Clubbell Training For Circular Strength: An Ancient Tool for the Modern Athlete

This video is a necessity if you train with clubbells. It is not well produced but it is the only one on basic clubbell training so you need to get it.It is produced very amateurishly; like on a home video recorder. The coach's verbiage is also irritating. It appears he is trying to sound highly technical so he used a lot of ridiculous jargon. He ended up sounding silly. This video needs to be viewed many times, so these defects become annoying.

Good overview, although I have found many of the exercises demonstrated on YouTube. Sonnon presents well, knows his stuff, and provides excellent instruction on form tips and motion for anyone getting started with ClubBells.

Not what I expected I thought more movements would be shown

Another excellent product from the Coach

product was fine, as described

great very helpful dvd . help me to understand clubbell.

After I received RMAX's new Clubbell Training video, I commandeered the TV/VCR so I could watch it through twice. Then I got on the phone and ordered another pair of Clubbells to go with the one I already had. Folks, you have got to see this video before you dismiss the idea of Circular Strength Training, and if you ARE interested in CST, you have got to see this video.The first reason you need to see it: safety issues. Coach Sonnon details proper 'parking' and 'pickup' protocol, and proper hold intervals for the extended isometric positions. It becomes apparent that most 'homemade substitutes' for the clubbell (sledgehammers, baseball bats, Weaver sticks, etc) aren't really suitable for many of the exercises and routines Coach Sonnon demonstrates. That doesn't mean you can't try to substitute something else (ie, plastic baseball bat filled with sand) for a Clubbell, but it is obvious that the Clubbell is the 'best fit' for what Coach Sonnon is doing on the video especially for the 8 ultimate combination exercises at the end of the video.The second reason is to learn how coordinate and focus the breath while using the Clubbells. Pay attention to how Coach Sonnon punctuates the lifts with his breath - it's important to the process because it helps you learn to use the breath to reinforce the body's structures to compensate for the leverage disadvantage. If you don't breathe the proper way demonstrated on the video, your progress will stall out early in your training.Some of the exercises are obvious and intuitive. Some of them are simple and brutal. All of them are harder than Coach Sonnon makes them look. I almost broke my shin the first time I did clubbell swings to shoulder height for reps, and I'm a fairly coordinated person - I wasn't concentrating hard enough and ended up with a huge welt above my left ankle) That drove home the point that Circular Strength Training is potentially hazardous - it is really easy to clobber yourself (and other people) while training. At least it was my shin and not my head. Though some people claim that there is no difference in my case. Anyway...You must concentrate to get the hip-snap into the ballistic drills because the Clubbell seems forgiving at first - you think you can get away with using arm and shoulder power for the lifts to compensate for a lack of lower body drive. But the habit of depending on shoulder strength instead of hip snap and leg drive will cost you when you venture into high rep territory.After a 30-40 minute session of practicing swings, pendulums, cleans-to-order, and 'liberty torch' snatches, my wrists and forearms are always "fried". It is tough but exhilarating and I invariably feel like an initiate into a new order of 'knuckledragging dinosaurs'. Swinging the 15 lb beasts seems to revive some dormant caveman/warrior/baseball player instincts that I hardly ever get to indulge.One caveat - there are no guidelines in the video regarding sets, reps, or intensity, or for setting up a program. Coach Sonnon emphasizes at several points that you should never train to failure (or sometimes, to stop at the last rep before failure), but that's about it. Supposedly the forthcoming book version of Circular Strength Training will contain more concrete details about creating programs and juggling volume, load, and intensity for best results. You can bet that I'll be ordering the book as soon as it becomes available; I also hope to attend a certification seminar in Circular Strength Training to take the practice to 'the next level.'This is really interesting stuff. Just like all the other RMAX videos, there are years of progressive lessons and material to master on this tape. Any student of old time physical culture, combat sports, racket sports, or throwing sports owes it to themselves to investigate Circular Strength Training.My favorite quote from the video: "Clubbells offer no mercy to the aspiring strongman or strongwoman. They also offer no pity to the trainee who uses them incorrectly." Absolutely.

First, I would say that Harold Jones' review of this video is agenda driven and dishonest. The production values in Sonnon's video may not up to Hollywood standards, but they're perfectly fine for an exercise instructional video. Also, most of the info about Indian clubs available on the Internet pertain to the light-weight clubs that were once very popular for exercise. These too are useful tools, but they are NOT the same as the much heavier Clubbells. The techniques for exercising with Clubbells and Indian clubs are very different.Sonnon does a fine job demonstrating the Clubbell techniques. Also, he gives appropriate safety warnings. Where this video falls short is the lack of detailed info about setting up a personal exercise program for the Clubbells. But, this information is available on the Internet. Further, this video will be of no real use unless you have Clubbells to exercise with(or you manage to acquire some HEAVY antique Indian clubs). Clubbells are expensive, only you can determine if they will be a waste of money or a great investment in your quest for achieving a high order of fitness.Sonnon's Clubbells, just like Pavel Tsatsouline's Russian Kettlebells, are not miracle products. You will have to supply the motivation and the drive to use them to their full advantage. Both Clubbells and Kettlebells are excellent tools. Both Sonnon and Tsatsouline are class acts and each has contributed greatly to presenting advanced, truly functional information on physical culture. It's too bad that some of Pavel's fanatic "comrades" feel the need to be dishonest about those they perceive to be rivals to their guru. I'm sure that Pavel would not approve.