Club training is a unique form of training which effectively blends strength and cardio exercise.
Predating the barbell and dumbbell, the heavy club is once again changing bodies around the world as we rediscover the benefits of old-school “primitive fitness”—
And strength training tools don’t come much more primitive than the club.
The heavy clubs used for fitness training are essentially solid baseball bats with a handle and rounded knob for gripping.
Clubs are lifted and swung in various exercise patterns that is often compared to kettlebell training.
The club is an unwieldy tool that takes coordinated muscular effort to lift, control, and manipulate.
The main benefits of club training are for time efficient fat-burning workouts, and developing shoulder flexibility and strength.
Club swinging is a historic form of exercise that athletes have used to dramatically improve strength, flexibility, and endurance.
This form of training has been around for hundreds of years, but was lost to the commercial gym era. It has recently came back to modern gyms due to its effectiveness as an all-around fitness and strength training aid.
Club training is commonly referred to as “circular strength”. And it offers the perfect means for incremental progression by changing your grip location on the handle of the club. You change the difficulty of these exercises by shifting the leveraged weight.
This is essential for staying injury-free and getting control over the exercise. Whilst making continuous strength gains and avoiding training plateaus.
The further your grip is from the weighted end of the club the greater the desired tension.
It’s flexible design means you aren’t confined to the large, dangerous jumps in weight like you see with traditional strength equipment.
Parts of the Heavy Club
The Knob or Button:
This part of the club is used to prevent the club slipping out of your hand during a swing.
Certain exercises require the button to be held rather than the handle of the club. Therefore it is necessary to design the knob so that it is large and round enough to prevent losing grip. Yet small enough to allow rotation in the hand for more intricate exercises.
The button must be smooth enough to prevent blisters forming during an exercise. But have sufficient friction or grip to allow you to maintain a good grip on the club.
The button may need to be tailored for people with smaller hands or larger hands than average.
The Neck, Handle, or Shaft:
This part of the club is used to maintain control of the club during larger swings.
The size of the handle will depend on the weight of the club and the size of your hand.
Heavier clubs need a wider diameter handle so it does not break if it hits the ground during a swing.
It is therefore better to design the club with this in mind.
Body of the Club:
This is where the bulk of the club’s weight and center of gravity is located. The center of gravity and the way the club swings is extremely important.
Clubs can come in pairs and their matching weight gives the user a symmetrical feel when swinging with a club in each hand.
Base or Butt:
This is the area at the bottom of the club. It must be large enough that the club can stand upright unaided.
There is something aesthetically pleasing about a well-balanced, well-designed, and properly treated club. Such a club will move in the way you intend it to and be a pleasure to handle and use.
The center of gravity on a club should allow it to twirl without feeling unbalanced.
This will place fewer awkward stresses on the athlete’s joints and muscles. Which allows a smooth swinging motion that develops the strength, skill, and physique of the athlete.
In addition, a well-designed club will rotate in the are in a predictable manner. So when flipped or thrown, it can be caught will relative ease.
It is recommended that lighter clubs are used initially. Especially for more difficult and intricate movements, such as wrist twists.
After you become proficient with lighter clubs, you can progress onto heavier clubs and develop you overall strength and fitness further.
There is usually a transition period between lighter and heavier clubs as your body adapts to the extra weight.
Take your time to adjust to the heavier clubs by doing fewer swings with the heavier clubs first. And switch between lighter and heavier clubs depending on your overall condition and the exercise you are doing.
Physiotherapists would also consider light clubs to be effective tools for recuperating athletes with injuries.
(Dr. Uzair Ahmad, Doctorate of Physiotherapy, wrote the Heavy Club Guide)
The benefits of club training
Eѕѕеntіаllу, сlub training іѕ thе ultimate fоrm оf ѕhоuldеr ѕtrеngth trаіnіng. It also helps to build tremendous uрреr-bоdу muѕсulаturе wіth аn еxсерtіоnаl grір.
Club wоrkоut benefits –
- Develop ѕhоuldеr ѕtаbіlіtу thrоugh ѕtrеngth, endurance аnd flеxіbіlіtу gаіnѕ
- Hіghlу effective grір strength аnd wrist trаіnіng
- Functional trаіnіng thаt promotes оvеrаll upper-body dеvеlорmеnt
- Excellent fоr ѕроrtѕ specific trаіnіng like tеnnіѕ, mаrtіаl arts, gоlf аnd ѕwіmmіng.
- Grеаt fоr dеvеlоріng gооd posture bу wоrkіng the back аnd shoulder muscles.
- Pоrtаblе training equipment
- Sсаlаblе trаіnіng bу altering thе роѕіtіоn оf the hаndѕ аnd thеrеfоrе lеvеrаgе of the wеіght іnvоlvеd
Club wоrkоutѕ offer movement іn multірlе planes and аrе excellent for bаlаnсіng оut thе muѕсlеѕ thаt аrе rаrеlу tаrgеtеd by mоrе traditional training mеthоdѕ. Tо say thаt that club оffеr соmроund trаіnіng is аn understatement!
In аddіtіоn to thіѕ, mаnу реорlе fіnd club trаіnіng to be fun and ԛuіtе addictive. It’ѕ a challenging, уеt іntеrеѕtіng way tо еxеrсіѕе that breaks away frоm thе nоrm.
Thеѕе nаturаl body mоvеmеntѕ with weighted сlubѕ can bе uѕеd tо dеvеlор уоur еntіrе bоdу, rоtаtоr cuff ѕtаbіlіtу аnd overall tіmіng аnd сооrdіnаtіоn.
Check out the list of steel club exercises and movements here.
Get the Heavy Club Training Approved Steel Club here.
Next Read:
- Heavy Club Workout Routines
- Ultimate Heavy Club Training Program (Developed by 1st Place Bodybuilding Gold Winner & Olympian)
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