Dina Enggaard
Dina Enggaard and I met on the first instance via Facebook, and then face to face for an Indian Clubs seminar at Eric Doyle’s, Long Beach Kettlebell Club in 2015. I am delighted to present Dina’s interview and welcome her to the Indian Clubs PEOPLES page. Dina said she was very humbled to be considered for this interview as a relative newcomer.
To my mind, the fact that Dina Enggaard has started swinging Indian Clubs should act as encouragement for other women to follow suit. Indian Clubs were actively used by men, women and children in their heyday, between the 1860s and up to the 1930s.
An introduction of myself is this:-
Dina Enggaard:- I have been a personal trainer since 2004 and my philosophy in training is, that I always want to be a student because there is always more to learn. The more I learn, the better coach I become. I find it interesting to know as many things as possible and enjoy everything from unconventional training, over powerlifting to Mass Suit, Yoga and Feminine Fitness.
Of other things I can share is that my education in fitness are the following Certifications: NASM CPT, CES, HKC, Onnit, Femininfitness, MASS SUIT
Workshops:-
Mace with Rik Brown, Eric Doyle and Melody Schoenfeld, Friskyfitness with Sofie B.
By the way, I really like what you are doing to promote this old-time tool.
When did you start, and what sparked your interest in swinging Indian Clubs?
Dina Enggaard:- My interest was sparked by Rik Brown, who introduced me to club swinging about 2 years ago. I was meeting Eric Doyle from LBKC to learn some kettlebell competition lifts. Rik introduced the Indian Clubs as a warm-up and I was immediately hooked.
I started swinging soon afterwards when my 2lbers arrived from Revolution Clubs. I have to admit I had no idea about what I was doing. Rik Brown connected me with you (Paul Taras Wolkowinski), and suddenly this whole new world of movements and purpose opened up. My inspiration to continue swinging and continue to develop my movements come from the information I see you post on your website and youtube channel. Also, from the private seminar, I was fortunate enough to have with you this past summer in California.
Can you explain why you enjoy Indian Club exercise?
Dina Enggaard:- I enjoy the Indian clubs because they have a life of their own. If you force the movements they just don’t happen.
Because of this I sometimes use the clubs as a stress relief. Looking at the movements themselves, the whole shoulder and upper back, get an excellent workout when swinging clubs. Aside from that, I have been rehabilitating a labrum tear with the clubs, slowly increasing the range of motion. It’s possible because you work with lightweight and the movements can be performed very slowly. So, the reasons for liking to work with clubs are many.
Do you swing Indian Clubs one or two-handed?
Dina Enggaard:- Usually I swing the clubs two-handed, but if I want specifically to work on ROM I swing one-handed. I prefer two-handed, because coordination between my hands has always been a challenge. And the club work help with increasing the coordination.
I have had quite a few comments from women, about using Indian Clubs saying:- “I don’t want to get muscle-bound, I prefer to get toned?”
There seems to be a common misconception among women that you get bulky muscles and start looking like a man if you lift weights. That is not the case! On the contrary physically, fat takes up more space than muscle. So the goal should be to gain and maintain muscle to look smaller. Do I look like a man with bulky muscle mass? I train as hard and often as heavy as I can. I do all the physical activity I can possibly think of, which includes powerlifting, Feminefitness, MASS Suit, Yoga, Kettlebell, Mace and Indian Club work. And just to verify, I deadlift 235lb and bench press 135lb. Indian Clubs are not a heavyweight tool. The ones I’m using in the photos are only 1.5lb. I believe women, in general, can benefit greatly from using the clubs even though they are traditionally mostly used by men. I find that using the Indian clubs helps tighten and tone the shoulders and arms – which I often hear are many women’s trouble zones.
If you were to be cast away alone on a desert island, which pair of Indian Clubs would you choose to have with you?
Dina Enggaard:- If I was left on an island alone, I would choose to bring my 2lb Indians clubs from Rosewater Kinetics. They are heavy enough that they can give a decent workout to my upper body and light enough that I can use them for rehabilitation. They are the clubs I have, I enjoy working with the most.
What are the characteristics of your favourite Indian Clubs?
Dina Enggaard:- I only own 4 sets of clubs so far. Out of those the tuliptree 2lb clubs from Rosewater Kinetics are my favourite. The characteristics I like about them is the length and the way they fall when I swing. The balance of the clubs are great and the end knob fits my hand well. Also, they are having beautiful streaks of pink and brown, so visually they are very pleasing.
In your opinion, what are the benefits of Club swinging for the average person?
Dina Enggaard:- I think the clubs can be of great use to the average person because they are so easy to start with. Even when you don’t know any traditional movements you can still swing and get benefit from them. It’s a great tool because it forces the posterior chain to open up in the upper body. And today many people have rounded and weak shoulders because of too much time in front of a computer screen.
How do you combine Indian Clubs in combination with other training?
Dina Enggaard:- In my opinion Indian Clubs are a tool by themselves and they can easily be incorporated in other types of training as well. As a warmup for Kettlebells, Mace and Bulgarian Bags. They can be used as warmups for Calisthenics and Dance. Really a lot of different things. They could also be used as the last exercise in a traditional shoulder or back workout to tire out the last muscle fibres in the muscles.
Out of all the old books written about Indian Clubs, which one is your favourite and why?
I can’t say I have read many of the old books yet. So far I’m very inspired by yourself and other very proficient Indian club swingers I follow on the internet.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Finally, there is a discussion about specifically Indian clubs and the Mace and how these tools should be used.
It is also my opinion however that development in movement is a good thing, and I personally find great challenge in adding the Indian Clubs to my Yoga movements, they elongate the lever, which makes the movement more challenging. The same for the Mace. I enjoy doing ex. TGU’s with the Mace because it adds a crazy core stabilisation challenge to the movement.
Dina is based in California and was born in Denmark.
