In the last decade, maces and clubs have become a heavy favorite among fitness enthusiasts and gym members worldwide.
Maces and clubs are highly effective athletic training tools, and you’ll find both at Adventure Fitness Athletic Club. Our Thornton gym has a variety of maces and clubs that you can use for strength training, balance training, and even rehab.
Their unbalanced weight distribution is what makes maces and clubs so unique and challenging to work with, and mastering how to use them requires time and practice. The personal trainers at AFAC gym can show you how to incorporate maces and clubs into your workout, so if you’d like to try them, please don’t hesitate to ask us for assistance. In this blog, we’ll discuss in more detail what maces and clubs are, how they’re used, and the benefits of adding them to your workout.
What are maces, clubs, and RMT® Clubs at AFAC gym?
As popular as they are, many people still find themselves asking, “What is a mace?” A mace is a training tool that gets its design from an ancient, Southeast Asian weapon called a “gada.” It has a long, narrow handle with a ball-shaped weight on the end.
A club is exactly what it sounds like — a long, heavy, stick-like instrument with a narrow handle on one end that gets gradually wider on the other, similar to a baseball bat. Clubs are usually shorter than maces.
An RMT® Club is manufactured by a company called WeckMethod. The RMT® Club is a hybrid of a mace and club, with a long handle that gradually becomes wider and has a ball-shaped tip. The rounded end of an RMT® Club contains a shifting weight that creates a dynamic resistance as the club is swung during a workout. There are other brands and styles of maces and clubs on the market that you can explore to find the perfect option for you.
Maces and clubs do have one thing in common: they use the concept of uneven weight distribution (lighter on one end, heavier on the other) and centrifugal force that challenges users as they lift and swing the instruments in various directions.
How do I use a mace or club at the gym?
Before you try using a mace or club, it’s important to understand a few basics about these workout “weapons.”
They don’t weigh much
Maces and clubs usually weigh anywhere from 5-40 pounds, but don’t let this light-sounding weight fool you. People who toss around triple-digit dumbbells at the gym struggle with a 10-pound club or mace.
That’s due to the power of centrifugal force. It’s one thing to move a dumbbell up and down, but swinging an uneven weight around generates a lot of force. Plus, any weight held at a distance (like, at the end of a long handle) feels much heavier than a weight held from the middle and close to your body
If you’re just starting out with clubs and maces, you shouldn’t go heavier than a 10-15 pounder. Even when you’re experienced, it’s recommended that you go no higher than 40 pounds.
Be careful not to hurt yourself
Because maces and weights create a lot of force, you need to be careful to master your form with each move, otherwise you can injure your joints. Start by slowly mastering movements one by one until you achieve proper form. Don’t be afraid, though — you can add maces and clubs to your workout safely and effectively, as long as you’re cautious. Maces and clubs are even being used in rehab and physical therapy sessions.
Grip position is important
Since maces are long, you can hold them directly in front of your body at your midline (spine). However, clubs should be held to one side of your body or the other when they’re in front of you. The reason for this is safety. Clubs have a shorter handle, and therefore, there’s a greater chance they can hit you in the head or face as you perform certain exercises like mills or pullovers.
What exercises can I do with maces and clubs at the gym?
Maces and clubs are extremely versatile exercise tools that can be maneuvered in many different ways. While some beginners assume clubs and maces are mainly utilized for swinging exercises, they can also be used as an unevenly weighted barbell for simpler moves. Here are a few beginner exercises to get you started.
Steel mace curls
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your spine neutral, and your abs tight. Hold the mace horizontally in front of you as if it is a barbell, with both hands facing up. One hand should be gripping the non-weighted end of the mace and the other should be around the middle of the mace, with the weighted end extending to the side. Curl the mace toward your chest and then slowly return to the starting position. Keep tension on both sides so that the mace is stabilized throughout the move. Perform your desired amount of reps, then reverse the mace and repeat on the other side.
Mace pendulum
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your spine neutral. Hold the mace behind your head, as close to the bottom of your neck as you can, with both hands stacked and gripping the end of the mace. The mace’s weighted end should be pointing toward the ground, making the mace vertical and parallel to your spine. Swing the mace back and forth behind your body as if it’s a pendulum. This exercise can improve shoulder stability.
Club pullover to press out
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold your club vertically in front of your right shoulder with both hands. Your hands should be stacked with the right hand on the bottom and your left hand on top. Pull the weighted end of the club over and behind your head. Then pull the club back to the starting position in front of your right shoulder. Then press the club out straight in front of you, keeping your elbows in as if you’re trying to break the club in half. Return to the starting position. This is one rep. Perform the desired amount of reps and then repeat on the other side, switching the stack of your hands.
Steel club double cross
This exercise will require two steel clubs. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a club in each hand vertically, with a club in front of each shoulder. Simultaneously pull both clubs over your shoulders and behind your back so that the weighted ends of the clubs are pointing toward the ground behind you. Then, press both clubs out to the sides of your body with your arms extended and the weighted ends of the clubs pointing up. Pull the clubs back in behind your neck, and then extend back out laterally again. Repeat for the desired number of reps, and then pull the clubs back in to the starting position, in front of each shoulder. If this exercise is too difficult, you can choke up your hands on the clubs to hold them more toward the middle, which lessens the weight of the clubs.
What are the benefits of exercising with clubs and maces at the gym?
Clubs and maces are excellent tools for many types of training including balance, strength, rotational force, or even rehab after an injury, surgery, or stroke. The uneven weight of maces and clubs requires more muscles to be engaged with each exercise and forces the user to control their entire body while the weight is moving. Here are some benefits you can expect from working out with maces and clubs at the gym:
- Improved grip strength
- Stronger, healthier, and more mobile shoulders
- Improvement in the many sports that require rotational shoulder strength like golf, baseball, tennis, bowling, wrestling, and cricket
- Increased total-body strength
- Cardiovascular conditioning
- Core strength, including rotational core strength
- Improved function in everyday life because maces and clubs work the body across all planes (forward, backward, up, down, side-to-side, and rotationally)
- Improved endurance
- A fun workout (what other training tool makes you feel like you’re about to enter a galactic battle?)
Be Battle Ready at Adventure Fitness Athletic Club’s Gym
Whether you prefer working out with maces, clubs, or both, Adventure Fitness Athletic Club has an array of these powerful and fun fitness tools available for members to use. Our diverse range of equipment like maces and clubs is one of the ways we remain the best gym in the Thornton, Colorado, area. Please speak to our staff if you have any questions about incorporating clubs and maces into your fitness regimen. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.
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