The Heavyhands Walking Book

Rating:
Summary: an update
Review: Five months after starting the Heavyhands program again, I've lost 36 pounds, converted another 5 to 10+ pounds from body fat to lean muscle, lost 7" off the waist, and have normal blood pressure (it was about 155 over 100 last summer), without having taken any medication. Frankly it feels like a new lease on life. It's nice to be able to wear some clothes that haven't fit for years. The workouts continue to gain in intensity and there have been no injuries at all for the last several weeks. The weather has been wet, icy at times, dark and cold, and exercising indoors has been the only viable option.

I remain convinced that this is the best program for weight loss and improvement in overall physical fitness.

Rating:
Summary: an update
Review: Five months after starting the Heavyhands program again, I've lost 36 pounds, converted another 5 to 10+ pounds from body fat to lean muscle, lost 7" off the waist, and have normal blood pressure (it was about 155 over 100 last summer), without having taken any medication. Frankly it feels like a new lease on life. It's nice to be able to wear some clothes that haven't fit for years. The workouts continue to gain in intensity and there have been no injuries at all for the last several weeks. The weather has been wet, icy at times, dark and cold, and exercising indoors has been the only viable option.

I remain convinced that this is the best program for weight loss and improvement in overall physical fitness.

Rating:
Summary: it's excellent
Review: For those who love fitness walking but want to go for a more strenuous workout, this is well worth a try. He explains in precise detail the mechanics of his system of panaerobics, which is designed to exercise all muscle groups at the same time, while providing thorough cardiovascular benefits. For those who (like myself) have a tough time with the mechanics of racewalking, and can't walk much beyond 4 miles per hour, this additional regimen can take you to a higher plateau of fitness. When I was doing this a few years ago (before my daughter was born), it helped reduce my pulse to the high 40s. I'm back at it again, and have thus far reduced my pulse from 87 to 60. It has also helped to reduce my systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 10 points each, to lose 24 pounds in 3 months, and to take 5 inches off the waist. It takes a bit of getting used to, and like any other form of strength/muscle resistance training should be used gradually. Just imagine walking briskly and pushing 2 1/2 lb. hand weights up and down from shoulder height to above your head with your arms fully extended (like engine pistons at work) for 5 minutes, then continuing to walk using 6 or 7 successive and varying movements. You achieve high-intensity exercise with low weights in a very efficient amount of time. (...)

Apart from all that the author's writing style is very readable. The book has several diagrams to show exactly how the system works. The author was 65 at the time of publication and had a pulse of 35 and superior conditioning by any standard. There is a full chapter devoted to working out indoors with these exercises, which offers an advantage over conventional walking which is dependent upon weather to some extent. The author claims to be able to keep in excellent shape while watching TV in his hotel room when on vacation. I tried a session of indoor medley exercises due to a mild foot sprain which made normal walking too uncomfortable. Including some weighted punch and kicks, lateral flings, high pump and walk on the spot, cross punching, swooping, knee dipping, double ski poling, some modified ab crunches, and some forehand to backhand figure eight arm swings, 55 minutes was absolutely exhausting. The author does not recommend workouts of that length at first - more like 15 minutes - but this continuous varied movement gives every muscle group some work and an intense aerobic workout. I've been burning close to 1,000 calories per hour. It was at least as strenuous as the Level 2 weighted walking, without causing further foot injury. Once you get comfortable with this system, you can modify it to suit your preferences and needs.

This book is highly recommended, although as the author points out at the start, anyone wanting to try it should check with their physician first as a precaution. I checked with two of them and both gave the fitness program their professional approval; and furthermore, they are very satisfied with the results obtained thus far.

Rating:
Summary: some more information
Review: I hope readers will not object to an additional posting on this book.

The 5-minute fitness test recommended by the author, for all intents and purposes, consists of walking for 5 minutes at 120 strides per minute while pumping 1-pound handweights to what he describes as Level 2; ie, from the hand's position when the arm is extended down, two feet up from there - for many people around the shoulder joint - and back. Each arm is doing 60 upswings and downswings per minute in the same pace as the legs. After 5 full minutes, immediately take your pulse for 6 seconds, and multiply the rate by 10. In the author's view, less than 90 is excellent, 90 to 110 is good, 110 to 130 is low average, 130 to 150 is fair, and over 150 is poor. Apart from giving a yardstick to measure fitness level, it helps to decide what sort of exercise intensity is appropriate, depending on how comfortable or uncomfortable the test was. I finally tried this test today and scored 110, without breaking a sweat.

It is relatively easy to get into this exercise regimen for the first time, and as I found hard the hard way, it is not hard to pick it up again after getting sick. I was unable to work out for 10 days due to a cold and sinus infection, after 3 days I was able to resume exercise at the same intensity. I felt a little sore only the first day. The author is strongly opposed to attempting heavy aerobic exercise during illness, and I agree with him.

Dr. Schwartz recommends working out in time with your favourite music; he's tried just about everything from reggae to Vivaldi with success. I have been working out indoors due to heavy rain and played through over 3 sessions a complete performance of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier on DVD. Apart from enjoying an outstanding musical experience, the waltz rhythms proved to be ideal accompaniment.

