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Other/Mixed Are macebells and clubs good for shoulder health?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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I have 2 sets of clubs (2 and 4.5 lbs), 1 set of 8lb meels, and a 15 & 25lb mace... I use a single 4.5lb club in my "standard" warm up routine almost every time I train.

The rest are fun to play with, but are mostly used seasonally (when it is warm and I can be outside).

For tutorial purposes, I like Paul Taras Wolkiwinski on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZ5oEYfuubNK4dUW8iyTdQ
 
My 6kg macebell turned up today, not as easy as it looks!!

I had to hold it half way up to be able to do a 360

Don't help that im concerned about making a hole in the ceiling!
 
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Gary Wilson said:
Don't help that im concerned about making a hole in the ceiling!
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With good form, your hands are low when the mace is upright in front of you with the head up, and when your hands are high as you move them around your head, the head of the mace is facing down. So you don't need that much clearance above your head.

Of course, depending on the height of the ceiling you do have to be careful not to let your hands get too high when the mace is upright. Think about raising your hands as you tip the head of the mace back over your shoulder (I imagine the head of the mace is an open bowl filled with water and I'm going to spill the water behind me), and lowering your hands as the mace comes back around to center in front.
 
Go light is all I’ll say. I bought a 12.5kg and I can’t do jack with it. I then bought an 8kg and I can do 180s but for extremely low reps and the forearm strain wielding that is quite incredible. I’m no grip slouch either but I am a fool who never listened to folk who said “start very light”.
 
Kev said:
Go light is all I’ll say. I bought a 12.5kg and I can’t do jack with it. I then bought an 8kg and I can do 180s but for extremely low reps and the forearm strain wielding that is quite incredible. I’m no grip slouch either but I am a fool who never listened to folk who said “start very light”.
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I would suspect a technique issue more than a strength issue. With maces and clubbells, it's more about steering and managing the momentum of the mace/club. You only want to be tight, gripping tightly, and exerting force when you have good leverage. When you have bad leverage (the mace/club has the good leverage), you want to let the momentum of the mace/club glide through those positions. It's like the float at the top of a kettlebell swing. If you had to just hold the KB up at arm's length in front of you, you might have a problem because your leverage is terrible in that position. But within the dynamics of the swing, that's where you can relax your grip.

Of course, the advice to start light still applies. When you're learning the technique and timing, it's easy to get in bad positions where the mace/club has the advantage.
 
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Ive been doing "choked up" 360s so far, working towards slowly bringing my hands further down, i cant do it at all if my hands are right at the bottom
 
Steve W. said:
BTW, for mace technique, powerlifter Chris Duffin, the inventor of the ShouldeRok (a plate loaded mace), has some really good video content. He comes to mace training more from a direction of mobility/rehab/prehab than using the mace as a traditional training implement, so a lot of his focus is on safe mechanics and safe learning progressions. If you Google videos for "Chris Duffin Shoulderok" a lot of good stuff comes up.
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That's what I use clubs & maces for -- as recovery work, especially after heavy jerks.

I have the Adex clubs (2), arc, and mace.

I like being able to share weights between the different handle lengths.

I also have some 2 lb Indian clubs, but I mostly use those for warm up.
 
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