As unconventional fitness continues to rise in popularity, many questions are popping up about steel clubs, steel maces, and kettlebells.
The Battle of the Bells - Clubbells Vs Kettlebells Vs Steel Maces
Here is how we are going to attack this comparison. First, we are going to break down each piece of equipment, then we will go over, in a quick summary, which one is the best depending on your goals.
Kettlebell -What Is a Kettlebell?
A kettlebell is made from cast iron or steel and shaped into a ball with a handle attached at the top. It closely resembles a cannonball that has a handle on top or a teapot without the sprout.
WHAT ARE THE BEST KETTLEBELL EXERCISES?
The Kettlebell Swing is a great exercise to strengthen the body and burn a lot of fat. The Kettlebell Snatch and Turkish Get Ups are also very popular exercises. All of these exercises will develop serious power in your hamstrings, glutes, core, and shoulders, and will build muscle in those areas as well.
Benefits of Kettlebell Training:
• Great combination of strength and flexibility training.
• Increases flexibility and mobility without long holds.
• Functional strength through compound movements.
• It builds tremendous muscle power
• Great for hypertrophy.
• It’s easier on the body than many traditional weight lifting exercises.
• Boosts muscle endurance.
• Great for enhancing grip strength (25+ grips techniques that you can employ).
• Works stability fantastically.
• Develops athletic prowess through ballistic and unilateral training.
• Kettlebell HIIT workouts
Benefits Beyond the Body:
• It’s fun and provides a nice variation from the norm, especially for those who have been doing traditional weight lifting for a long time.
• Space saver, which makes it great for home gyms.
• It is a portable, all-in-one training tool.
What Is a Steel Mace?
A steel mace, or macebell as it is also known, is derived from an ancient weapon. It is a ball with a long straight handle (a.k.a. lever) welded to it. A good steel mace will have knurled gripping on the handle for extra grip support. The steel mace has an uneven weight distribution, with most of the weight being in the ball (or head) of the mace.
How Are Steel Maces Used?
The steel mace is used in many different ways for full body conditioning, and it is especially useful for upper body strength. However, it’s main and best use is for kinesthetic training (balance, coordination, stability and body awareness) and multiplanar movements (especially core rotational movements) thanks to its uneven weight distribution, which makes for an awkward, offset weight load. Many athletes are using the mace nowadays, especially NFL and MMA fighters.
What Are the Best Steel Mace Exercises?
The main exercises are 360s and 10 to 2s, which are great exercises for core strength & stability, powerful & mobile shoulders, and crushing grip strength. There are literally countless ways the mace can be used to target all areas of the body through compound movements, which is truly the beauty of this fantastic unconventional training tool.
Benefits of Steel Mace Training:
Develops strong, powerful, and mobile shoulders.
Develops crushing grip strength.
Works stabilizer muscles like no other.
The ultimate tool to work through multiple planes of motion.
Increases rotational strength incredibly.
Improves core stability tenfold.
Great for balance and coordination.
Fantastic for metabolic, HIIT workouts.
Boosts muscle endurance and strength in a unique, fun way.
Trains the body in a unilateral, offset manner, which is the perfect kind of training for athletes.
Greatly improves joint health.
Steel Club -What Is a Steel Club?
A steel club, or clubbell as it is known and trademarked, is another ancient weapon turned powerful fitness tool. It takes shape in what closely resembles a bowling pin or juggling club. It was first used as a conditioning tool by soldiers and wrestlers in ancient Persia. These original clubs were very heavy and extremely useful for increasing grip and shoulder strength and core rotational force, which is especially beneficial for wrestlers - think grappling and throwing people over your shoulders.
How Are Steel Clubs Used?
Steel clubs were designed for pullover and swing movements. Depending on the weight, they can be used for rehabilitation and prehabilitation (lighter steel clubs) or rotational and shoulder power (heavier steel clubs). Many people train with steel clubs by using two steel clubs at a time, either in unison or alternating patterns. It is a great tool for MMA fighters as it develops powerful grip and forearm strength, which comes in handy when grappling (pun intended).
What Are the Best Steel Club Exercises?
Again, lighter steel clubs are mainly used for rehab or for people who are just starting out with steel clubs and wanting to learn the movements safely AND heavier steel clubs offer other benefits to well-conditioned athletes. However, the movements are somewhat similar. Two and one-handed pullovers (front-back-front & back-to-outward), front and back swings, or lateral swings.
Benefits of Steel Club Exercises:
Rehab and prehab.
Core rotational power and stability.
Shoulder strength and power.
Kinesthetic training.
Grip and forearm strength.
Health of connective tissue and joints.
Multi-planar movement training.
All three have strong, tight-knit communities that are very active, helpful and welcoming.
They are all extremely durable. They are made from steel after all.
Each one is beneficial for enhancing athletic performance.
Improves muscle imbalances (especially the steel mace).
Why buy Kettlebells?
The kettlebell is the best option if you are looking for a training tool with the main focus of:
Building muscle
Resistance training (muscle endurance and strength)
Metabolic training
A kettlebell is a great option for those who are seeking the above. However, you would need a range of kettlebell sizes to challenge yourself and accomplish the above effectively. You need heavier and lighter kettlebells depending on the exercise and muscles you are targetting.
If you are just looking to burn fat, metabolic conditioning that is, you could get away with one mid-to-heavy size kettlebell for exercises like the kettlebell swings, which is excellent for keeping that heart rate up.
Why buy Steel Maces?
The steel mace is the best option if you are looking for a training tool with the main focus of:
Kinesthetic training ((body awareness, balance, coordination)
Shoulder strength and power
Shoulder mobility
Grip and forearm strength
Rotational power (shoulder and core)
Strong stabilizer muscles
Core stability
Improving posture
Metabolic conditioning
Working out in multiple planes of motion
Total Body Workouts
As all three options have their advantage for athletic performance, it hard to say which one is "best".
However, if you are looking to improve your athletic performance in terms of balance and coordination, the steel mace is the best option, as performing unilateral exercises with an offset weight and a long lever will seriously challenge your balance and coordination over time. It's basically athletic based training on steroids (unilateral + offset).
The steel mace is also amazing in that you can increase or decrease difficulty with just one steel mace. The long level (or handle) allows you to decrease or increase difficulty by simply choking up or down on the mace, respectively. This allows you to challenge yourself at different difficulty levels for any exercise you perform all with one tool. It's especially useful for increased difficulty in terms how much the weight is offset.
Lastly, we believe a steel mace is the most versatile in terms of exercises. You can train through all three planes of motion with countless different exercises. The exercise potential is really limitless. It's a fantastic tool for rehab and prehab as well as full body conditioning and HIIT. Additionally, it’s also great in that you can use it as a sledgehammer too - slam your heart away and reap the benefits of serious metabolic conditioning training.
Why buy Steel Clubs?
The steel club has a lot of similar benefits to the steel mace, albeit it’s not as versatile in terms of altering difficulty and the number of exercises out there to follow.
The steel club would be the best option if you are looking for a training tool with the main focus of:
Shoulder rehab and prehab
Rotational power
Shoulder mobility
Grip and forearm strength
Improving posture
Building strong stabilizer muscles
Core stability
We believe that the steel club is truly the best when it comes down to rehab and prehab time.
Post time: May-20-2023