What Is A Steel Mace?

(See 00:35 in the video above.)

We won’t sugarcoat it: the mace was invented to kill people. But it wasn’t long before folks realized that lifting one could help them get into great shape too.

The use of a mace dates back to the days when fitness was a fortuitous byproduct of training for war. More than 2,000 years ago, Hindu soldiers in India wielded maces that were nothing more than bamboo sticks with stones tied to the ends. One of their deities, Hanuman, was a monkey-man hybrid who carried a mace and, as the legend went, could lift the Himalayas with his hands. Called a “gada,” the mace was primarily used to help condition warriors for their combat training, which included wrestling, archery, and sword fighting.

“If we look back at various martial cultures,” says John Wolf, co-creator of Onnit’s unconventional training curriculum, “they all used some kind of mace.” Historical records indicate that different varieties of maces were present in India, and later Russia and Western Europe during the Middle Ages, as each culture experienced a time when the armor of its warriors became more advanced than the weaponry used against it.

As anyone who’s seen Braveheart or Robin Hood knows, maces evolved to where they had spikes on the ball end, and they helped turn the tide of many a war. But the gentler, more primitive models were never discarded as a tool used off the battlefield to get a great workout.

When you think about it, a steel mace is really just another barbell, albeit with a weight on only one end. They usually range from around seven pounds to 25 or more, and you can do everything with a steel mace that you ever learned to do with a barbell. And that’s just the beginning.

Performing classic strength exercises such as the squat, overhead press, Romanian deadlift, and bent-over row with a mace works all the same muscles that the barbell will, but with a bonus. The imbalance created by the load of the mace head (the ball at the top of the mace handle) will make it difficult to lift the mace evenly. It wants to pull you out of position, twisting you in the direction of the heavier end, so you have to work that much harder to keep the path of motion even—calling on your core, grip, and various stabilizer muscles to do so. Spend a few weeks doing these exercises with the mace and then see how you feel doing them with a regular barbell again. Don’t be surprised if you feel more stable and strong, and break strength plateaus shortly thereafter.

What Are The Benefits of Steel Mace Training?

(See 01:40 in the video.)

You don’t even have to work out with the mace, per se, to reap some benefits from it. The long lever that the handle creates makes it fantastic for increasing mobility. If you have tight shoulders and a rounded upper back, for instance, as a result of too much chest training and/or sitting at a desk in front of a computer for too long, try holding the mace behind your head with the mace head pointing to the floor. Swing it gently side to side to feel the mace gradually pull your shoulders into greater flexion, opening up your chest and stretching your thoracic spine. Many people find this helps relieve shoulder pain, and warms them up for an upper-body or pressing workout.

Rotational Strength

Once you’ve gotten a feel for the steel mace, you can begin to unlock its greatest potential—using it as a tool to train rotation. The fact is, most people’s training is limited to the sagittal movement plane. This means exercises where the trunk or limbs move forward and back, as in a bench press, curl, squat, deadlift, and running. Nevertheless, most of the movements we make in sports and everyday life aren’t that simple. They’re combinations of all three planes of motion—moving forward and back, side to side, and in rotation. With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense to train these movements in our workouts?

The steel mace facilitates the body’s ability to rotate—and resist rotation, when needed—more so than the kettlebell, steel club, or any other training implement.

It lends itself perfectly to performing chopping and paddling motions that make your shoulders, torso, and hips twist—something they can’t do as well or as safely with a barbell or other conventional equipment. The length of the mace handle is ultimately designed to be swung. Swinging the mace creates tremendous force—a force that threatens to knock you off balance and out of position unless you learn to control it. As a result, steel mace training is one of the best ways to instill good posture and movement mechanics. It trains you to maintain what trainers refer to as the body’s structural integrity, so that you can stay stable and in control of how you move no matter what storm you find yourself at the center of, be it running and cutting on a field, fighting an opponent in a cage, shoveling snow out of your driveway, or a million other challenges.

Power Development

Of course, with greater rotational movement comes greater power.

Knockout punches and kicks, 90-miles per hour fastballs, and 300-yard drives off the tee all depend on your ability to coil and uncoil your body rapidly and efficiently, and steel mace exercises can simulate the movement mechanics involved in all of the above.

When you’re ready, you can advance your training to include an infinite number of more complex moves that are unique to the mace and really take advantage of its rotational potential, such as the 360, barbarian squat, uppercut, and various other techniques you’ve no doubt seen demonstrated on YouTube (some of which we’ll introduce you to in this article). You’re even welcome to make up your own exercises, as one of the mace’s greatest attributes is its ability to help you express yourself, using it to flow through movements that train your body as well as communicate your passion, not unlike a dance, martial art, or other physical art form.

Fun!

If you’re the kind of person that just can’t get excited about going to the gym and lifting weights from point A to point B, the mace might be the thing that finally motivates you to work out. Wolf says there’s a primal rush you get from lifting the mace overhead that has to be experienced to be understood. Because of its origins as a weapon, it makes you feel like a warrior when you use it. Curling a barbell? Not so much.

“I think part of the appeal is that you can feel the applications the steel mace has immediately,” says Wolf. “Whether or not we feel removed from our history as a tribal people who fought wars, there’s an innate knowledge of how to use tools like the mace that’s still in us. The steel mace can help you tap into that, even if it’s just to get in better shape.”

The Science of Steel Mace

It’s a little ironic that the mace is one of the oldest fitness tools on earth and yet remains among the least studied. Fortunately, that may be changing, as researchers at California State University conducted a trial using Onnit’s steel maces. (Onnit did not suggest or commission the study—the researchers acted entirely on their own.)

“I have a grad student, Christian Ison, who’s a trainer, and he implements the mace in
the training he does with his clients,” says Dr. Eddie Jo, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology at Cal Poly Pomona, and director of its Human Performance Research Lab. “We were talking about the mace one day and realized there haven’t been any studies done on it, to our knowledge, so why not do one ourselves?”

Jo’s team gathered subjects who had recreational training experience—people who were already performing some kind of resistance training at least three days per week and for at least an hour per session. They had no prior experience using the steel mace. Jo had them work out with Onnit steel maces, following the directions provided in the manuals that were packaged with them.

“We wanted to look at muscle activation patterns during common steel mace exercises,” says Jo. The exercises chosen were the overhead squat, 360, reverse lunge, and lap squat. “We put EMG sensors on the dominant sides of the subjects, and we had them do a set of each of those exercises with the mace head positioned on the dominant side as well as the non-dominant side to see how the dominant side muscles reacted.”

Unsurprisingly, the muscles on the dominant side (for instance, the quads, traps, deltoids, pecs, and triceps during the overhead squat) showed greater activity when the lift was done with the mace head on that side (i.e., pointing to the right on a right-handed person). “But what was interesting,” says Jo, “was when we looked at the oblique and core muscles. The activation of those muscles was greatest when the mace head was held on the opposite side. So if you’re doing the switch squat and the mace head is pointing left, the right obliques will fire harder. It shows that the mace gives you a very unique muscle activation pattern compared to normal barbell exercises, so this could introduce a whole new type of stimulus for your muscles to adapt to.”

