Learn 16 benefits of Steel| Mace bell

Steel / Mace bell is not a new thing nor is it a fad, find out why it's picking up speed in Singapore & why you should too. With so many experts out there, things can get pretty confusing reading may excerpts from google hey. Read on if you want to know everything there is to know about Macebells, its benefits, where to find the best training & why you want to pick one up today.

Macebell benefits the whole body

What is a Macebell?

A macebell is basically a round frame of steel with a circular ball at the end of it. The lightest weight that is used for mobility & stability is only at 4kg. Though it may feel slightly heavier when you pick it up, it's due to the centre of gravity which is unlike a dumbbell or barbell for this instance. Most of the weight is concentrated in the ball or the head of the macebell, by moving your grip lower or away from the head, it increases in weight simply by increasing long lever. They come in either coated sleek feel of matted forms of finishing, both of which is comfortable to handle and use. However, if you do have sweaty palms, you should opt for a matt finish rather than the sleek coated ones, this helps you to have more grip for longer periods of time from the matt finishing. 

Where did macebell start from?

Heroic moustache deserves a heroic sized macebell

Macebell has a very interesting stroy behind the tool that is so widely used all over the world. Most of the macebell history points back to the ancient times in India, used by warriors, wrestlers and gods. The Persian wrestlers used a similar tool "club bell" which is shorter known as steel club/ club bells.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 was essential for the wrestlers. The macebell was also known as "Gada" has been used in various forms for over 2,000 years, & is now being used to condition our whole body from cardiovascular, to rehabilitation specifics, to endurance training & much more. 

Steel Club(its cousin)

Persian Wrestlers with Indian Club

It's cousin, the Indian club, mentioned above, was used to condition the Persian wrestlers for grip strength, shoulder stability & core strength. They are very similar in terms of overall shape and usage in terms of movement(s) for the upper body. Used also by Indian wrestlers in the pic

Which is better? Macebell vs Steel Club vs Indian Club

The main difference between apart from the history, usages, who uses/used it etc, the weight shift or lever is shown in the picture above via the black line. The shorter the black line is, the more you can offset a weight and increase/decrease the lever making it harder or easier to adjust suiting your current state of conditioning(so you can have full control of how much you work during a session) albeit the so many things that you might have in terms of range of motion, strength, limb length etc. So a 4kg, during any of your movement or session may feel lighter or heavier, which mostly depend on where you place your hands(grip). 

What can the Macebell help with? 

If you want to increase your: 

1. Stability 
2. Mobility 
3. ROM(range of motion) 
4. Grip strength 
5. Shoulder strength 
6. Hand eye co-ordination
7. Motor control 
8. Core activation
9. Deep stabilisers of the legs, hips, trunk, spine, & shoulders 
10. Rotation
11. Balance/ proprioceptor 
12. Cardiovascular conditioning
13. Endurance
14. Sports specific 
15. Metabolic
16. Multi-directional

What's a good weight to start using a macebell?

Caution: If you have pain during any movement(s) with macebell, always seek to get it checked out to ensure you're not making it worse & start blaming the macebell being a bad tool.

If you have never used, or have little no no experience in swinging the mace, the best universal weight is 4kg. It's easy to offset the leverage(decrease/ increase) to learn new moves or incorporate new flow(s), & to warm up or move the body before a session, or used as the workout itself. 

How to use the macebell

We start by knowing the specs of a tool as with any other tools or product(s) in life that we buy or use. 

The Head: This is where most of the weight of the tool that you will be working with will be at.

The Body: As pictured above, from Green to Red, numbered 1-5, will help you achieve a harder or easier session.

If you are holding the macebell where the colour:
RED(5) is, it will increase more activation as the head will move further away making it unstable.
Darkest green(1) will be the easiest placement for making it easier.
Yellow(4) & Lighter shade of green will allow you to grace the weight in between movement(s) with the most control being in the middle of things. 

The Tail: This is where most of the work making it the hardest as mentioned above, to make the macebell very unstable, causing you to increase the grip naturally to keep the macebell upright at all times during any movement(s). Only grip the tail once you feel that the macebell is very stable & that you are able to move in a very, very, controlled manner. 

Grip & Shoulder Stability / Strength 

There is multitude of research on the connection of grip strength increasing the activation of the RC(rotator cuff) muscles to provide maximum stability to the shoulder. Macebell undeniably forces you to increase the activation of the RC muscles by constantly engaging them through grip work, keeping them upright, & to move with them with multi-directional vectors around the shoulder joints. 

Macebell sessions

During any macebell session, your body will be exposed or explored to different vectors or angles that you usually wont go through during a class, & you need someone who knows both the tool & the anatomy of the body deep enough to not cause any soft tissue injuries from moving with the tool. Albeit, during a class, you may still cause irritation, inflammation with some of the movement(s) of your shoulder with the MB, you should never move with pain during the session, & to avoid coming close to pain at all cost, thus, you can lower your chances of injury with someone who has been trained extensively with using the tool & be able to modify or regress your movement(s) to maximise your session. 

Where to find Macebell class in Singapore? 

There is so far no macebell training in Singapore except MSMC. Being the first facility to exclusively offer group class of 6 people, teaching basic- intermediate movements, correction of forms(technique execution) and most important teaching you to adjust your biomechanics and the tool individually, we offer you classes to help improve your body, posture, strengthen your whole body, & all of the rest of things that was mentioned above. Book early, come & join us to use this ancient tool and reap the benefits of macebell training with a professional facilitator. Book a class below or read more about Macebell at the link.

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