It's hard to believe that nearly 28 years have past since the notion of heavyhands surfaced with a little nudge from me!  I was nearing 50 at the time and sensed that my health care (wellness) really left much to be desired: I had high blood pressure for one thing and the medicines they prescribed then were not as effective as today's. What I had going for me was my long interest in strength training that had started at age 14 with a couple of adjustable York dumbbells and a fervent wish to gain some new muscle for my somewhat undersized frame.  Now in psychiatric practice I had correctly presumed that my recent neglect of the exercise option might not be such a good idea!  I tried in order, biking then jogging until that day when I must have tore my left hamstring.  Like most folks I quit my 'program' in deference to the pain.  Then, one day I happened upon a pair of rusty 5lb cast dumbbells and thought: "I can walk without pain.  Why not shift much of my workload upstairs.  My upper torso could benefit at the same time." 

That was the beginning of an adventure that's marked the years between age 47 and 82! My little 5 pounders soon required replacement and I reasoned things this way.  This exercise makes good sense in terms of the whole body, providing a training stimulus for the entire musculature, including the all important heart pump muscle.  I began putting together a few chapters dealing with the subject of whole body exercise using adjustable, foam-clad, strapped dumbbells and was awarded a USA patent on the idea.

In retrospect, I think hh may have invented itself.  The exerciser's 'physiologic' needs almost etched out the dumbbell's final structure!  Nothing was included that didn't belong, so indeed, nearly 3 decades later they're the spittin' image of their original ancestors!

Len Schwartz