Jo adds that being able to work one side of the body and then transition to the other side by simply flipping the orientation of the mace makes the training effect unique as well as convenient. “Your ability to shift core activation is very dynamic and fluid with the mace,” he says. “You can also accomplish more than one type of movement in a single set if you want to, going from a lunge into a lap squat and then an overhead squat, for example.”

More studies need to be done to determine what the long-term benefits of steel mace training can be, but Jo speculates that the mace has great application to sports training. “In life and in sports, when you’re jumping, you’re usually turning also. With the steel mace, you can produce those same multi-planar movements, but with increased resistance. That helps athletes develop power, and should carry over to the playing field—as well as have benefits for general fitness.”

Beyond the physical advantages of steel mace training, Jo noticed some mental ones too, explaining that the subjects said they “loved using the mace,” and that the offset weight helped them to focus on their form more. “They reported feeling sore the next day, too,” says Jo, “saying that they felt they had gotten a good workout.”

What To Look For In A Steel Mace

So you’re ready to buy a steel mace. Congratulations! But before you plunk down your hard-earned funds on another piece of exercise equipment—or try to sand the spikes off a medieval antique—make sure you know what kind of mace is best for you. Consider the following.

The Handle

The bigger your hands, the bigger your mace handle should be. The smallest mace Onnit sells is a seven-pounder, which offers a 30.5-inch long handle. Most women find this model to be appropriate to start. On the other end of the spectrum, our 25-pound mace has a 40.5-inch handle, which is really only for advanced mace wielders.

Remember that steel mace training is humbling. Even a big, strong guy won’t be able to start out with a 25-pound mace for most exercises. And (as most women say) longer isn’t necessarily better. A longer mace is harder to control and puts more stress on your body, so start small.

The Feel

A mace that’s too slick can fly right out of your hands when you get sweaty. Meanwhile, one that’s too tacky can pull the skin off your palms. You want a mace that provides some friction but still allows your hands to glide up and down the handle. Onnit maces feature knurling, like a barbell, and a powder coating for a no-slip grip.

The Weight

Onnit makes maces that weigh 7, 10, 15, 20, and 25 pounds. Most women start with the 7 or 10-pounder, and most men can handle the 10 or 15. For some mace exercises, a lighter weight will serve you better, while other moves can be loaded up more, so you should consider buying two weight increments at once.

Beginner Steel Mace Workout

(See 03:00 in the video.)

The following routine strings together some basic but challenging steel mace moves that will not only give you a feel for mace training but help you start building stability and rotational movement skills right away.

DIRECTIONS

Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set for each move in sequence without rest. After the last exercise, rest up to 90 seconds, and repeat the circuit for 3–4 total rounds. Perform 8 reps on each exercise (8 reps per side).

1. Overhead Walk

(See 03:27 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart. Curl at the elbows and press the mace overhead. Keep your ribs pulled down and your pelvis tucked under so it’s parallel to the floor—don’t allow your back to hyperextend as you reach overhead. Brace your core.

Step 2. Find your balance and begin walking in place, raising one knee at a time up to hip level. The mace will try to pull you toward the side that the weighted end is pointing—don’t let it. If you’re having a hard time controlling the mace, widen your grip a bit. A step on both legs equals one rep; do 8 reps, and then switch the direction the mace is pointing and repeat for another 8 reps.

2. Switch Curl

(See 04:38 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with one hand close to the mace head and palm facing up. The other should be close to the bottom of the handle with the palm down.

Step 2. Extend the arm that has the palm up so the mace head points down at a 45-degree angle (curl the other arm up and point your elbow out to the side).

Step 3. Now raise the mace head so the mace is level in front of you, and then raise it up to point about 45 degrees (diagonal through your shoulder). Continue raising the steel mace until it points straight up. Now slide the hand on the bottom up the handle to meet the other hand. Your hands will come together for a moment like you’re praying.

Step 4. Slide the hand that was on top down the handle while the one you just moved up grasps the mace head underhand. Go to 45 degrees, level, and then 45 degrees toward the floor again. Continue rotating the mace in this fashion, pausing a moment in each position to make sure you control it. Over time, you can smooth out the motion so you spin the mace more fluidly. Perform 8 reps with the mace head pointing to the right, and then 8 pointing to the left.

3. Split-Stance Counter-Side Row

(See 05:50 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with hands overhand and shoulder-width apart—one hand should be at the bottom of the handle. Twist your torso so that the mace head points behind you. Stagger your stance so that your front leg is the same side as the direction you’ve turned. Put most of your weight on your front foot. Your back leg should be nearly straight. Drive the ball of your back foot into the floor—the heel can be raised.

Step 2. Row the hand that’s closest to the mace head up. The range of motion will be small, but focus on holding your rotated position.

4. Uppercut

(See 07:07 in the video.)

Step 1. Take a wide grip on the mace so one hand is flush against the mace head. Rotate your body in the direction the mace head points, but keep your hips braced and pointing forward. Keep your elbows locked out.

Step 2. Leading with your elbow, raise the mace up and across your body so it’s angled 45 degrees in front of your chest. Continue raising it until the mace is over your opposite shoulder. Your front arm should look like you’ve just thrown an uppercut punch. Keep the mace close to your body at all times.

5. Cross-Body Lateral Lunge

(See 08:43 in the video.)

Step 1. Grasp the mace with a wide grip and one hand flush against the mace head with your palm facing up. Step laterally with the leg opposite the mace head, bending your knee and lowering into a side lunge as you rotate the mace downward so the head points toward the floor at a 45-degree angle.

Step 2. From there, step back to your starting position while spinning the mace back up to point 45 degrees upward, and then vertical, bringing your hands together in prayer position.

Step 3. Switch your hands, and perform the lunge on the other leg.

Intermediate Steel Mace Workout

(See 10:05 in the video.)

When you’re ready for a greater challenge that incorporates even more multi-planar movement, step up to this intermediate mace routine.

DIRECTIONS
Perform the exercises as a circuit, completing one set for each move in sequence without rest. After the last exercise, rest 45 seconds, and repeat the circuit for 3–5 total rounds. Set a timer and perform each exercise for 30 seconds straight, switching sides at 15 seconds where applicable.

1. Switch Squat

(See 10:27 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with one hand flush against the mace head and your palm up. Draw your shoulders down and back and tuck your elbows to your sides. Turn your toes out a few degrees.

Step 2. Keeping a long line from your head to your tailbone, squat down until the mace is just above your thighs.

Step 3. As you come back up, slide one hand up the handle and the other down to prayer position, and then continue twirling the mace so the head faces the other direction. Squat again. Inhale as you come up on each rep, and exhale as you squat.

2. Alternating Archer Press

(See 12:22 in the video.)

Step 1. Hold the mace with one hand flush against the mace head and your palm up. Begin with the mace head pointing 45 degrees over one shoulder.

Step 2. Push the mace straight out in the direction the mace head is pointing until your trailing arm is raised to shoulder level and the one nearest the mace head is fully extended, or as close as you can comfortably go. It should look like you’re about to fire an arrow from a bow.

Step 3. Draw the mace back in so it faces upward, make a prayer position, and repeat the archer press on the opposite side.

Rear-Lunge Uppercut

(See 14:43 in the video.)

Step 1. Take a wide grip on the mace so one hand is flush against the mace head. Rotate your body in the direction the mace head points, but keep your hips braced and pointing forward. Keep your elbows locked out.

