Clubbell Training for Circular Strength: An Ancient Tool for the Modern Athlete Paperback – January 10, 2003

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.

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.

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!

[Excerpt from my online review.]I was turned on to what is so appropriately called "Circular Strength" by Scott Sonnon. Circular Strength "comprises Multi-planar movements which develop rotary and angular/diagonal strength to assist the prime movers." (RMAX.tv) Scott Sonnon is the authority on body movement, harmony, and circular strength, and he used a great tool called the Clubbell. I saw Clubbells for what they are ... a perfect tool for gaining strength and power in extreme ranges of motion while also working my grip, stabilizers, and helper muscles. They're pretty damn fun to use too! Adding Sonnon's way to my own philosophies and those of Renegade Training (wheel of conditioning), I am leaving very few holes unfilled.Now let's not confuse the term "Circular Strength" with circular movements. Although some exercises with the Clubbell form circles, figure eights, etc., think of Circular Strength moreso in terms of having strength throughout a full range of multi-planar motion. In other words, strength in all directions from all positions.Wanting to learn more about the Clubbell, I spent my nights reading Scott Sonnon's latest book, Clubbell Training for Circular Strength: An Ancient Tool for the Modern Athlete. I was very pleased that this wasn't just a how-to manual, but also an in-depth history of the evolution of the Clubbell both as weapons and training tools (known in the past as Indian Club, meel, bulava, etc.), and the strongmen who used clubs in their training. While many strongmen of yesteryear were known for the enormous loads they could hoist, they used club training to not only help with their overall strength, but also to help make them more complete athletes. Wrestlers in particular were fond of club use, and it's not difficult to see that any modern-day martial artist should use a Clubbell to help make himself a complete fighter. In addition to increased strength in various positions, imagine a crushing grip that would aid in any submission hold!In Clubbell Training for Circular Strength you'll also learn the trials and errors Coach Sonnon went through which led to the current design of his Clubbell. Some of these implements required extreme caution just to pick up, let alone hurl around. I was excited to see that Sonnon also goes into his training philosophies, details his Training Hierarchy Pyramid™ (a great way to build your wheel of conditioning), and mental toughness. Finally, after you've gained respect for the Clubbell and its history, Sonnon concludes with tips on how to design your own program to achieve your goals, whether you're a martial artist, a soccer goalie, or a golfer.Clubbell training is amazing for any athlete serious on becoming the complete package. Clubbell Training for Circular Strength will help you learn the movements, understand the philosophy, and help you focus mentally on tuning your wheel. I recommend it highly as well as his video which details the movements in motion.