Clubbell Training for Circular Strength: An Ancient Tool for the Modern Athlete (Paperback)

~ Scott Sonnon (Author) "The most ancient weapon, the club, evolved over millennia into a devastatingly effective martial arts tool worldwide..." (more)
Key Phrases: clubbell training, inward pendulum, circular strength, Shoulder Park, Performance Breathing, Shock Absorption (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a must read... Follow Clubbell Training for Circular Strength and you will have a crushing grip ... physically, mentally, and spiritually." -- Grant Hansen, RENEGADE TRAINING INTERNATIONAL

"...resurrecting old exercise philosophies and obtaining significant gains in cardio conditioning, muscle tone and strength... Slavic Retro Fitness Craze" -- Marty Gallagher, WashigtonPost.com (February, 2003)

"Clubbells for totally awesome forearms" -- Muscle Media magazine (March, 2003)

"If you have interest in developing absolutely unique program to your body and "practice" this book should be required reading." -- Ken Harper, RKC

Product Description

"Remove the weak links in your strength and performance with the most universal and oldest known method for Combat and Sport Specific Physical Preparedness" - Coach Sonnon, USA National Coach, Master of Sports, Author of Clubbell Training for Circular Strength.

In his book Coach Sonnon presents an exhaustive explanation on his Philosophy of Strength and the principles of Circular Strength Training, including how to create personal programs, design specialized programs as well as including many general strength as well as sport specific programs.

Coach Sonnon developed a training methodology called Circular Strength Training, which uses full-range, multiple-joint movements as the core exercises of his programs. In execution he sought to augment acceleration, agility, coordination, speed, extreme range strength, dynamic flexibility, deceleration, and mental toughness. Not only do such exercises have tremendous carry over value to all sports, they also afford an athlete of any age (male or female) the opportunity to attain their genetic potential. Coach Sonnon's unique training and research evolved a tool crafted for the purpose of Specific Physical Preparedness, which Girevik Magazine named "the Holy Grail of athletic preparation." Coach Sonnon created a device simple and easy enough for novices and challenging enough for elite. After many years and several generations of research & development, Coach Sonnon finalized a design. In 2002, he released the flagship of the Circular Strength revolution - patent pending Clubbells. Learn about Clubbells, Circular Strength Training, and much more from the book of the master and designer, Coach Sonnon.

240 pages, illustrations, diagrams and photographs:

Historical Chapter, The Philosophy of Strength, The Genesis of Circular Strength Training, The Principles of Clubbell training for Circular Strength, Strength Development Trinity, Total Body Strength, Rules of Clubbell Training for Circular Strength, Clubbell Training Exercises, Clubbell Training for Circular Strength Program Design Guidelines, Clubbell Training for Circular Strength Program Samples, Beginning Programs, Strength Programs, Endurance Programs, Power Programs, Advanced Programs, Combination Routines, Tactical & Combative Strength Programs, Sport Specific Strength Programs, and much more…

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: RMAX.tv Productions (January 10, 2003)
• ISBN-10: 0971794928
• ISBN-13: 978-0971794924
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,448,308 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read on ClubBells, February 11, 2006

By	RobBert (Lexington KY) - See all my reviews

I purchased the book after picking up 2-15lb clubbells. I have a bad shoulder sometimes and wanted to work on my rotation strength. This book provides a good deal of exercises that engage the clubs, and I've found them to be engaging and depending on the amount of reps, very difficult. I'd initially dismissed ClubBells as another fad, but I've seen some nice gains in my strength in my bad shoulder, and have improved my rotation nicely.


The book also includes several different types of sport specific workouts, helping one custom tailor their workouts.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good content but where was the proof-reader?, September 10, 2003

By	Roy W. Houston (Coldwater, MS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As far as content goes, this book really delivers. Exercise instructions are clear and concise. Includes many sport specific routines as well; something many similar books leave out... until you purchase their "other" book. NOTE: This is not for body builders. This book is more about improving personal wellness through conditioning, flexiblity, and supplemental strength building.

Now that bad parts. I lost count on the number of grammatical errors in this book. The editor obviously never bothered to proof read the book. Perhaps the most glaring error is a warning in the exercise section to "learn all safety guildelines in chapter 7 before beginning". Unfortunately the safety guidelines are found in chapter 9, not chapter 7. Most errors are just annoying, but in a few places the errors make understanding the content very difficult.

Also, the photos are rather small, but more disappointing is that they are highly dithered images (in other words, image quality is rather poor).

I still give it 4 stars for content. Maybe they'll clean it up for the second edition.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An instant Classic on the subject of Club Training, February 3, 2003

By	Tom Black (USA) - See all my reviews

This book delivers much more than the title suggests. The book is a modern update to the ancient exercise of club swinging. If you think, however, that author Scott Sonnon is suggesting the use of small 3-pound clubs used at the turn of the last century you are mistaken. All of the exercises in the book are performed with one 15-pound club in each hand, and the back of the book advertises 5, 10, 20, 25 and 45-pound clubbells (Scott Sonnon's modern update of the Indian club). More than just a book on the use of clubs, Sonnon starts with a fascinating and in-depth history chapter, which not only outlines the history of club swinging but other types of leverage exercises. Sonnon deftly links the commonality between clubs and the training of the old time strongmen, old time bodybuilders, wrestlers and strength enthusiasts of today.

Sonnon's next chapter is one on the philosophy of strength. Sonnon describes this philosophy as "transcending the physical - strength of character, strength of will, strength of spirit, strength of resolve." With this one chapter Sonnon explains the deeper meaning of strength training in general and club training in particular. This is what makes the book much more than just a club-training book.

Sonnon next devotes two full chapters to how he developed the clubbell and general principles of strength training. Sonnon makes a strong case for training with clubbells, discussing endurance, agility, coordination, power and performance breathing. Some of the ideas presented may even be new to some serious students of strength training since they reflect Sonnon's background in the Martial arts.

To top off all of the excellent chapters discussed above, Sonnon then devotes the remaining chapters to in-depth study of clubbell exercises and training programs. Even simple exercises are shown with at least two pictures, and complex exercises are profusely illustrated with four to six photographs. The descriptions of the exercises are concise and in bullet form. They not only include the movement of the club, but also describe the proper breathing during the exercise and how the muscles should be contracted (which is not necessarily obvious to a beginner without the clear description Sonnon provides). The training programs connect all of the exercises together and vary depending on the goals of the individual.

I have a large collection of strength training books going back to the late 1800's and this is certainly one of the best!