Dumbbell Training for Strength and Fitness [Paperback]

Matt Brzycki (Author), Fred Fornicola (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2006

This is not your conventional how-to book. With an emphasis on safety, it thoroughly covers all aspects of proper strength training while simultaneously debunking certain myths and misconceptions such as explosive training and sport-specific training. The book shows how to perform nearly 50 exercises with dumbbells in a safe and effective manner. Unique to this type of book is the inclusion of more than three dozen dumbbell workouts that have been submitted by approximately 24 strength and fitness professionals from across the USA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: Blue River Press (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976336138
• ISBN-13: 978-0976336136
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Weight Training
  • #77 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Coaching > Training & Conditioning

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than a book on dumbbell training, February 24, 2007

By 

Marc1000 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dumbbell Training for Strength and Fitness (Paperback)

In addition to listing an effective series of dumbbell exercises that work every muscle group, the authors provide important exercise guidelines. They discuss training frequency, how to perform a repetition properly, rest between sets, duration of training sessions and proper order of exercises. This not a generic, bland book- the authors are willing to give their viewpoints on controversies in exercise.

The book includes exercise routines from strength coaches such as Dr. Ken Leistner, Jeff Friday (strength coach for the Baltimore Ravens) and several strength coaches for NCAA division 1 schools.

The book is totally essential for anyone training at home, but will be of a great help to those training in gyms. In fact, some who train at gyms will be tempted to purchase a set of Power block dummbbells (dumbbells that go from 10-130 lbs and take up about 4 square feet) and skip their gym fees. After reading this book, you will gain a greater appreciation of the usefulness and versatility of training with dumbbells.

Get this book! You will not be disappointed.

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get The Book, October 22, 2006

By 

Elliott P. (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dumbbell Training for Strength and Fitness (Paperback)

If your workout employs dumbbells (Powerblocks in my case), this book is a great resource.

Though Brzycki doesn't go into the depth of why HIT works as much as his other books (Maximize Your Training; A Practical Approach To Strength Training), the book does provide a reasonable background on training philosophy as well as rep, set and tempo recommendations.

The gem that sets this book aside from others are the thirty plus workouts from outstanding trainers at the high school, collegiate and professional level from all around the United States. Excellent stuff that will keep any training enthusiast happy for a long time to come.

Bottom line? Buy this book. It's well worth the investment in time, money and your health.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, January 4, 2008

By 

BAGS (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dumbbell Training for Strength and Fitness (Paperback)

There are a couple of "cons" to this book: I agree with previous comments that the photos are too small and not always at the best angle for showing the proper positions. Also, some of the models are wearing oversized T-shirts and sweatshirts that make it hard to see how they are holding their arms, positioning the back, etc. I also agree with the previous reviewer who said the squat in this book is a Bulgarian Squat, not what people would normally do for a regular squat. And the lunge does look like a split squat, not a regular lunge. When a routine in the book calls for a squat, I do a regular squat, not the Bulgarian Squat from the book.

But overall this is a great book, with many great upper body routines, split routines, and specialization routines to choose from. Each routine was sumbitted by a different professional, and I'm enjoying sampling all the different training styles! The routines are short too, which makes it easy to stick with and find time to fit in a workout.