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 the underlying research and development, energy used, and calories burned. Both books are readily available in libraries or on the used book market. Chapter two of the second book, “Why Do Heavyhands Walk?”, by itself justifies 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 fast enough pace to get any real fitness benefits. Research has shown that carrying weights increases the workload. The problem here is that significant weight addition is needed to get to desired work levels. This led to the conclusion that part of the problem was because the lower body was expected to do most of the work. The muscles of the upper body represented an underutilized resource.

This led to the invention of Heavyhands. The first heavy hands were small 2- to 5-pound dumbbells. By employing large hand and arm movements combined with upper body flexion, benefits comparable to running, swimming, or rowing can be obtained. All of 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 exerciser’s grip. Flying weights take something away from the carefree enjoyment of group exercise. Long 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 for quick adding and changing of weights. 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 intensity level.

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