DIY Bulgarian Bag

I am not the first person to build one of these, and I take no credit for the idea. I’ve just watched several videos on how others have approached the project and decided I’d document my experience, share the materials I used and any insights I gained through the process. I hope it helps someone.

What is a Bulgarian Bag? It’s a heavy, awkward mass that you can use to swing around or to weigh you down during things like squats and walking. I have friends with them in their gyms, but the number of times I’ve used them is in the single digits, so I couldn’t justify spending $250 on one when I wasn’t sure how often I would even wind up using it.

I’m not qualified to teach you how to use them well, but here’s a video of someone I believe does a good job giving you an idea of what you can do with these things.

View this post on Instagram

No music today, just focused work 💪⠀ ⁠⠀ While squeezing in some quick practice time before heading to Kuwait, this dynamic series was on the training menu today.⠀ ⠀ Here you see combinations and transitions utilizing the Suples Bulgarian Bag and Suples Ball. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ I do my best to feel into the movements and always remember to play. Often times I get myself really amped up because I’m enjoying it so much lol 😂 ⠀ ⠀ Once enough consistent reps take place (or I feel gassed lol), that's when it's time to explore any of the following:⁠⠀ – Change movements⁠⠀ – Change tools⁠⠀ – Apply less force & enjoy more relaxed movements⁠⠀ – Rest⁠⠀ – Call it a good day and wrap up with some stretching ⠀ ⠀ — ⠀ ⁠⠀ On February 15th I'll be teaching in San Jose, California a Bulgarian Bag Level One Certification.⁠ This course is a BLAST!⠀ ⁠⠀ You can click the [LINK IN BIO] to register.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Hope to see you there!⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ #bulgarianbag #suples #getcertified #train #fitness #power #combatconditioning #wrestling #grappling #mma #strength #rotationtraining⁠⠀ @suples.training.systems

A post shared by Mike Salemi (@mike.salemi) on Jan 14, 2020 at 2:15pm PST

Materials used:

Tractor tire inner tube – size 23×8.50/9.50/10.5-12 – $12

Nylon rope – 8 feet of 5/8″ (wish I’d picked up an extra foot or two) – $4

Play sand – 50lbs – $2.50

Zip ties – 175lb tensile strength – $0

Duct Tape – Red (to match the rest of my gym of course!) – $4

Total Cost – $22.50 and 45 minutes of my life

A few notes….

I’ve seen these done with and without the rope as straps. Getting the straps how I wanted them probably accounted for over half of the process of building this thing, but even still it only took me about 45 minutes. In the end I had to make them a bit shorter than I’d prefer because I didn’t buy enough rope, but it worked out ok. Without the straps you will be forced to rely 100% on your grip strength. This isn’t inherently bad, but things could get a little dicey when you start swinging it and are getting fatigued or if your hands start getting sweaty. It was 100% worth the extra effort in my opinion.

A lot of people recommend rubber mulch or wood pellets instead of sand (or some combination of one of those AND sand) at least for a beginner, because it’s less dense and will come out a little lighter and easier to handle. They will also tend to leak less than sand. The biggest reason I chose sand is because it was on sale for $2.50 a bag at Lowe’s! Sand fills the tube very densely – I fit almost an entire bag in mine totaling about 45lbs. It’s pretty intense for me to swing around being new to these, and I’m not a small dude. If you’re not already pretty strong, I would probably suggest using one of the other options.

I’ve heard hose clamps work well in place of zip ties, but I had these beastly zip ties lying around so I opted for those. Time will tell how they hold up in terms of leakage.

You can view a time lapse video of the build here:

Directions:

1. Cut out a section of the tube near the valve stem
2. Run the rope through the tube so it comes out the other end
3. Tie a knot in one end such that you have a 14″ loop (as measured from the top of the knot to the end of the loop when it’s pulled tight)
4. To make the first handle, fold the sides of the tube over itself. It’s important that you fold the inner edge FIRST so that you have a smooth transition from the bag to the handle. Otherwise the handle will be at a very awkward angle
5. We are aiming to have the “folded over” section of the tube (which will be the handle) be 5-6″ long with about 8″ of loop hanging out the end. Once you have this about right, slap a zip tie around the base of the handle but ABOVE the knot. You don’t want a big bump in your handles from the knot.
6. Tightly wrap duct tape around the handle
7. Fill the tube with the sand or whatever material you chose
8. Once you have the tube filled to your preference or the weight you want, repeat the same process for the other handle

Here’s a quick clip of my first go at it:

All said and done, it actually feels more sturdy and robust than I imagined it would. I won’t be slamming it or being purposefully abusive, but I also don’t feel like I need to baby it for fear of a sand explosion.

It doesn’t have quite the same balance or feel as the real thing and almost certainly won’t have the longevity. Considering the low cost and low effort to build, I would say it’s DEFINITELY worth it if you’re on a bare bones home gym budget or if you want to experiment for a while before dropping a couple hundred bones on the real thing.