So has anybody here worked out with these things? If so, how do you like it? I'm thinking of getting one but I'd like to know some things before I go ahead and order one. Have you ever smashed something with it to see if it can double as a tool/weapon? I imagine it could considering it is a substantial amount of weight in a steel ball. I only ask because with a 4.5 lb head axe I can smash things like concrete with the back end easily so I imagine something like this would be far superior.
What is it
If it can be used as a tool for smashing reliably then it can be used as a weapon which would be really cool because if someone ever happened upon you while it was in your hands to attack you, you already kind of have the odds in your favor. Imagine that lady in the news that got attacked at the gym recently with one of these things.
Steel mace
I don't think she can pick up a mace when she couldn't even be bothered to put her phone down
There are maces with single digit weights.
I have seen some as high as 40 lbs but I can't find any videos of people testing one out against things like watermelons and cinderblocks.
My gym has a speciality bar by kabuki that is basically one of these but you load it with plates
Fun to dick around with but extremely jank and impractical compared to a kettlebell if your goal is to make some decent gains with minimal equipment
I ultimately want a heavy weapon I can work out with. I'd go for a claymore but I can't find anything above 10 pounds that isn't molded after an anime or video game and the claymores that are available honestly look like weaker weapons than this training tool. Kind of like how my wood axe for yard work is a better melee weapon than everything in cold steel's catalogue. I'm probably going to get one and only ever use it for training though but if I ever needed a melee weapon because lets say pitbull is eating my brother working outside on his car I'd like to know that if I do take the swing to end the dog that the tool wont break if it hits a hard surface like pavement should I miss. If I do leverage workouts I'd rather leverage with a weapon since that'd be more practical in a real world situation. It's why I lift in jeans. In real life, every time I have ever needed to use my personal strength I did it in jeans.
sledgehammer
there are a couple companies that sell "fitness hammers" where you can add plates to the head to make them heavier
>sledgehammers
I will definitely be considering them.
https://www.fringesport.com/products/sword-mace#
The shoulderok is intended exclusively for shoulder mobility work, since that's what maces are good for. You can check out the videos Duffin put up about it.
I just got one, and it's pretty cool for that. I know some people are using maces for other stuff, but it all looks kinda stupid. Like you said, might as well use a kettlebell.
Right now I'm only using a 15lb bench bar as my tool for leverage as I have kind of maxed out gains on my wood chopping axe.
They are very fun, burn out my forearms and grip very quickly.
Obligatory to larp as Guts.
Thanks for the input. I'm considering the steel mace more now. I looked into the sledgehammers and the heaviest I was able to find was 30lbs but then reviews made me doubt their quality and I do need to work on my forearms.
Too point out. My buddy said I should have just gone into a hardware store and gotten a sledgehammer there.
Yea, but I'm not gonna settle for something too light.
Ultimately, I'll probably get a 20lb something with either 30, 35, or 40 lb something. Unless I find a claymore that's in the 20 pound range. I do swing a bar taller than I am at 15lbs for with both hands only on one side of the bar so I do need more weight. I'd like to have it before I can do more reps with the bar and I don't like the concept of clipping weights down on one end with it unless I want to be slow with the leverage.
it would work like a warhammer i guess
we have 15kg hammers at work, it feels like going to war when you hold them.
That's good. That'll aid strength gains.
Not a high priority purchase but if you have the basics and are looking for some toys I would reccomend. Quite a few novel exercises you can use these for most notably shoulder mobility routines and curls that light your forearms on fire.
Got a 6kg Indian club on order - went club as opposed to mace just because it'd be easier to use indoors, but from what I gather the principle is very similar. If I were to have gone the mace route, honestly I'd have just bought a sledgehammer; same mechanic and if it didn't work out, I'd still have a hammer. I just can't swing a sledgehammer around in my apartment.
Didn't read any of this thread, but I see indian sticks, and trust me buddy, weighlifting will be 10 times more efficient in building muscle that those stupid clubs indians use all the time every time.
you could say the same about foam rollers
If you think so. Weight lifting's strength is ultimately maximum at the lift you earned the strength from and the strength is transferable in other motions but at a cap. Leverage exercises is what I have been doing and only doing lifts as a gauge for strength gains from leverage exercises and the weights have been going up despite what I'm working with being substantially lower weight if only because the leverage substitutes for heavier weights. Benching, curling, overhead presses, tricep work doesn't improve the act of swinging as directly as actually swinging something and the exercises I do see people doing online with these things seem like they have benefits that traditional weight lifting doesn't have. I'm just trying to find something that checkmarks as much as possible on my list out of what I need/want
Unless you work in construction swinging hammer all day long you don't need "swinging" to improve "swinging"
Indian clubbell enjoyer reporting in. I just got them recently so I do only basic behind the neck/back motions. Would appreciate redpilling me on other good stuff you can do indoors.
Check out Mark Wildman on youtube, has loads of videos on mace, clubs, kettlebells and so on - really good stuff
Thanks anon
If you can start one handing an 80 lb macebell or club bell over your shoulder, you're strong. The old time strong men used to use these blow up their arms and grip so they could be unbeatable by normies with their thick handled barbells in circuses when they would challenge the crowd to lift their weights.
40lbs is probably tops for me atm and I probably wouldn't be able to control the momentum. I'm chiefly looking into leverage work outs because I hurt my back and atrophied waiting for it to recover and worried about my back I'm looking into alternative forms of exercise to see strength gains. I'm still going to lift weights the traditional way but just less often. I think my injury was due to over working. One day I did a max day and the next sessions was another max day to see if I improved and I did and I just kept going until my back got hurt but I did see max gains every time in something. Maybe one day it was in OHP. Maybe in another it was in dead lifts but something always went up a little bit and every work out was a climb to a one rep max. Hurt my back after maxing out on deads and then jumping unto squats in a middle of a set climbing to max.
Sounds like you may be at a point where you need to start incorporating conjugate style training and turning your weak points in to strengths. Don't worry, you do not need bands and chains. If you are going to add these clubs or maces make sure you stick with them. I've heard people say they don't work well but those are people who gave it a shot once or twice, did it wrong, and decided they were no good. They were employed as a secret training weapon for a reason long ago. 40 lbs is pretty good. The 80 lbs I mentioned is monstrous.
I would be careful about smashing hard things like concrete with one of these. I doubt the joint between head and shaft is designed for repeated impacts like that. A tire is a better bet.
One underrated benefit of these is you can easily take them outside on a sunny day, get in the zone swinging it around and get some sun.