Health Fitness

Heavyhands Walking by Leonard Schwartz – Book Review

Heavyhands Walking, which is walking while vigorously pumping or swinging small hand weights, was introduced in the 1980s in Dr. Schwartz’s first book, “Heavyhands: The Ultimate Exercise,” published in 1982. Five years later, Rodale Press published the follow-up book. , “Heavyhands Walking,” which focused more on walking exercises and expanded discussions of underlying research and development, energy used, and calories burned. Both of these books are readily available in libraries or on the used book market. Chapter two of the second book, “Why Do Heavyhands Walk?”, alone warrants the purchase of this book.

The author begins with an agreement that walking is good exercise. The downside is that few people can or will walk at a pace fast enough to get any real fitness benefits. Research has shown that carrying weights increases workload. The problem here is that a significant addition of weight is needed to get to the desired work levels. This led to the conclusion that part of the problem was due to the lower body being expected to do most of the work. Upper body muscles represented an underutilized resource.

This led to the invention of Heavyhands. The first heavy hands were small 2-5 pound dumbbells. By employing extensive hand and arm movements combined with upper body flexion, benefits comparable to running, swimming, or rowing can be achieved. All this with walking, an activity available to a wide range of ages, body types and fitness levels. As an added bonus, walking was an activity that required no special skills or instruction.

The use of small dumbbells had some disadvantages. There was a potential safety hazard if the weights slipped from the grip of the exerciser. Weights flying through the air take something away from the carefree enjoyment of group exercise. Prolonged periods of use can cause hand cramps. The problem was solved with specially designed handles with a strap to go across the back of the hand.

The design also provided other benefits. The first was psychological. The new handles felt better and with the addition of the padded hand strap they just looked and felt great. The new design also included threads at the end of the handles to allow weights to be added and changed quickly. Specially designed Heavyhands weights were made available from two to ten pounds. People with widely varying fitness levels and goals can walk and exercise together, and each person can maintain their own level of intensity.

The book emphasizes that we are not talking about carrying weights. The objective is the total exercise of the whole body. Pick up a copy of this book from any of the major online bookstores. The weights are again available online and in sporting goods stores. A quick search will take you to the source for everything you need. Start. Get healthy.