If the same distance were covered on sand, the men would have burned 198 calories while the women would have burned 168 calories. The increase in stabilizer muscle recruitment combined with a decrease in elastic element activity can lead to a dramatic increase in mechanical work demand. Separate research from 2013 found the energy expenditure to be roughly 30 percent greater in soccer players performing speed and conditioning workouts on the sand versus hard surfaces.
Sand training is also an extremely effective tool for increasing speed and agility in athletes. A study published in the Sports Medicine and Doping Studies Journal tested two groups of athletes in two separate agility tests, the T Drill Agility test and the 505 agility drill. Each group was then taken through 10 weeks of three times per week training. The only differences in training were one group performed all of the training exercises on solid surface while the other group performed the exercises on sand.
After 10 weeks of training, the hard training surface improved their T test time from 15.1 seconds on average to 14.4 seconds on average, for a .7-second improvement. The sand training group significantly improved their T test time from 15.3 seconds to 13.2 seconds for a 2.1-second improvement. That is nearly a 14 percent improvement in agility over a 10-week time period. The sand training group also made significant improvements in the 505 agility test, while the hard training surface group’s results were minimal.
In a 1982 Sports Illustrated article, NFL great Walter Payton was asked about his off-season training, which included a high volume of sand training workouts. Payton believed it was the constant adjustments required for successful sprinting and cutting in the sand that were major contributors to his speed, agility and low rate of injury. Researchers believe the sand increases the neuromuscular demand on the body. The instability of the surface creates repeated losses of balance, which in turn forces the stabilizer muscles throughout our body to work synergistically in order to maintain balance.
Countless professional athletes have followed Payton. Year after year, athletes from NFL, NBA and NHL all-stars to Olympic hopefuls and college stars make their way out to Manhattan Beach California for off-season workouts at the famous sand Dune Park. Division I college football teams, including Michigan, Oregon, Ohio State, Miami, Penn State and Georgia Southern, have all installed sandpits to enhance the speed, agility and overall athleticism of their athletes. Some high-performance strength and conditioning centers and CrossFit boxes have also begun utilizing sandpit training.
A study from the Journal of Sports Medicine had two groups of athletes train three times per week for four weeks. One group trained on sand while the other trained on grass. The group that trained on the sand saw significantly greater improvements in their squat jump compared to the grass-training group. Not only did the group training on the sand see better athletic gains, but they also incurred less muscle damage in the process.
In 2003 a research team out of Japan set out to determine the differences in muscle breakdown and soreness between jumping in the sand and jumping on solid ground. The researchers found significantly less muscle breakdown and associated soreness when jumping on the sand.
Training in the sand is also a great way for decreasing the risk of injury in the lower extremities. For example, the instability of the sand increases the demand on the small muscles that stabilize the ankle. This in turn strengthens those muscles, leading to a more stable joint. The same results can be seen in the knee and hip joints when training on the sand. It is for these reasons that some doctors and physiotherapists recommend their patients to incorporate sand walking or jogging into the final stages of their recovery.
If you are interested in a training method that significantly increases caloric expenditure and athleticism while decreasing muscle damage and the risk of injury, the answer may lie just below your feet. As the weather improves, shake up your workout schedule and give sand training a try.
Jason Shea is owner of Athletic Performance Enhancement Centers in Medway and a strength coach and adjunct professor at Dean College in Franklin. He has a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s in human movement. Contact him at jason@apec-s.com or 508-533-9005.
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