Step 2. Step back into a lunge with the leg that’s opposite the mace. Lower your body until both knees are bent roughly 90 degrees.

Step 3. Step forward to return to the starting position. As you do so, raise the mace up and across your body so it’s angled 45 degrees in front of your chest. Continue raising it until the mace is over your opposite shoulder. Your front arm should look like you’ve just thrown an uppercut punch. Keep the mace close to your body at all times. Perform reps for 15 seconds, and then switch sides and repeat.

Steel Mace Flow Workout

When you’re comfortable with the steel mace basics, move on to this flow routine, which links familiar steel mace exercises into a fluid circuit.

If you enjoy working with the mace, try experimenting with its cousin, the steel club, starting with our guide to club training.

The post The Steel Mace: Benefits and Uses appeared first on Onnit Academy.

The steel club—the ultimate evolution of the age-old club tool—may be the best training implement you haven’t tried. Here’s what you need to know to start implementing it in your workouts.

What Is A Steel Club?

The club is an offset-loaded weight-training tool, often called a leverage-challenge tool, that works similarly to a kettlebell or steel mace. The bulk of the club’s weight is set at a distance from its handle, making it difficult to stabilize and control. Because of this design, the club lends itself to rotational movements better than perhaps any other piece of equipment (which we’ll discuss in depth further down). Clubs range in length from about one foot to a little more than two feet, and generally come in weight increments ranging between five and 45 pounds.

“The club was our first tool and our first weapon, going back to pre-historic times—think, caveman,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education, and a steel club coach. “It helped us hunt and fight. People figured out that swinging a club increased the torque on it, and that increased the force it could strike with and the damage it could inflict. So armies learned to swing clubs in battle.”

Over time, warriors realized that swinging clubs—and maces, which developed the same way—strengthened their bodies, and they began formalizing club and mace use for sports training and fitness purposes. Every continent had its own version of the club. To this day, some still call the tool an Indian club, or Persian club (sometimes referred to as a “meel”), as the Indians and Iranians (not least of all the Iron Sheik) did so much to popularize it. In modern times, martial arts fitness expert Scott Sonnon has perhaps been the club’s most vocal champion, helping to spread awareness of club training in the Western world with the popularity of his Clubbell® line over the past 20 years.

Traditionally, clubs were made of wood, but that made progressing to heavier weights problematic. To get a heavier club, you had to upgrade to a bigger piece of wood, making the club cumbersome and difficult to travel with. Due to their greater density, modern-day steel clubs offer heavier weight in a more compact size.

What are the Benefits of Steel Club Training?

As with the kettlebell, steel mace, or any other tool where the weight is offset from the handle, the club presents a number of challenges that you can’t get to the same degree with more conventional equipment. It also has a few features that make it unlike any other implement you can use.

Training with the steel club helps you…

1. Build Core Strength

Kettlebells are praised for promoting core strength due to their offset load. The weight is positioned at a distance from the handle, so it’s harder to stabilize, and your body must call on numerous muscles to keep you in alignment. The club takes this to the next level, as the weight is displaced even further at the end of a long lever.

Imagine holding a heavy weight right in front of your chest. It’s close to your center of mass, so you have about as much control over it as you possibly can. Extend the weight away from you, however, and you’ve reduced your leverage advantage. Now it’s harder to lift the load, especially in different planes (say, in a circular fashion as opposed to straight up and down). All club exercises put you at a significant leverage disadvantage, which is bad for making workouts feel easy, but great for activating muscle—especially in your abs and throughout your back.

2. Build Rotational Strength

The leverage disadvantage and shape of the club really feed into its greatest feature—allowing you to train rotational movements.

“Our body works in rotation all the time,” says Heins. For example, swinging a bat, throwing a ball, lifting heavy groceries out of your car, or wrestling with your kids. Some of the best steel club exercises are swinging and spiral patterns that force you to stabilize your body over a long range of motion, and develop power in the rotary plane.

“We also need to be able to resist rotation when it isn’t wanted,” says Heins. “When you’re walking, and you pick one foot up, forces act on it to try to twist it in one direction or the other. When you’re squatting with a barbell, you think you’re going up and down, but there’s rotational force acting on your shoulders, spine, hips, knees, and feet. The club highlights this resistance, and it helps you create greater stability.” Because of its dimensions, doing something as simple as a squat while holding a club is difficult to accomplish without bending or twisting to one side (rotation). But, over time, you’ll learn to move in exactly the planes you want, and the resulting stability will translate to other exercises and athletic movements.

Similar to unilateral exercises, “the club also shows you which of your sides is stronger,” says Heins, “so you can begin to correct the imbalance between the left and right halves of the body.”

3. Build Grip Strength

When you train rotation, you create centrifugal force. As a lever moves around an axis, it wants to pull away from that axis and move outward. In addition to having a thick handle and an offset load, the club is tough to grip because it wants to fly out of your hands when you swing it. “The steel club is great for building a grip that’s really alive,” says Heins. “You can’t just clamp down on it like you do a barbell before a 500-pound deadlift. Wherever you’re holding or moving it, the club is always pushing down or pulling away from you, so you need the dexterity and articulation and sensitivity, in combination with appropriately applied tension, to hold on and control it.” With this in mind, imagine how club training could help a grappler who needs to hang on to an opponent’s gi, a construction worker who hauls heavy materials up a scaffold with a rope, or a fisherman trying to reel in a fighting marlin.

“When you use a club, you have to feel the load transition from between your thumb and forefinger to the pinky and palm of your hand,” says Heins. “The information it sends to your central nervous system is constantly changing.”

The steel mace works the grip in a similar fashion, but the club is harder to hold on to. The handle is shorter, giving you less surface area to grasp. It’s easy to regress the challenge on a steel mace exercise by holding the handle nearer to the ball on the end, or widening your grip, which increases your control. But the load on the club is elongated, and more offset. You have a lot less handle to spread your hands apart on, and gripping the fat end totally changes the nature of the load. It can sometimes feel like your only option is to hold on for dear life. Sound scary? Take it slow, and it’s not as hazardous as you may think. (See Steel Club Safety below.)

4. Decompress Your Joints and Tissues

Most weight-training exercises tighten your body up, literally. Think of what happens to your spine when you do a back squat: the bar rests on your back, shoving your vertebrae closer together. When you press heavy weights, your shoulders and elbows get squeezed. Continually compressing your joints and shortening the muscles that act on them can lead to pain and loss of flexibility, but the steel club can help to alleviate both.

“You have to pull back on the club a bit as it swings,” says Heins, lest you want the centrifugal force to rip it out of your hands. “That creates some traction in your wrists, elbows, and shoulders, which allows fluid to pass through them, helping recovery. You can strengthen a joint with traction just like you can with compression. Pulling it apart makes the muscles and connective tissues work to hold the joint together, and it’s a nice counterbalance to compressive forces you get in your other training.”

Heins says to think of club training like an accordion. “If you squeeze it, you’re only getting half the music. You have to pull the ends apart again to play a song.”

Traction and rotation also have the effect of helping your muscles into new ranges of motion they wouldn’t otherwise explore. Look at a pullover exercise (see the workout below) with the club, in which you hold it vertically and lift it over your shoulder and behind your back in an arcing motion. The weight of the club will help to stretch your triceps, lats, and shoulders as it moves downward behind you. At the same time, holding your ribs down with your core tight to maintain good spine and hip alignment trains your core. You get stretching and strengthening in one movement. How’s that for training economy?

