Steel Mace Mobility Workout

The clavicle, also known as the collar bone, the scapula, also known as the shoulder blades, and the humerus, also known as the upper arm bone, make up your shoulder, along with two joints: the acromioclavicular joint, also known as the AC joint, and the glenohumeral joint (looks like a ball and socket).

Because each of these joints is supported by the surrounding muscles and tendons in your back and chest (think of your deltoids and trapezius), true shoulder strength depends on both the strength of the muscles and the flexibility of the muscles. You can’t really have one without the other unless you want to put yourself at risk for injury and perform less well when you lift.

Why Shoulder Flexibility and Strength Are Necessary for You to Achieve Your Goals

Shoulders are a key focus in each and every upper-body exercise we do, both in and outside of the gym. Pull-ups, push-ups, swings, putting luggage in an overhead bin, lifting anything over your head: any one of these movements could result in an injury if your shoulders have a difficult time rotating and stabilizing.

If the ligaments and muscles that connect your shoulder are not mobile or flexible enough, you may have difficulty performing full extensions or overhead swings, or even worse, you may have to compensate with poor form.

In order to move through full kettlebell swings, you need to have ample shoulder mobility in addition to sufficient strength in the stabilizing muscles in your upper back and scapula. This allows you to decelerate the swing when it is at its peak. It is possible that you could strain a ligament or tendon in your shoulder if you haven’t worked on developing the muscles both inside and around your shoulder. This is especially true after several sets, when the muscles that were already weak become fatigued from the exercise.

The same can be said for exercises such as pullups. It is not just your arms that are providing the strength needed to pull yourself up to the bar; also contributing are your shoulders, upper back, and shoulder blades. If you lack strength in this area and try to compensate by using your arms, you run the risk of straining or tearing one of your ligaments. Even movements that take place outside of the gym, such as chopping wood, can be taken into consideration.

It’s possible that you’ll never have to chop wood, but if you ever have to hammer something or throw something, the motion is very similar.

In order for the shoulder muscles to withstand the weight and resistance of an ax, hammer, or anything else that you are moving, they need to be highly stabilized. Additionally, the ligaments surrounding the shoulder need to be flexible enough to allow for full rotation within their sockets.

When thinking about mobility, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that we want to be flexible while still maintaining our strength. Remember the old saying about how bamboo is extremely difficult to break because it is so sturdy, but it will still bend if you put enough pressure on it? If we put the effort into developing that within our bodies, we will have strength that cannot be broken.

While a heavier Steel Mace has a variety of benefits, including rotational power, muscular endurance, and brute force, a lighter Steel Mace has none of these advantages. In addition to being an unusual piece of equipment to use during a warmup, a lighter version of a steel mace is fantastic for improving shoulder mobility. Improving your shoulder mobility can be accomplished by performing the following five exercises either as part of a warmup routine for your upper body or as a workout in and of themselves.

Steel Mace Move 1: Steel Mace 360

The 360 is a fantastic exercise for both the shoulders and the core. It allows for a wide range of motion to be achieved in the shoulder. A side benefit of this is increased mobility and flexibility along with strength. When done with a heavier steel mace, this helps build strength; however, when done with a lighter steel mace, it primarily serves as a mobility and flexibility tool. Make sure that you are performing this exercise in a location where there is the possibility of dropping the Steel Mace.

Move 2 for the Steel Mace is the Steel Mace Single Arm Circles.

The Steel Mace Single Arm Circles are an excellent mobility exercise that can be performed in a number of different ways, including small circles, large circles, or a combination of the two types of circles. Again, if you use a heavier steel mace, this will help build your shoulder strength, but if you use a lighter steel mace, it will primarily serve as a mobility and flexibility tool for you. If you want to get the most out of this movement, you shouldn’t restrict your range of motion in any way so make sure not to do that.

Steel Mace Move 3: Steel Mace Halos

The Halo is a move that is typically performed with a kettlebell, but it can also be performed with a steel mace. Shoulder mobility and strength are both significantly improved by the use of the Halo. It puts your shoulder through a variety of motions while simultaneously requiring you to maintain a tense position. Shoulder power is increased with proper execution of halo moves, which benefits both swimmers and martial artists. Halos are an excellent form of warmup when performed with weights that are sufficiently light. Because of their straightforward nature, halo effects are frequently disregarded, but you shouldn’t let this fool you.

Move 4 of the Steel Mace Circuit is the Steel Mace Overhead Squat.

The overhead squat is a great move to evaluate an athlete’s overall athletic ability in terms of mobility, flexibility, and stability. If not the best move, it is certainly one of the best moves. This exercise is a bit of a cheat because it also helps you improve your hip mobility, but the truth is that almost everyone could stand to have looser hips. This could be accomplished with a broomstick or a PVC pipe, but the unbalanced weight of the Steel Mace makes it necessary for one side of the shoulder to exert a greater amount of effort in order to keep the Steel Mace from moving forward. Again, to avoid developing imbalances, you should ensure that you perform the same number of reps on both sides.

Move 5 of the Steel Mace is the External Rotation of the Steel Mace.

External rotation is typically associated with working out with bands or even dumbbells, but the Steel Mace is an excellent alternative if you do not have access to those tools or if you want a change of pace. In comparison to more traditional training methods, using the Steel Mace, which has a weight distribution that is slightly off, results in a more difficult workout.

Shoulder Mobility Exercise with the Steel Mace

You can perform the Steel Mace Shoulder Workout either as part of an upper body warmup or as a stand alone mobility workout. It is listed below for your convenience. Be careful not to use a Steel Mace that is too heavy. Move quickly through each exercise with as little rest in between as you can manage. When you have finished with the circuit, take as much rest as you need before continuing on to perform three more circuits for a total of four rounds.

• Steel Mace 360 – four rounds for a total of thirty seconds (each direction)
• Steel Mace Halos – Four Rounds for a Total of Thirty Seconds (each direction)
• Squats with a steel mace overhead – four rounds times ten reps
• Arm circles with a steel mace – four rounds’ times ten reps (each arm)
• Four rounds of ten repetitions of the steel mace external rotation (each arm)