IT’S IN THE BAG
With DuffleBuff, you get no-frills, versatile workout
AT his Method + Crew Fitness studio on West Calvacade, Aaron Holmes is enticing fitness enthusiasts with a different way of working out.
It’s called DuffleBuff and involves a small duffle bag, sand-filled liners (5, 10 or 20 pounds) and some 280 different exercises he’s created for an energized, muscle-toning workout.
“Anything you can do with a Kettlebell or barbell, you can do with a sandbag, but it’s much more versatile,” said Holmes, a fitness trainer and helicopter pilot who developed
the workout. He recently opened Method + Crew in an old mechanic shop. “I like Kettlebells, but once you’re are done with that particular weight, you have to get another Kettlebell to increase the weight. Here, we can change the weight in 10 seconds.” Along the gym’s main wall, hang empty black duffle bags ready for class. Holmes starts off each student with a 10-pound sand-filled liner,
which is stuffed into a duffle bag. If the weight is too light, a 5-pound sandbag can be added.
His exercises include a “flip and press,” an explosive movement that takes the bag from the floor to an overhead extension. Then there’s “rescue planks” and “shovel swings.”
Because the sandbag shifts as the duffle bag moves, the workout allows core muscles to engage in a way that isn’t typical with traditional barbells, Holmes said. And it’s a great workout for your hands.
“I wanted to find the most effective and no-frills workout system,” Holmes said. “I heard there were military guys doing sandbag workouts with 40-pound bags of sand from Home Depot. So I wanted something that gives you more versatility and isn’t as rigid as traditional weights.”
That’s what caught the attention of Amanda Mark, director of marketing of Droneworks Studios, who has taken DuffleBuff classes nearly every day since the gym opened a month ago.
“I don’t have any self-motivation. I would just get on the treadmill and watch Netflix at my old gym,” she said.
Traditional weights are too rigid for her.
“You need a long bar and a bunch of weights to get a good workout, but with the duffle bag, you can do it all with one thing. And it bends and moves.”
When Holmes initially tried out the DuffleBuff exercises on his wife, Anna Mae Holmes, she lost 13 pounds within three months.
“I told him what I like and didn’t like. We tried a dozen styles of duffle bags and finally found the one that works. I really like the variety,” she said.
An avid outdoorsman, Holmes also offers classes and workshops to help clients train for charity runs, races and backpacking and hiking adventures. The studio will even provide financial sponsorship for the races. Holmes also has partnered with The North Face to provide adventure training and workshops.
His studio also offers kick boxing and yoga classes.
Ultimately, Holmes said, he hopes to teach people ways to get fit so they can go out and enjoy the outdoors.
“I want people to find out this is the kind of place that gets them to places they never thought they could go.”