Big weightlifters and powerlifters often report that working the club into their routines helps to open up their shoulders and backs, adding longevity to their competitive careers and easing aches and pains.

5. Get More Out of Light Weight

The handle, the offset load, and the rotational nature of club training make it virtually impossible to use heavy weight, and that’s perfectly alright. If you’re expecting a 10-pound club to feel like a 10-pound dumbbell, get that thought out of your head right now.

“The top-end weights we work with are 35 pounds,” says Heins. “That’s super heavy for club training, but it’s still only 35 pounds of overall load, so even when you get strong on the club, it isn’t hard to recover from. It’s certainly not like recovering after a one-rep max squat with 400 pounds.” Heins notes that doing a long session of club training might leave you mentally zonked, similar to how you’d feel after taking a final exam, because the club requires so much nervous system activation. But it’s too light to leave you physically wrecked for days. For athletes who need to compete frequently, it’s helpful to have a tool that lets them train hard and bounce back fast.

Light weight also makes clubs highly portable. If you’re planning a road trip that will take you away from your gym, clubs can fit easily into the car, providing you with a workout you can do anywhere from a hotel room to an empty parking lot.

6. Make Training Fun!

“I’ve taught training certifications for the club all over the country,” says Heins, “and every time people walk in and pick up a club for the first time, it’s always funny. They think it’s going to feel like a baseball bat or a bowling pin, and then you watch them have to put it down right away because they realize they can’t control it. They take a step back, and then try again.”

To say club training provides a novel workout experience is a given, but it also taps into a primal instinct in us all that’s inherently fun. Clubs can even be used for creative expression. As you master club exercises, you can begin to transition from one to the next seamlessly, creating what’s known as a flow. There’s no wrong order or movement, per se, you just move gracefully from one position to the next, working your whole body in the process. Workouts then become more like warrior dances than weight training.

What Club Should I Buy?

As mentioned above, steel clubs are denser than wood, so they offer easier handling for a wider array of loads (plus, they take up less space). We recommend starting with steel that has a powder-coated handle. Some club handles have knurling (rough texture, same as you see on barbells), which makes for an easier grip, but they can tear up your hands over time—especially if you do a lot of swinging, where the club is pulling away from you with centrifugal force.

Other clubs have handles that are completely smooth, which Heins says presents an even worse problem. “When you sweat, the handle becomes slick,” he says, “which can turn the club into a missile.” The powder coat on Onnit’s clubs provides just enough friction for the club to change positions in your hand without you losing control of it, and it won’t chafe your palms in the process. Additionally, a club should have a knob on the end of its handle—where the pinky end of your grip gets firm purchase—to help stop your hand from sliding back off it.

Heins recommends men start with a pair of 15-pounders and a single 20 or 25-pound club, and says most women will do well with one pair of 10 pounders and a single 15 or 20-pound club. Most of your club training will be done using both hands on one club to start, as this provides the greatest stability. As you progress, you’ll find that exercises done above the waist (such as presses and pullovers) are hardest when utilizing a club in each hand. Those that are done below the waist (swings and leg drivers) are easier when done with a club in each hand versus two hands on one.

How To Warm Up For a Steel Club Workout

Use the following warmup drills to increase mobility and prepare your body for training. Perform 5 reps for each exercise in sequence, and repeat for 3 total rounds.

1. Kneeling Spinal Wave (See 00:42 in the video below.)
2. Kneeling Arm Thread (02:17)
3. Kneeling Hip Flexor Twist (03:43)
4. Clasped-Hand Elbow Rotation (04:45)
5. Pullover Spiral Down (06:35)

3 Steel Club Exercises You Have to Try

Experiment with steel club training by incorporating the following exercises into your workouts wherever you see fit. The spiral lift around is great for improving shoulder mobility, and can help to stretch the wrist flexor muscles, which can cause elbow pain when tight. That makes it a good choice before an upper-body training session as part of your warmup, or after a workout to help you lengthen the muscles again.

The side pullover opens up your shoulder and lat, and helps you maintain a tight core position, making it a natural for inclusion in any kind of ab training you do. Lastly, the front swing can be used anywhere you would normally do a kettlebell swing or other deadlift/hinge movement. Suggestion: try it as a finisher at the end of a session, combining short rest periods and high reps to get your heart rate soaring (once you’re experienced and familiar with the movement, that is).

Directions: In your first session, take it slow, and focus on your technique so that you learn the exercises correctly. Perform each for time rather than reps, starting with 30 seconds. So you’ll do reps for 30 seconds straight and then rest. On the spiral lift around and side pullover, work for 30 seconds on one side, and then switch sides and repeat. Perform 3 to 5 sets for each movement.

Spiral Lift-Around

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder-width apart, and hold a club at your side in your left hand. It should point vertically to the floor below. Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor, brace your core, and squeeze your glutes. Draw your shoulders down and back—think “proud chest.” Maintain this body position throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Begin raising the club straight up in front of your body, pulling from your elbow and allowing the weight of the club to bend your wrist and stretch your forearm. Let the weight of the club pull down as you continue moving the club around the back of your head, and lower the club back to your side, extending your elbow as it comes down. The end of the club should point to the floor throughout the movement.

Try to keep the club as close to your body as you can during the exercise without bumping into it. Heins says to visualize the club as a candle that’s floating around your body—keep it vertical and control its path.

Side Pullover

Step 1. Hold the club with the end pointing upward, and your elbow bent 90 degrees. Turn your arm so that your knuckles point out 90 degrees from your torso with your elbow by your ribs. Maintain the tight core, pelvis position, and proud chest described above.

Step 2. Reach the club over and behind your head, as if you were raising it to deliver a blow. Turn your head so that your eyes can focus on your arm. Swing the club back down to the start position by driving your elbow next to your ribs until the club is pointing vertically again.

As you raise the club on each rep, allow the weight of it to pull your elbow back and stretch your triceps and shoulder, but don’t relax anything. You may find that your range of motion increases over the course of a set. Bring the club down with force, but not so fast that you can’t control its descent and lose alignment.

Front Swing

Step 1. Hold a club in each hand and, keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a straight line, swing the clubs down and back behind you at a 45-degree angle as you hinge at the hips.

Step 2. Drive your hips back as far as you can without losing alignment, and then explosively extend your hips to stand tall. Use the momentum to swing the clubs up to eye level. Control the downswing to go back into the hinge and repeat for reps.

Beginner Steel Club Workout

The following routine works well on its own as a fat loss-focused conditioning workout, or (if done for only 3 rounds only) a finisher at the end of a heavy training session. If doing the former, perform it three times per week on non-consecutive days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for instance).

Directions: Perform the exercises as a circuit, so you’ll complete one set of each movement in turn. (For unilateral exercises, work one side and then the other before going on to the next exercise). At the end of the circuit, rest 45 seconds. Repeat for 3–5 total rounds.

Instead of aiming for a specific number of reps, you’ll perform your sets for time. Complete as many reps as you can in 30 seconds, and aim to perform one more in the same amount of time each time you repeat the workout, or perform the set with better form and greater control. Don’t rush to get as many reps as possible; focus on perfect execution.