This program also encourages personal experimentation; I have added some routines that are not in his book and revised some of them to suit my preferences. Over the last several weeks I have not done exactly the same workout twice, and have been comfortably adding variety, duration and intensity without injury. Some exercises which I could not do at the beginning - such as the fold in the bellyaerobics - are manageable now. Combined with a low-fat diet, and the steady increase in intensity, I am now losing weight rapidly. My wife is also trying some of these routines and she claims to be feeling better. She is definitely looking better.

At the risk of repetition, on page 5 the author in a typically bold graphic lists all of his program's advantages, being: most varied aerobics, fewer injuries, ideal for any age, promotes strength, feels easier, lowers the heart rate, fun movement, can be done indoors or out, inexpensive [hell it's dirt cheap by today's standards], enhances flexibility, super sports trainer, easy for beginners, convenient and portable, more total exercise, swiftest calorie loser, produces sculpted look, and trains more muscles. I concur from experience all of the foregoing except for the sports training, and would add that it reduces stress by providing a healthy outlet for nervous energy, helps you sleep better, aids in digestion and elimination (due to increases in metabolism), makes you look and feel younger, increases self-confidence, and gives you an extraordinary amount of energy to make every other activity easier and often faster. In fact, the time invested in this exercise is recovered by the gains made the rest of the day.

I cannot state strongly enough that anyone who is interested in this form of exercise should try it, with the prior approval of a physician. It may well add years to your life and will definitely add life to your years. The author completed this book at age 65 in 1990 and remains 11 years later in magnificent shape.

Rating:
Summary: some afterthoughts
Review: I hope the reader will not object to my presenting some additional commentary on this book. Roughly, the book consists of an introduction to the system, its justification, the fitness-level test, descriptions of arm strokes, leg strides, back-emphasis movements, medleys, indoor suggestions; then applications for fast walking, running, and extra strength; then walk dancing, cross training for sports, abdominal-emphasis, weight control, group format walking, techniques for those over 50, and several appendices. The author uses a great deal of statistical data and tables to show how many METs (a measure of metabolic energy, with 1 MET equalling the effort expended while resting or around 3.5ml of oxygen uptake per kilogram of weight per minute) are used depending upon the exercise and how it is done. He claims that many who use his system successfully become capable in a few months of exercising at 10 to 12 METs, which equals the aerobic effort of running 6mph and 8mph respectively. These METs are in turn converted to calorie consumption per minute. Many of these exercises are capable of burning 1,000+ calories per hour, in your own home. Some work rates equal or exceed 20 METs.

The author crams a lot of information into sidebars and graphs, which become nearly as substantial as the main text. In spite of the highly technical nature of his data, his book is very readable.

At the risk of oversimplification, the author's premise is that typical aerobic exercise generates 70% to 90% of calorie consumption from the use of specific muscles, normally in the lower torso (running being the most obvious example), which contributes to: frequent injury from overuse of those muscles and the joints which support them; boredom from doing the same thing over and over again; and, limited increases in overall fitness level to the entire body. Dr. Schwartz feels that working out with 4 limbs instead of 2 aerobically at a more moderate pace, with a more equitable distribution of work between them, results in higher overall workloads, fewer injuries, more variety, better crosstraining for other activities (since every muscle group becomes work-capable), faster weight loss for those who need it, and more enjoyment.

To give an example from my own experience, I have done what he calls double ski poling (DSP), using 3-pound weights, in a 4-step motion with both arms starting fully extended up, then going backwards in a 270 degree arc (where they are pointing straight behind you), while leaning forward and moderately bending the knees, then all the way back up again, continuously. Needless to say this has to be done at first with small weights and slowly, to avoid lower back strain. This is a terrific routine for the quads and also helps the back, abdominals and many other groups. Thanks to this exercise, I've been able to incorporate some jogging in place with weighted lateral arm flings at the same time in my heavyhands workouts.

It is the author's opinion that his system offers the best combination, for those who desire it, of strength, muscle-endurance, flexibility and aerobic capacity. Furthermore, trained Heavyhanders can match or exceed the aerobic capacities of distance runners, racewalkers, or cross-country skiers. Best of all, it can be done at modest expense. If you want an intense aerobic workout and to get reasonably strong at the same time, and don't have the time or inclination to go to the gym, don't want to buy expensive exercise equipment, and don't want to exercise outdoors due to inclement weather (where I live, it's raining most of the winter), this is pretty hard to beat.

Rating:
Summary: Best fitness system available today, bar none
Review: If you are at all interested in fitness and have not read this book make THIS one your next purchase. The heavyhands fitness program Dr. Leonard Schwartz describes in this one volume is simply a superior fitness system to anything now on the market or available from a gym membership. We all know about Tae Bo, The Firm and kickboxing. Take the best of each of these workout systems, put them all together and you've got Dr. Leonard Schwartz's recipe for his heavyhands fitness program. His "Heavyhands Walking Book" is written in layman's language yet the science behind the system is clearly spelled out as well. Schwartz has obviously done his homework, and in one sense used himself as the "guinea pig" when developing this program years ago. Just one look at the cover of this book (yup, that's Schwartz!) was enough to convince me this guy was on to something good. As the old TV commercial use to say "Try it, you'll like it!"

Rating:
Summary: Serious, but light-hearted and easy book to understand :--)
Review: Introduces a new word worth knowing: panaerobic. This book has loads of insight to all aspects of well-rounded fitness. You can make the rounds of fitness circles, gyms, equipment, techniques, but will find it difficult to achieve the dramatic results demonstrated in this book - for all ages, for all sports, WOW!