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Other/Mixed I made a mace. I'm underwhelmed so far, but I'm probably doing it wrong.

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Tirofijo

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I made a mace using ready-mix concrete, an empty protein powder canister and a 4' x 2" round handle.

I should weigh it but it's probably a little over 15 pounds. It's pretty heavy if am at the end of the handle. It is significantly easier if I choke up on it six inches.

I've been doing 10-to-2s and 360s. First session was really awkward as I learned the movement, and I felt it in my triceps the next day (which probably means I was using my triceps too much.)

I got smoother in the next two sessions and I wasn't sore in my triceps, but I didn't feel like my shoulders were really getting worked hard or in a special way.

I'm going to continue doing easy sessions as a finisher while I get the movement down, but so far I'm not seeing the hype. Maybe with longer sessions that will change.
 
I tinkered around with one I made and also was not very engaged.

Felt as though I would have to pile on a lot of volume or use recklessly heavy load to get a lot of benefit. Have since gone on to do a lot of slower resistance training with offset weighted pole, but using one for ballistics wasn't for me at this point.
 
It's all good until you hit yourself in the a$$ with it ROFL ask me how I know, there is a learning curve for sure..
This is my homemade concoction using spare parts from the shop..
Mace setup.jpg
 
Many very effective therapies are underwhelming in the beginning stages. Pair that with the need for instant gratification that many of us harbor and you will understand a lot about what is at issue with the world.

I don't disagree, and I plan to stick with it for a while.

But contrast it with a kettlebell. The first time I swung a moderately heavy kettlebell I could just 'tell' it would do good things to my body...based on the way the load felt and the effort it took. By the time I got around to snatching one for the first time, I had the same feeling.

With the mace, if it was any heavier then I wouldn't be able to handle it. But the load doesn't feel anything special and I can't immediately tell that it's hitting my shoulders in a unique way (that the hype says will make them bulletproof and stronger.) Again, that may change as I move into longer sessions.
 
Clearly it's a mere flash in the pan.

It's that old and yet the internet seemed to only discover it in the last few years.

Then again, I sure many were questioning the hype around kettlebells in, say, 2001 and saying they didn't see what the big deal was and they were just a fad.
 
With the mace, if it was any heavier then I wouldn't be able to handle it. But the load doesn't feel anything special and I can't immediately tell that it's hitting my shoulders in a unique way (that the hype says will make them bulletproof and stronger.) Again, that may change as I move into longer sessions.

In my short experience with Gada (around 4 months) it is a lesson of fluidity of movement. The "bulletproofing" might be the deep ingrain of shoulder girdle mobility and dynamic stability, and full body integration and rotary stability. For me its about staying relaxed and time the push, breath and pull. When I started one handed swinging everything got really pronounced. I feel the shoulders "work" when I time things badly...
 
I don't disagree, and I plan to stick with it for a while.

But contrast it with a kettlebell. The first time I swung a moderately heavy kettlebell I could just 'tell' it would do good things to my body...based on the way the load felt and the effort it took. By the time I got around to snatching one for the first time, I had the same feeling.

With the mace, if it was any heavier then I wouldn't be able to handle it. But the load doesn't feel anything special and I can't immediately tell that it's hitting my shoulders in a unique way (that the hype says will make them bulletproof and stronger.) Again, that may change as I move into longer sessions.
Great.

There are also those very effective therapies that you can feel will be effective from the start. I can relate to your comparison.

You decided, unsolicited, to report your experience after 3 exposures. And then you seem surprised by contradictory reports from folks with more exposure to the mace.

I’d have recommended the same thing to those who reported after 3 sessions with a KB back in 2001: be patient, learn through your practice.

It might teach you that it’s an ineffective therapy for you. This is ok too.
 
The mace is different. I think the biggest advantage is the feeling of lubrication I get in my shoulders and upper back from the nearly passive phase where it’s swinging behind me. Combined with the odd angle rotational impulse and midline stability, it does really good things for my shoulders and overhead health. As a centerpiece to my training? Probably not, but it’s something I try to pick up every week.
 
Great.

There are also those very effective therapies that you can feel will be effective from the start. I can relate to your comparison.

You decided, unsolicited, to report your experience after 3 exposures. And then you seem surprised by contradictory reports from folks with more exposure to the mace.

I’d have recommended the same thing to those who reported after 3 sessions with a KB back in 2001: be patient, learn through your practice.

It might teach you that it’s an ineffective therapy for you. This is ok too.

I wouldn't say I'm surprised by contradictory reports. I've been very open - to include putting it in the title - that I may be doing something wrong and I need to give it more time.

And I wouldn't even say that the reports have been contradictory - no one has said "really? Cause from the time I first swung it I tell it was a game changer." Instead, people have said 'yeah, I'm not feeling it either ' to 'stick with it' to "its about fluidity or lubrication'.