1. One-Arm Pullover

(See 01:20 in the video above)

Reps: Work for 30 seconds (each side)

Step 1. Hold the club in front of you with the end pointing upward, and your elbow bent 90 degrees. Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is parallel to the floor, brace your core, and squeeze your glutes. Draw your shoulders down and back—think “proud chest.” Maintain this body position throughout the exercise.

Step 2. Reach the club over your shoulder and behind your head, as if you were raising it to deliver a blow. Swing the club down to its starting position by driving your elbow forward again and down next to your hip, so the club is pointing vertically again.

As you raise the club on each rep, allow the weight of it to pull your elbow back and stretch your triceps and shoulder (but don’t relax anything). You may find that your range of motion increases over the course of a set. Bring the club down with force, but not so fast that you can’t control its descent and lose alignment.

2. Double Leg Driver

(See 02:46 in the video.)

Reps: Work for 30 seconds

Step 1. Stand two clubs on the floor so they sit vertically, a little outside shoulder width. Stand just behind them with a hip to shoulder-width stance, and, keeping your head, spine, and pelvis in a long line, hinge your hips back and bend your knees so you can reach down and grasp the clubs by their handles.

Step 2. Tip the clubs back toward you and extend your hips and knees enough to pick the clubs off the floor and allow them to swing back behind your body.

Step 3. Reverse the momentum and swing the clubs in front of your legs, bending your knees to decelerate them. The range of motion is fairly short. Continue swinging the clubs in this pendulum motion, bending your hips and knees to power the movement. Do not allow your hips and knees to lock out at any time, and maintain a proud chest position and alignment from your head to your pelvis.

3. Two-Hand Front Press

(See 04:44 in the video.)

Reps: Work for 15 seconds with right hand on top, then 15 seconds left on top

Step 1. Stand with feet between hip and shoulder width and hold one club with both hands to the right side of your torso. Your right hand should be on top of the left, and your left should be at the bottom of the handle.

Step 2. Keeping a proud chest, level pelvis, and shoulders square with your hips, press the club straight in front of your chest until your hands are at eye level and your elbows are locked out. 

4. Mountain Climber to Down Dog

(See 06:28 in the video.)

Reps: Work for 30 seconds

Step 1. Get on all fours on the floor. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your toes should also dig into the floor. Tuck your tailbone so that your pelvis is perpendicular to the floor, and brace your core. Draw your shoulder blades down and together (“proud chest”).

Step 2. Try to maintain your shoulder and hip position as you step your left leg forward and place your foot on the floor to the outside of your left hand. Take a second to retract your shoulders and extend your hips after the rep. Return your leg to the all-fours position, and repeat on the opposite side.

Step 3. When you’ve done the mountain climber on both legs and returned to the all-fours position, push your hands into the floor, extend your knees, and drive your hips back into downward dog. Your head, spine, and tailbone should form a straight line as you balance on the balls of your feet. From there, you can pedal your feet, extending one knee at a time to help loosen your hamstrings. Afterward, return to all fours to begin the next round of mountain climbers.

Steel Club Safety

There’s no denying that the club was originally created to bash things over the head, so we understand if you’re a little reluctant to start swinging it around your living room near your spouse or children. But with a little practice, you’ll see that the club poses no more danger than any other piece of exercise equipment—and maybe even less. Consider this: you’ll never get trapped under a 400-pound squat with it and have to call spotters to pull it off of you.

Heins offers the following safety tips: “Keep your eyes on the club at all times. Turn your head and follow it wherever it goes. When you feel your hands get sweaty, or you’re losing your grip, or you notice your form is starting to break down, end the set and put the club down. There’s no ‘just one more rep!’ with club training. Also, be aware of your surroundings and make sure you give yourself space.”

The post The Steel Club: Benefits and Uses appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Daniel Morrow, 34, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, was one of those. He was so much the opposite of a health and fitness enthusiast, in fact, that he nearly died in his early 20s from kidney and liver damage brought on by drug abuse. But discovering Onnit turned him onto the steel mace, and then to bodyweight training, and now he’s so into the fit life that he gets paid to teach others how to adopt it.

We interviewed Morrow about the Onnit 6 Challenge that started it all, and how the Onnit Tribe—our private support group, available on both Facebook and Discord—helps keep it going.

Onnit: What was life like before you found Onnit?

Daniel Morrow: I was not taking good care of myself. When I was 14, I started drinking and smoking. My first job out of high school was in a restaurant, and my manager spiked my drinks with Ecstasy—MDMA—the whole time I was employed there. My girlfriend caught him doing it. He said the reason he was drugging me was to give me more energy to help me perform my job better. The craziest thing is, when I found out, I didn’t care.

I actually went out and found a drug dealer and started purchasing so much from this guy that he thought I was distributing at parties and raves. He started giving me wholesale prices [laughs]. When he found out I was buying all those drugs just for myself, and buying more every week, even he said, “How are you not dead yet?” I said, “I don’t care. I’m having fun. Leave me alone.”

When I was around 20, I worked as an insurance adviser. I believe that you can’t really promote something if you don’t believe in it enough to use it yourself, so I applied for my company’s insurance. I got declined, but I didn’t even look into why. I just didn’t care. Pretty soon afterward, though, I stopped using drugs. Then, about a decade later, I was working as a financial adviser, and I reapplied for insurance and again got declined, mainly because I had been declined 10 years earlier. This time, I asked to see the files from that first rejection. My physical evaluation showed that, in my early 20s, I was borderline for kidney and liver failure. Bile had been secreting into my bloodstream.

That was a wakeup call to me. I felt like I had been living on borrowed time for the past decade, and that there must be a reason I was still here. I had gotten off drugs, but I still wasn’t taking great care of my health, and now I was finally ready to take it seriously. I knew I had to make some lasting changes if I wanted to live long enough to accomplish my goals in life.

Why do you think you were so self-destructive at such a young age? Did you go through some terrible trauma as a kid?

I really don’t know. I was always a scrawny kid—I weighed only 115 pounds into my mid 20s—and I got bullied all through school. But I don’t think that fully explains why I acted the way I did. I was very nihilistic when I was young. My attitude was, “Nothing matters. What’s the point? Who even cares?” I never bothered to sort through the why behind that thinking.

But I started to make changes when I was 21. I was still partying and using drugs, and one day I woke up and I was massively hungover. I was living at my dad’s, and we had a garden. I found a lot of joy in doing the gardening. So I got up, went out and sat in a lawnchair by the garden, and sparked up a cigarette. I was looking at the garden and the smell of my cigarette smoke suddenly upset my stomach. That’s when I broke down crying and everything came out. “What am I doing with my life? I’m putting all this crap into my body. I’m not going anywhere. Here I am, putting all of this effort into this garden… Why can’t I make my life as beautiful as I can make this garden?”

I went out that day to my cell-phone provider and asked them to change my number, so the negative people I dealt with couldn’t reach me anymore. I packed up my stuff and moved out. I went to my ex-girlfriend’s house and stayed in her spare bedroom in Vancouver. As soon as I got out of my hometown, I didn’t have the cravings anymore. Leaving and not looking back was the jolt I needed to quit everything cold turkey.

So when and how did you find Onnit?

