Hello,
Has anybody incorporated mace (macebells)/indian clubs training into their routine. If so what have been the results e.g. mass gain/weight loss and strength gains? And what exercises did you use?
Thank You
I have used clubbells . They definitely strengthen the hands and wrists. Not as much as direct work though. I have some experience with light short poles too. They were great for endurance and using all kinds of angles .
If they werenāt as good as direct work would you use them again? Did you feel stronger from using the different angles etc? Thank you
For sure they are more entertaining for one. Itās hard to say but you can move about and practice your footwork etc. To be fair you can use them for high rep pronations etc too. You could even hit a punchbag with them
I do a niche hobby Powertwisters now so I need heavy specialisation for the wrists occasionally.
I remember seeing ads for macebells in martial arts magazines or articles with some martial artists who promoted them but like most things that are promoted as some secret key to success, they are not miracle workers. In my experience, they can provide some benefit but they donāt compare to so called traditional barbell work.
What I found was that they helped with shoulder mobility and maybe maintaining posture while grappling. But I wouldnāt think of replacing squats, cleans, presses and pulling movements with barbells with macebells. I also believe kettlebell swings provide more benefits than macebells. I definitely notice a difference if I donāt do swings for a while but if I donāt use my macebell for a while I donāt notice that Iām missing something.
Hi Zecarlo,
Thank you. I personally feel the same way. I was planning to stick to the basic compound barbell movements. I use kettlebells and sandbags for additional exercises. Iām finding these less taxing on the body than several barbell exercises in addition to my MMA/BJJ training.
But I am considering using of macebells for āotherā non-specific exercises, with my intention being to focus on joint stability/mobility etc.
Do you have a macebell routine? Also how do you decide whats the best weight to use initially - i.e. 6kg to much (options from strength shop are 3,6,9,12 and 15Kg macebells).
I just swing it around my head. Iāll use a two handed grip and a single hand grip. I know there are other ways to use it but I donāt see many of them as being productive if you are doing standard barbell movements. I mean, why squat with a macebell when you get more from that movement when using a barbell. I have used it like a sledgehammer on a tire.
The weight stamped on it has rubbed off and I donāt remember what it was. The thing is that weight alone doesnāt tell you everything as the length of the implement plays a role in how difficult it will be to swing. Mine is on the heavy side but it is shorter which makes it easier to use that weight. If it were longer I might need to use a lighter one. I chose this particular one because it has a thicker handle than most macebells.
1 Like
Some people report a nice boost for some grappling/throwing related moves.
The movement should be felt mainly in shoulders and lats by the way. The way youāre working both muscles at the same time, the loading, stretching, balancing, the rom, itās just very peculiar.
Iād say itās roughly comparable to a kettbell swing in terms of general usefullness.
Since this is a combat sports forum, it depends on the discipline.
For Taekwondo, the kb swing is probably unparalleled while the mace is basically useless.
For boxing itād be almost the opposite.
Hi Reichsritter,
Is there particular exercises you feel are beneficial for either BJJ or Boxing?
Thanks
Boxing -weāre talking mainly punching power here- is actually fairly difficult to improve through weights. Strength endurance? Sure, but getting a more powerful punch is complicated.
After getting in your newbie gains you have to assess strategically: whatās going to be easiest to improve in the chain? A punch is a very misunderstood motion, by both expert trainers, gymbros and oldschool coaches.
And the sport itself isnāt very friendly towards muscle building because itās so cardio oriented. On top of that thereās important prehab against the slouched shoulders/kyphosis.
Still wanna push weights now?
For most boxers, weighted chins (various grips) plus forearm & neck exercises would give you the best bang for your buck.
Benching more than 1.25xbodyweight will have almost zero effect. Legs, as much as some idiots might wanna tell you, are almost irrelevant.
It takes both very good coaching and planning to improve punching power systematically and it involves a lot of detail and individual analysis.
BJJ: Iād say itās pretty basic here. Cycle one core push, pull and posterior chain movement. Isolate 1-2 weak spots. Thatās it.
There is not much āfunctionalityā to be chased like with boxing (as in specific muscles or movements directly applying here) save for one: the ass. Use deadlifts, hip thrusts, RDLs whatever works for you to build a set of powerful excape glutes.
For instance:
Superset Floor Press with Bent Over Rows. warmup, ramp it up until your typical 3-5 worksets, everything is explosive and low rep.
Then heavyass hip thrusts for 6-10. Some abstuff and maybe one more isolation exercise.
1 Like