Is Mace Training Just For Instagram?

I’ve been using them on and off for 4(?) years or so - way longer than I've been an insty hoe, that’s for sure… 

I think if you want to be capable, you need to train strength, power, rotation, and overall capacity. In my opinion, the best tools for the job are heavy sandbags, calisthenics, kettlebells and the mace. (And some type of combat, but that’s probably a blog for another time)

So no, the mace is not purely for Instagram…

The mace trains throwing patterns.

Straight line lifting - squats, deadlifts, bench, etc - they’re great, but throwing / casting are patterns that actually kind of made / make us human and allowed us to become the most dominant species on earth... Throwing a spear, using an axe, a hammer, a sword, these are movements humans have been doing for millennia - we are born to do them, and our physiology loves it when we do…

Farm strong.

Many of the mace movements combine whole body strength, mobility, core stability, shoulder girdle strength, and dynamic rotational movement. It’s a real world type of strength - the type usually built by doing some actual physical work…

Rotation.

You were designed to rotate, just look at any physical work and/or sport. Now go to a gym and tell me what you see…? Modern training typically focuses on sagittal-plane (straight up and down) lifts, while completely ignoring rotation and anti-rotation. Almost anything physical done outside of a gym involves rotation of some sort… That has to tell you something…

Potential longevity benefits.

These days, we as a species are becoming more and more chair shaped… If you sit down a lot and the bulk of your exercise is done in the sagittal plane, incorporating a little mace work might just be the elixir you need… Because of the varied movement plane, the natural movements, leverage and its “odd implement” nature, mace training can potentially help restore joints, tendons, ligaments and greatly improve movement quality.

I think if your main goal is to be as big and muscular as possible, then mace training might not be for you - but if you want to be capable, it’s certainly worth picking up… 

Cheers,

~ Collins