Like I said, after that second decline on the insurance, I got more curious about health and fitness. I found Aubrey Marcus’ book, Own The Day, and I really liked it, along with what his company, Onnit, seemed to be about. A few months later, in the spring of 2020, I decided to sign on for the very first Onnit 6 Challenge, and I chose the Steel Mace program. 

Why did the steel mace appeal to you, and what was your experience with that Challenge?

I chose the steel mace because it looked bad ass! One of the things I liked in Aubrey’s book was the idea that working out can be about playing and having fun. I knew I wouldn’t be consistent with any kind of training until I could gamefy it in some way.

I tend to do a lot of things impulsively, but if I don’t have something to look forward to, and people to hold me accountable, I probably won’t keep doing it. That’s why doing conventional workouts in a gym does nothing for me. I wanted some kind of activity that I could do on my time, anytime, anywhere, on my terms. The Onnit 6 Challenge looked like the right fit, and my goal was to use it to establish a consistent habit of being active, and to get to know myself better as a result.

One of the things I learned about myself during the Challenge is that I’m my own worst enemy. In the beginning, I thought I had to power through every workout and keep up with what Coach John Wolf was doing. But going hard wasn’t getting me any results. It taught me that I could push myself hard for 20 minutes at a time, but I wasn’t learning to use the steel mace properly. Wolf spent most of the Challenge trying to get me to slow down and realize that the steel mace is a very technical tool. You’re constantly pushing and pulling and trying to bend it to activate lines of tension in your body. I started with a 15-pound mace, but I should have been using a 10 or seven-pounder. I didn’t make any true progress until the Challenge was over, but I learned from that mistake. I got a 10-pound mace and did the whole Challenge again, this time really taking the time to master each movement.

Since then, I’ve done almost every Onnit 6 Challenge that has been offered. I’ve gained a lot of definition in my body—I no longer have that dad-bod look. The biggest physical improvement I’ve noticed—and this was my biggest weakness before I found Onnit—is my mobility. My hips are looser now. I can get deeper in my squat, and I don’t struggle to do overhead presses anymore. I can get my arms behind my head to do mace swings. 

Onnit 6 Challenge participants are encouraged to join the Onnit Tribe, where they can get moral support from the other members, as well as socialize. What has your experience been with the Tribe?

At first, I thought it would be the meathead stereotype. I thought it would be people only talking about their workouts and they might be very judgmental, so I stayed behind the scenes. I was very reserved in what I would say in posts. But then I saw how great John was leading the Tribe. I thought, “If this is the kind of guy who’s running the community, I’m pretty sure all of those biases and fears I have are non-existent.” Everyone was warm and supportive all the time, and I was amazed at how much they shared about their own lives. Seeing other people put themselves out on the ledge helps you do the same yourself. It’s easier to share when others are sharing. So I thought, “Maybe I should be experiencing this instead of running from it.”

As I got more comfortable sharing my story, I made friends in the Tribe. Tim Sibley is now a good friend of mine, and we talk almost every day. I found that sharing my journey helped other people get going when they were stuck, and it did the same for me. I had never been consistent with physical activity before, but the Tribe kept me going with it. I realized that if I were to drop out, I wouldn’t just be letting myself down, I’d be letting these other people down too. I’d be letting the whole team down. Doing something just for myself is not a big enough reason to motivate me. I need something bigger.

I’ll tell you how I got comfortable with the idea of posting in the Tribe. I would make a post, and then abandon social media for hours. I didn’t want to think about what people might be commenting on it. I’d come back maybe eight hours later, long enough so that I had pretty much forgotten what I even wrote. That’s when I’d see that it wasn’t as bad as I thought. No matter what I said, everyone responded positively. That made me want to stick around and engage in real-time conversations. We all fear being vulnerable with people because we don’t know the response we’ll get, but in the Tribe, it will always be encouraging.

Like I said, I was always scrawny. I’m only 123 pounds now. One of my nicknames in high school was Sasquatch, because I’m so hairy [laughs]. I’ve always been self-conscious, so I never cared for muscle shirts or tank tops that showed too much. A lot of people post pictures of themselves in the Tribe working out in muscle shirts, so I finally did too, and people told me I looked good! Now muscle shirts are my favorite type of shirt. I wear them all the time in the summer, or at least for the two months of the year that it’s warm enough in Canada [laughs].

What is your lifestyle like now that you’re a fit guy?

Before Onnit, I would go to bed as late as 3:00 a.m. and sleep till 3:00 in the afternoon. Now I’m in bed by nine or 10 every night [laughs]. I’m so regimented that it’s almost turned into a bad habit. Every morning I have a greens drink, meditate, and do my workout, and now if I don’t do them all in that order, it throws off my whole day. I’m too consistent! So now I’m working on being more fluid. 

Has Onnit helped you in any other areas of life?

It’s helped me start a new career. When the pandemic hit, I had been working doing traditional business loans. When all the businesses suddenly shut down, no one was giving out money, so I was basically out of work. I was really getting into fitness through Onnit, so I studied and got a nutrition certification, and also got certified in Animal Flow. I wanted my next move to be coaching other people to get healthier.

I was trying to figure out who my audience was for coaching, and I got into crypto currencies at the same time. I realized there was a whole ecosystem of people who do nothing but sit in front of their computers for up to 20 hours a day coding and building stuff online. They’re not healthy; they’re not mobile. So I thought there could be an opportunity for me there in helping them.

I learned how to network in the Tribe, and I started doing the same on Discord, a social media platform where a lot of crypto people hang out. I started putting what I was learning about fitness into that community. Soon, the founders of crypto companies started reaching out to me, saying, “We need to focus on health within our organization. Can you run some fitness classes for us?” Next thing you know, I was brought on as a community manager. Now I’m able to codify my values into the organization for these businesses.

I help write the rules for these organizations. I design systems and procedures to put an emphasis on health and well-being for their employees. Crypto companies are all international organizations, so we contract with people all over the world. You’ll have people staying up till 3:00 in the morning to stay engaged with another team, and that’s not healthy. So I’ve initiated policies like having a team lead in our US zone, in our Asian zone, and the European zone, so staffers can work more normal hours. Now we don’t have people burning the midnight oil, and burning themselves out as a result. I also set up out-of-office areas and after-hours programs for employees, so when they’re off work, they can socialize with each other, which helps build camaraderie.

Do you use any Onnit supplements?

I take Alpha BRAIN^® in the morning with food. I’ve found that if I don’t eat with it, it bothers my stomach, but as long as I eat I’m fine. I like it for focus and memory. I think it helps me listen more actively on calls.

Do you have any advice for people who may be on the fence about joining the Tribe?

The sooner you get in there, the sooner you’ll get ahead in life. I know it’s human nature to have reservations and biases, but my tip is to put those off to the side and give it a chance.

The post “Doing It For Myself Is Not Enough”: Q&A With Onnit Tribe Member Daniel Morrow appeared first on Onnit Academy.

“For those who don’t know, Leo Savage and I have been friends a long time. Leo is a movement artist, an educator, and an innovator who’s really well known for his work with the steel mace—particularly his method of combining steel mace exercises into a flow. If you’ve seen people doing beautiful movement art using a mace, it’s probably stemmed from Leo’s influence, to some degree.”

