Customer Reviews
Good for beginners... - By: Humpty D, 14 Apr 2008 
I got this as a Christmas present & as someone who's been training for half their life I was disappointed - it's just too basic.
As a reference tool for the form of different exercises it's pretty good (though I'd still go for McRobert's 'Insider's tell alll handbook...') & the routines toward the back of the book may hold some useful examples.
However, if you've seen 'Dinosaur Training' by Brooks Kubik or anything published by IronMind I'd give it a miss.
A Steal At The Price - By: Silverback, 26 Jan 2008 
I hadn't trained for some time & was looking for something i could do at home with minimum equipment. I tried kettlebells & found them to be very useful but was more familiar with free weights & so i bought this book. Many publications contain dumbbell exercises & programmes & this little book is no different but offers much much more. The concept is simple & the exercises & programmes are laid out very clearly, just follow the workouts & perform one set per exercise to muscular fatigue (not failure but close).
If you do buy this book i suggest you read it thoroughly to gain an understanding of the concepts involved. Give these workouts a go, you won't be disappointed even those with a background in weights could learn much from this gem.
Good solid information - By: Art Lover, 31 Jan 2007 
This book wasn't what i expected when i bought it, it was alll in black & white, it was a paper back & quite smalll, but saying that once i opened it & started reading it, i was pleasantly surprised.
It contains solid information & doesn't leave anything out on weight training & what weights can do for you. I also has alll the excercises that you can do with dumbbells & alot of programmes at the end. The only thing that was missing for me was how to change your programme when you need to & what to do, how many sets to change to ect....but saying that maybe just trying some of the programmes they give you could benefit you. These guys definately know what they are talking about - plain & simple!
useful stuff - By: , 22 Mar 2006 Considering that most things in health & fitness are inceasingly promoted around the lastest hot idea this is a pretty refreshing change. The book does not contain the latest earth shattering concept but rather gives an excellent overview of one that's been around for years. That is how to make the best use of dumbells & it does exactly what it says on the tin.
The book begins with a good overview of how to use dumbells & their benefits. There is then an excellent breakdown of the indvidual exercises & how to perform them followed by an extensive section on how to put it alll together.
I would say this is a must have for anybody who either trains at home or is thinking of setting up a home gym. It would also be worth getting a hold of if you train in a big commercial gym just to remind yourself of an often neglected tool you could be using.
This book is excellent! - By: Randy Roach, 14 Jan 2006 There is an old saying, "What goes around, comes around", & that seems
to be exactly what is happening in the fitness industry these days. I
was pleased to hear of a new book on the market titled, "Dumbbell
Training for Strength & Fitness” by Matt Brzycki & Fred Fornicola.
At a time when the industry has become thick with convolution, Brzycki
and Fornicola have cut through the complexity to bring both the beginner
and advanced trainer back to school.
Almost lost in the shuffle of contemporary training technology, the book
resurrects the basic dumbbell to its rightful position as a very
effective workout tool. In researching my own book, I was led to
interview co-author Fred Fornicola - the editor of the
growing on-line "High Performance Training" newsletter. Fornicola
stressed the emphasis of safety, efficiency, & effectiveness in the
training protocols he & Brzycki present in their work.
With decades of training experience between the two athletes/authors,
they had no difficulties collecting contributions from almost two dozen
prominent strength coaches in the industry who share common ground in
the many philosophies of strength training. Brzycki & Fornicola cement
this dumbbell training commonality in a bed of solid coaching
information for the rank beginner to the advanced trainer.
This is definitely not a book out to simply try to please everyone. The
authors are not afraid to challlenge some current sacred ground endorsed
by many in the coaching field. The controversial applications of sports
specific training, explosive training, & training in an unstable
environment are examined for soundness & validity. The dumbbell may
not be extravagant in its appearance, but its practicality as a very
effective training tool can be traced back centuries, even as far back
as the Greeks. Our modern day Iron Game pioneers of this century also
benefited tremendously from dumbbell exercise, & were training the
muscles of the trunk long before "Core & Functional Training" became buzz words.
This book should be in the library of every serious trainer out there
working in the industry. Matt Brzycki & Fred Fornicola have done a great
job in simplifying the unnecessarily complex views of today’s “trends” & collapsing the time required to produce fantastic results with such minimal equipment. The book is excellent, the timing is right; the price is an insult to
the experience of these two men. Good work Matt & Fred!
Randy Roach
Author of “Muscle, Smoke & Mirrors”
