Sourcing natural gym equipment for functional training - a gym designer’s review of the leather Bulgarian Bag

What is natural gym equipment?

First up, let’s establish what we mean by this term ‘natural gym equipment’ as it can be interpreted in various ways. To get there we need to establish the wider context of a fitness industry with generally little concern over its use of man-made materials and low-grade fillers that contain harmful toxins known as VOCs that off-gas over time, lowering the indoor air quality in a gym.

Sustainable gym equipment remains a rarity today, there is much work to do as an industry but in the meantime, to focus on the positive, we aim to support brands like Suples making an effort with natural materials.

the path to sustainable gym equipment

Most man-made materials containing plastic and chemicals are hard or impossible to recycle, meaning there is no ‘circularity’ in most gym equipment, It will, one day, end up in landfill.

Circular economy materials do less harm to the planet during their production and end-of-life reuse phase, they are also likely to be better for the people coming into contact with them during their extensive ‘use’ phase as they contain less harmful chemicals, making them healthier for people and planet, for us and the environment.

There is change afoot in the sustainable gym equipment space but it is patchy and painfully slow process.

For example, we support a brand like SportsArt with their eco-friendly equipment that generates a modicum of electricity for each piece of cardio machine in use, enough to charge a smartphone say, but we would really expect to see that brand take a more comprehensive, 360-degree view of their sustainability strategy that includes less single-use plastic in the products and a more circular approach to their materials, rather than focusing exclusively on energy use during the in-use phase.

Are they making the products in a sustainable way or offering end-of-life buy-back schemes for example? We fear not.

It would be a logical next step for SportsArt to carry out a full Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of their equipment to pin down its overall lifetime impact on the environment, including production and end of life phases, not just the in-use phase.

Full transparency is clearly wanting in the fitness industry and for us when selecting gym equipment for gym clients, we have to take what we can get in terms of positive change, natural materials, a manufacturer’s corporate sustainability plan and so on.

Rant over.

the suples bulgarian bag - a true example of natural gym equipment?

Suples, like many brands in fact, straddle these two worlds in that they make cheaper versions of the Bulgarian Bag model finished in a less than perfect vinyl, as well as a canvas version (better) and a premium leather version (best).

The bags are supplied ready-filed with sand and wool. As there are no product declarations available, we have to assume this is the full picture, on the filler at least.

We would love to see an ingredient list from this manufacturer in future, to offer more transparency in this regard.

The vinyl material is not suitable for an eco gym, or a natural gym equipment selection but does have merits for outdoor use as it is more weather resistant than the canvas and leather options.

As ever when it comes to sustainability, there are hard choices to be made - is it better to encourage a gym user to exercise outdoors with a Bulgarian Bag even if it is made of vinyl (containing single use plastic, and therefore made of petroleum)? The answer clearly is, ‘yes, assuming no better alternatives exist’.

For now therefore, adopting a strict green procurement policy as one might in a sustainable building or healthy building product selection process, is almost impossible for gyms. This is the harsh reality.

What functional training is the Bulgarian bag used for?

First up, this is an awkwardly shaped piece of gym equipment, and deliberately so.. but do not be deceived, it is also incredibly practical! When placed across the shoulders it replicates the sensation of carrying a four-legged animal back to camp, or of carrying a child on one’s shoulders perhaps.

Along with the ‘farmer carry’ position load held in each hand with straight arms, this has to be one of the most functional resistance exercises out there, bar none.

Where it gets really interesting with the Bulgarian Bag from a natural gym perspective though is in the myriad other functional fitness and wrestling inspired movements it facilitates thanks to its various grip handles.

Stuck for inspiration on how to use it? Worry not, the Suples team have a video for that. In fact, they are big on training videos, some of them filmed on location on a farm in Bulgaria - how could it be any more authentic than that?

Durability and quality

We sourced several bags for the natural fitness studio we designed in Calgary, Canada via the Suples Canada distributor. This is an indoor studio so there were no fears of damage from being left outside., We even had dojo mats for flooring meaning the bags had a perfect gym environment in which to be tried and tested.

Reports are they have lasted well with no visible damage or aging. That doesn’t meant they won’t eventually show signs of age, especially in commercial gyms where they are going to be treated with less respect than a group fitness studio.

In such circumstances, we have seen the leather start to fray and the coloured handles in particular start to degrade but we believe this was after 3-5 years of heavy use.

Given that the price point per bag is around Eur 150 - 250 this is a solid performance. It’s not going to last forever clearly but if you look after it right, it could well give you a decade of use with no troubles at all.