Wolf reconnected with Savage (aka Leo Urquides) for an Onnit Story—part of an ongoing series of live video interviews with people who have changed their lives with Onnit’s assistance. Savage explains how steel mace training has helped free his mind as well as his body, and why following your passion can make you money, turn enemies into friends, and cement a legacy that lives forever.

See below for the video, as well as an edited transcript of the highlights. You can stay up to date with Onnit Stories by following Onnit’s Instagram TV (IGTV), where a new one appears every other week. 

John Wolf: How did your path intersect with Onnit’s?

Leo Savage: I’ve played video games my whole life, and somebody turned me on to Alpha BRAIN^® as a supplement to help with my scores. That was the first time I saw the Onnit brand. Later on, I started practicing martial arts. I spent a lot of time researching people who swung weapons, and that’s how I found out about the steel mace. There’s an ancient practice called gada, where you swing an implement that’s very similar to the steel mace, and people today do it for health and fitness.

While I was researching, I stumbled onto the Joe Rogan podcast, and he was doing an ad for Onnit’s fitness equipment. He mentioned the mace. I remember reading his shirt so I could get the correct spelling of Onnit so I could enter it into my web browser. I found Onnit’s website, and then Instagram, and there was this badass, Bruce Lee-looking guy on there swinging the mace around. By some bizarre coincidence, that guy came to my hometown to put on an Onnit Steel Mace certification pretty soon afterward.

Before you got your hands on a mace, you were actually using a sledgehammer. Is that right?

Yes, until I found the mace. My intent was to integrate the martial arts training I had done with the physical fitness training I had, and use both to move with the mace. But a lot of it, honestly, was just moving around with the mace and trying to feel badass while listening to how my body felt during the movements and transitions. I was really using it to search out feelings, John. I was just expressing myself. And that’s what creation is. Regardless whether you’re working with a kettlebell or a mace or whatever your preferred tool is, there is this effect that happens to a human being when they enter a creative mindset. Like Rick James used to say, “It’s a hell of a drug.” I like to say creation is a hell of a drug.

Once you find that gateway to creation, you start a practice of self-development, whether it’s conscious or not. So, using the mace was just a practice of self-development that slowly allowed me to take what I might have trapped on the inside and bring it to the outside.

I never fit in, my whole life. I was always joining different tribes and trying to feel like I could fit in somewhere. I finally ended up stumbling on, “Why don’t I just create my own thing?” I used to get myself fired from jobs for creating my own way of doing something. I suppressed a lot of my uniqueness trying to fit in. So I thought it was a beautiful practice—creating something with no rules and just flowing. 

I think a lot of us have that same journey. I was that weird guy doing things that nobody had done before, and I had a hard time putting into words what it was—but it felt aligned with who I was trying to evolve into being. I hear that same thing in your story, and your expression has been very unique. I know that creating has been part of the healing process for you, and it’s allowed you to know yourself much better.

Onnit Steel Mace education has a systemized, structured approach to learning the tool, and you developed a very big movement palette for the mace all on your own. Talk about what happened when those worlds collided.

I wanted to go to the Onnit Steel Mace certification more than anything in the world. But I was also scared that, in all of the movement systems that I had ever learned before, they always taught me that there was only one right way to do it, and it was based on the information that they were selling. I already had all these moves that I was developing and refining, so I’m going into the certification like, “OK, well, these guys are going to do what everybody in the past has done, and they’re going to strip my identity from me. They’ll tell me I can’t move like I want to move.” But that’s not what happened.

The reality was, when I went in, there was this beautiful gentleman, Shane Heins [Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education], and, of course, Esik Melland, the Bruce Lee-looking guy, and they taught this beautiful course. At the end, Shane said to me, “Leo, now you have our education, and you can use it by itself, or you can add it into what you’re doing. You can choose to take only pieces of it, if you like. But you’re free to do what you want.” It was the most bizarre conversation I had ever had in fitness, because in every cert I had been to up to that point, the final commands were, “Do it this way and pass our test and teach it to people the exact same way.”

So it was a very uplifting experience for me. And Onnit’s education gave me cornerstones, so I could take what I was feeling and match it with structures and foundations that gave the steel mace training I was doing a language that I could use to communicate to others. So when I teach people how to use the mace, and they ask, “Can you teach me to do that thing?”, I can explain it better.

Onnit has since adopted me as their steel mace flow educator, and now I get to teach the steel mace at the highest possible level. I get a little emotional talking about it. Practicing the steel mace has saved my life. It has healed me, and I can take the healing that I’ve done and distribute it to other people. I’ve had people thank me for helping them heal themselves through the steel mace. I got my dream job of teaching the Onnit Academy Steel Mace certification, and at the same time, I get to run my own company, Steel Mace Flow. So I get to teach two brands of steel mace flowing for two companies that I very much love. It’s been a very symbiotic relationship.

The Academy side of Onnit is something more people need to explore. It’s this tribe of amazing people with values that aligned with mine. It’s a company that I finally fit in with. As weird as I was at times, Onnit supported me. They were like, “Yeah, we’re into that. Keep going.” I’d be like, “Should I reel it in? Should I tame it down a little bit?” And Onnit would say, “No. Keep doing your own thing.”

I’m very honored to rep the Onnit flag. I moved to Austin, Texas, four years ago so I could swing the mace at the Onnit Gym every day. It’s been so nice to have Onnit in my backyard, and every time I go into that gym, I see there’s some person going through a transformation there. I see somebody joining up and it’s their first or second day, and they’re getting oriented. I take a second and I look at them, because I want to see what they look like now. I know in three weeks, this person’s not going to look the same. They’re going to see all these other people in there exploding with life, and they’re going to change in a physical way as a result. They’re going to change mentally too.

For the people at home, the Onnit Gym used to be called the Onnit Academy. The term Academy now refers to our online educational offerings. You’ll see Leo in the filming of them quite a bit, especially in the Steel Mace course.

Our education system is what we would consider a classical education system. We’re going to ask you a lot of questions and let you come to certain conclusions through exploration and conversation. Instead of telling you what to think, or that there is only one way, we really want to empower you with a framework that allows you to come to your own conclusions.

When Leo came, I have to admit, he stretched the container of our education, and I think that’s a great gift. We share the same space and platform and vibe. Can you speak about the pillar principles of Onnit’s steel mace education, and how you use them in your own system?

I like the principle of give to empower. At first, nobody was doing Steel Mace Flow. So I was the man—and it was super lonely, John. And then I got a little clout, and people were following me, and, damn, it feels good to be seen. But then what do you do with that? You empower other people. I didn’t really become “the man” until I started creating other leaders and empowering other people to heal themselves, or start a workout company, or create revenue from their art. I wasn’t the man until I started helping others. So the idea of giving to empower has always been at the top of my list.

Unity and diversity is another pillar I believe in. We were talking about how sometimes you pay for education and then you’re reprimanded for using it your own way. I think that’s an old-school philosophy, and it doesn’t work with people who really know how to source information. I’ve learned so much from just being in a room with other people who are totally different from me. When I was growing up and I read about America, I remember the teacher describing America as the melting pot. We all have different things we like and different ways of doing things, but we bring them all together so everyone benefits. Onnit is like that.

I remember the first Steel Mace course you went to of ours was housed in a venue you once fought in. For those who don’t know, Leo used to fight in MMA, professionally. He even shared a fight card one night with UFC star Carlos Condit. There were some other killers at that mace course too, weren’t there?

