I recently took my Clubbells™ for a test ride out to the field where I run my Basic Training classes. If you think these are just a gimmick, like some of the other things the snake oil salesmen push on the unwary person trying to get in shape, you are sadly mistaken. These are truly no-nonsense fitness tools that are a definite must have for any fitness arsenal! Make sure you check out some of the exercise videos and articles on Scott's site!

Here are the exercises I did in my mini-workout with the Clubbells™:

Bleacher Step-ups: 3 sets of 20

Club Lunges: 3 sets of 15 with each leg

Bleacher Swings: 4 sets of 10 with each arm

To perform Bleacher Step-ups, place the Clubs on your shoulders and step up with your left leg first. Make sure you drive your body up with your hamstrings and glutes, then step up, and place your right foot on the bleacher. Step back down with your left foot and follow along with your right. This is one complete rep! We do these in my classes and they are a good "cardio" addition to all the other strength exercises (like Reverse Bleacher Squats, Bleacher lunges, etc.) that make up the majority of the class work out.

These are done in 4-count fashion and by the end of the 3rd set I was working up a pretty decent sweat.

I saw Club Lunges on Scott's website done by Tom Black and they are awesome! You can check out the movie here: Clubbell Lunges by Tom Black. They take some getting used to, as one of the guys in my class can attest to, but they are defintely worth the effort to learn!

By the time I was done with the Club Lunges, I felt that I was suffiently warmed up to do the Bleacher Swings I had thought about when I first got the Clubbells™. Check out the pictures:

Pic. 1	Pic. 2
Pic. 3	Pic. 4

Picture 1 is the starting swing to get the Clubbell™ moving. Keep in mind that during this entire exercise you are trying to keep your body in an upright position by preventing the Club from pulling you off the bleacher. This is much easier than it sounds! Make sure that when you squat down, you are sitting your butt back (like sitting on the toilet!) and your knees don't go past your toes. Picture 2 is the mid-swing and I used the snap in my hamstrings and lower back to get the Club to this position.

Picture 3 is deceiving because it looks like there is fluid motion between it and the position shown in Picture 4. Notice that my elbow is facing the camera and at this point it takes some considerable effort to keep the Club from swinging over and hitting me in the shoulder. This worked the daylights out of my wrist and forearm! Hold this top position for a split second and then slowly lower the Club. Picture 4 is the ending motion in this exercise and it is done by slowly lowering the Club down.

To finish the exercise, snap the Club up from Picture 4 to the position held in Picture 3 and reverse the swing. When you get back to the position shown in Picture 1, your grip is worked again because you have to control the Club from swinging past the normal range of motion of your wrist.

Remember what I said earlier about keeping your body from twisting to the side and getting pulled off the bleachers? Well, you're using your chest, abs, and lower back to keep your body straight and your entire shoulder to keep the Club in alignment with your body. Add in the quad and hamstring work used to lower your body and snap it to the upright position, and you've got yourself a full-body exercise that kicks your butt!

Don't forget that you do your 10 reps with the right arm and immediately do your 10 with the left done by either turning around or, in the case above, by going to the other end of the bleachers to use my left arm. The rest time is the time it takes to perform the swings with the opposite arm and to switch sides. Believe me, it starts to feel like you're getting no rest by the second and third sets!

I hope you guys like this mini-workout as much as I did! Thanks again, to Scott Sonnon for bringing Clubbells™ to everyone and thanks to all those that have paved the way for for guys like me to expand upon.

Train hard,

Fish

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