Although I train mainly with calisthenics, I do have a few
pieces of equipment I turn to regularly, usually to spice up conditioning workouts, for example I'm a big
fan of kettlebell training, especially because of its emphasis on working the
posterior chain which is often overlooked, but I'll come back to that another time... Because recently a different type of training caught my
eye – steel mace training. Just like kettlebells steel maces aren’t a new thing, in fact they are thought to have been used as long ago as during the Persian Empire as a method for training warriors
and soldiers.
So what’s the idea behind mace training? The mace is effectively a concentrated weight at one end of a bar. It can be used for any number of
standard exercises (deadlifts, bent over rows, military presses etc) to give a
unilateral emphasis, however this equipment truly shines when used for its more
uniquely designed exercises. These are designed to work rotational strength and
improve joint stability.
Here are a few of the possibilities;
·
360, barbarian squat, paddle swing.
So now you know what they are and a little bit of what do with them, next to
decide is what weight to start with? From what I've found, standard sizes seem to range from about 3kg (7lbs) up to a
heaviest of 11kg (25lbs). I know what you’re thinking and I thought exactly the
same, so what did I do? I went and bought the heaviest one straight
off, an 11kg. I mean I don’t claim to be overly strong but when I train with KBs 32kg is
my usual choice for most conditioning work, so I figured I could handle a
measly 11kg. Boy was I wrong. After my first workout attempt I was extremely humbled. With the design of the mace, it becomes more
challenging to wield the further you hold it from the weighted end. Also with a
double hand grip exercises are harder the closer your hands are together. So at the moment, as you can see in the video, my grip is pretty close to the weight...
Steel mace training has provided a fresh challenge to my workouts and there's an array of benefits to be gained from the unique movements it encourages, why not give it a shot yourself? My advice for starting out - if you’re relatively fit go for a
6 or 8kg mace. As described above, if you start to feel it get easy, you can make the exercises more
challenging by simply holding the mace further from the weight. If your not convinced, a great
alternative to splashing out straight away is to try using a small bar bell with weights on only one end. Just make
sure it’s safe and securely fastened before you start swinging it around!
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