’re like me, you enjoy making a game out of how many grocery bags you can bring in at once! As I carried more items in the bag, placed it over my shoulder, swung it in to the car, and other general abuse, I realized this was a new piece of workout equipment for The Simple Gym!

A skill we value here is the ability to take an everyday item or location and transform it into an opportunity to be active and have fun. I was so pumped to be thinking of ways I could use the canvas bag to add resistance to the movements or add brand new movements we haven’t introduced yet. For now, I have completed six. We will do three of the movements on Monday, and then three on Tuesday. Let’s get started! You can view the video below to see the explanation of each movement.  

Canvas Bag Workouts – Part 1

5 Rounds for Time

• 10 Squats
• 10 Overhead Press (each arm)
• 10 Bicep Curls
• 1 minute Run

If you have two bags you can use, you can work each arm in the press and curls to save time. 

For weights; you can use books, canned or bagged food, rocks, shoes, anything! Just remember to lift what is comfortable and functional for you!