@Shahaf Levin Yes, being 'underwhelmed' is related to my expectations. I thought I'd feel more activation in the shoulder girdle, either when using it or perhaps the next day. (To be clear lest someone put words in my mouth - I wouldn't judge an exercise's effectiveness solely by DOMS, but sometimes it's a clue toward which muscles were used.) Again, with longer sessions and better technique I might feel that activation.
 
How long are your sessions? My understanding is that palawan training, like the gada, is very high rep. I’ve had a similar reaction to some training ideas because I just do a few reps and compare it to traditional weight lifting. Then I realize that after ten minutes, it probably feels a lot different!

I haven’t made mine yet to play with, but I’ve been wanting to do a DMPM version with gada swings, Hindu squats and push ups. A recent discussion at the DJ forum suggested that the gada is a good complement to the KB, as it target some more the front of the body.
 
How long are your sessions? My understanding is that palawan training, like the gada, is very high rep. I’ve had a similar reaction to some training ideas because I just do a few reps and compare it to traditional weight lifting. Then I realize that after ten minutes, it probably feels a lot different!

I agree, ten minute session are a complete different thing, than traditional weight lifting. Gada/mace/clubs swing developed as part of a culture with a profoundly different philosophy than modern weight lifting (and by historical standards 1912 is modern). We need to remember that when and if we try to compare two methods with such different approaches.
 
I haven’t made mine yet to play with, but I’ve been wanting to do a DMPM version with gada swings, Hindu squats and push ups. A recent discussion at the DJ forum suggested that the gada is a good complement to the KB, as it target some more the front of the body.

I'll might take your idea for DMPM and go full Pahlavan at my next block. So far for the last 4 months I did PMs of Gada + Bent press, Gada + KB swing and now trying to mix all three. Three exercises is allot...

I am not sure Gada targets the front of the body, maybe more than KB work because the rotational movement is bigger, but proper Gada swings are full body movements (see video here). But I get the idea, KB ballistics do load the PC more as the hinge and squat patterns are dominant there.
 
I'll might take your idea for DMPM and go full Pahlavan at my next block. So far for the last 4 months I did PMs of Gada + Bent press, Gada + KB swing and now trying to mix all three. Three exercises is allot...

I am not sure Gada targets the front of the body, maybe more than KB work because the rotational movement is bigger, but proper Gada swings are full body movements (see video here). But I get the idea, KB ballistics do load the PC more as the hinge and squat patterns are dominant there.
Those heavy swings in the video are firing the front of the body very hard I think, along with everything else!
A beast on a stick.. wow!
 
I love mace training and have probably done at least as many mace and clubbell reps over the years as KB reps. The movements just feel very good and natural while I'm doing them and leave me feeling great afterwards. Mace swinging has a tying the body together effect that is great in itself, but also makes it a great complement to other training.

But my main reason for doing any drill is how much I enjoy it, and that's why I do so much mace swinging.

My favorite way to train with the mace is A+A style. I currently have my Strongergrip plate-loading mace loaded with 20lbs of plates for a total weight of about 32lbs. I can do sets of 10 (5 360s in each direction or 5 10-2s, counting both directions as one rep) on the minute pretty much indefinitely, and I'll often do sessions of 60-90 minutes continuously, alternating grips each set. A short session would be 32 minutes/32 sets. After a long session, I feel pumped up through pretty much my entire upper body, but without any burn or particular localized fatigue. I find even very high volumes of mace swinging to be easy to recover from.

My biggest safety form tip is to try to avoid having tension in your triceps when the mace is swinging behind you. Keep your elbows high (separate elbows from sternum) and let you hands drop low behind your head. If you try to resist the force of the mace with triceps tension (like a French press kind of action), you can get some really bad inflammation at the base of the triceps near the elbow. If you use too much triceps and aren't used to swinging a mace, you can also get some crazy DOMS in the triceps at the proximal end.

Mace swinging is all about finding the right rhythm of tension and relaxation to guide and manage the momentum of the mace, never about muscling it.
 
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If you're hitting yourself in the a$$ with it, your mace is too short. You should be hitting yourself in the calf ;-).
Haha thanks for the tip Steve! ROFL
I need more practice with it for sure, I think mine is 42" long, what is the best length to make it? I have some short pipe sections I can add to it.. Possibly I'm not bending the arms enough per your point in the previous post.
 
42" is actually a pretty good size, but at the low end. I have a few different lengths and the one that has the best feel to me is the longest one, a 48" handle plus a few inches for plates. I also have one with a globe end that is 48" overall.

With the longer mace in a room with an 8' ceiling I have to be careful to keep my hands from getting too high when swinging it through the upright position in front of my body because it can hit the ceiling (and I'm only 5'9"). With a shorter one (about 42") I don't have to think about it, but I much prefer the feel of the longer ones.

So if you are tall and using it indoors, a shorter length may be more practical. If ceiling clearance isn't an issue then longer is better to get a fuller pendulum effect.

For one-handed swinging, I use my clubbells, which are shorter, and open up some different moves because you can swinging them head down toward the floor without hitting the floor.
 
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