There was Damacio Page, and Jinh Yu Frey, who’s an Onnit Pro now. That was in New Jersey, and I remember I’d just gotten back from Hawaii. I was flying all over the world, living my best life, teaching steel mace.

Actually, big announcement, I moved again, yesterday. I hired some guys to help me move, and they were moving my maces. I was like, “Be careful with those.” One of the guys goes, “What the hell is this?” And I’m like, “It’s a steel mace.” And he’s like, “Cool.” We got to talking, and I said, “Yeah, I swing a steel mace for a living.” He was baffled, but he lives in Austin, so he gets it. People do weird stuff out here.

I have done absolutely everything I’ve ever wanted by chasing this passion of mine, John. I don’t know how much money I’ve made, but I feel like I’m the richest man in the world. I’ve got students all over the world. I have people who study Steel Mace Flow that don’t have a clue who I am. My work is translated in different languages. I just bought a Volkswagen, my dream car, and I have my favorite dog, Butter. And I guess the only reason I’m bringing up these things is because chasing my passion made them possible.

I just loved the Steel Mace so much that that love infected other people. So whatever your passion is, whatever your art thing is, I would say to just do it because you love it. One of these days, people will ask you how you do it, or why you do it. Then you have a chance to monetize that thing and take your love of it to the next level. I hope everybody gets to find that someday. Man, who would’ve thought that swinging a sledgehammer to express myself—a grown man doing karate with a sledgehammer—would turn out to be all this?

It’s time to take some questions from the audience. Oh, here’s an important one. “What’s your weapon of choice in a zombie apocalypse?”

Come on, man. A steel mace!

Hey, there’s no need to reload, so that’s a good choice.

Dude, half the time when I’m daydreaming, it’s about me taking out zombies with the steel mace.

Here’s another one. “Where do you see Steel Mace Flow five years from now, and 50 years from now?”

It’s cool to find a purpose, but eventually your purpose turns into your legacy. Steel Mace Flow is quickly evolving. I recently released a Steel Mace Flow Level Two program called Mace Artist, and the point of that program is to create so much energy that you can shift how somebody’s feeling. You can change somebody’s reality based on how beautifully you move. I’m sure that’s happened to anybody who’s traveled. If you’ve ever been to Amsterdam and seen somebody performing on the street corner, it’s beautiful and mesmerizing and it stops you and puts a smile on your face. That’s the focus of this course—to create such a good vibe that you not only change the outside reality, but your reality through positive storytelling.

Steel mace flows are short stories. We create flows that represent a feeling you’re having: “My back hurts.” “I hate my job.” Whatever is going on with you. Steel Mace Flow takes it and makes it look beautiful. Whatever you’re dealing with, your goal is to act it out in physical movement and make it look beautiful. I have found that to be very positive for my mental health and my students’ mental health. It’s very hard to be depressed when you’re making beautiful movement. If you’re in the steel mace community, you know that that’s what I’m doing when I’m free-flowing with the mace. I’m acting out the good day, the bad day, whatever type of day I’ve had.

That message is getting out there. So where do I see Steel Mace Flow in five years? I see that power in more people’s hands. And in 50 years, I have this vision of just disappearing for a while, getting off social media, and doing my mace thing on top of a mountain somewhere. In 50 years, there will be so many leaders in this practice. I’ll be able to turn on the channel and see where it’s gone and who’s doing it.

What are your tips for first-time mace users?

Start lighter than you think. I use a 10-pound, 40-inch long, inch and a half-diameter steel mace made by Onnit. The mace is made in the handle, not the head. Anybody can make a cannon ball. So make sure you buy a mace with the right handle, like the one Onnit makes. You can feel how difficult or smooth the mace can be if it’s off balance.

Also, express yourself. I would strongly encourage you to put on your favorite song and move with your mace for the entire length of the song. What you’ll notice about the song is that there’s probably highs and lows, peaks and valleys. That will help you find your flow. You’ll start pulling out movements from your past—things that you really enjoyed. If you have a passion for kettlebells and Wonder Woman, I can only imagine that if you moved around naturally with the steel mace, you would move a lot like Wonder Woman. You’d look like a badass with a mace. And you would learn to move the mace like you do kettlebells. Then, after you’ve experienced what it’s like to move the way you want to, go on Instagram and copy what other people are doing. There are some amazing movers on there, and they are giving out tips and tricks every day. Learn as much as you can off of the public domain, and then come see me. 

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever attempted with a mace?

I remember the first time I did a 360 swing, there was this moment of like, “I don’t know what’s going to happen.” There’s this beautiful trust fall that occurs in the practice of a 360, where you have to let it go to fall into position and trust in your technique that you’re going to get it right. So there was this moment of, “I hope my parachute pulls.” I went for it, and it worked out.

One viewer asks, “What do you think about people who criticize unconventional fitness? I find that even a lot of my close friends who are passionate about fitness tend to look down at some of the Onnit curriculum.”

Insulting someone’s personal practice can be very hurtful to the person, and that’s something that I’ve had to deal with. I know one thing: if they criticize you, they are watching you. So now you have somebody who supports you by watching what you do, and they don’t even realize it. 

And here’s what I know about the troll—the person who likes to constantly attack people for being themselves: they usually don’t stop doing it until they find a reason not to. The troll needs a reason to stop. Keep training, and one of these days, you’re going to do something beautiful. You’re going to do it for you, but it’s going to touch them in such a way that they’ll DM you and they’ll tell you, “Thanks. Sorry, I was being a bully.” It’s OK for people to not understand you. Let them keep watching, and you keep being an amazing human being. Sooner or later, they’re going to connect that that thing you’re doing is part of why you’re an amazing human being. And that will close the gap between the two of you. One day, they might even ask you, “How do you do that?”

Some people are just attached to their story, or where they place value. Anything that challenges it is dangerous to them. But I think what you said is the only way to handle it. Train to manifest the greatest version of you possible, and know that you’ll inspire others to walk that path. And that path doesn’t mean that you have to do Onnit things. It doesn’t mean you have to do an Onnit program or swing a steel mace. You just need a personal practice that you pour yourself into for the purpose of being a better human.

Here’s another question: “I would like to continue learning steel mace. Do you have any online programs?”

Do I ever. Go to steelmaceflow.com. I have a Level One course on there that you can do in the privacy of your own home. It’s quite an extensive course, so you’re going to get in shape. It is super easy to follow. All you need is enough room to move and lunge forward, go back and side to side. You need a little overhead clearance and some type of Wi-Fi connection, and that’s it.

How does one get certified in Steel Mace Flow?

John, it is my privilege to announce that my birthday weekend, January 8th and 9th, the Onnit Gym has invited my tribe and me back to teach a Steel Mace Flow Level One certification. I can’t tell you how excited I am to give my students the Onnit experience. For anybody who hasn’t been to the Onnit Gym, there’s a big wooden door, and you open it up and there’s this huge sprawling gym behind it. I love to take people and give them that experience. I think we’ll have tickets up for sale here in the next few days.

Before we jump off, Leo, I’m going to give you the floor one more time. Do you have any closing statements, any messages that you’d like to pass on?

I’m going to preach the word of Oprah. Oprah said to do a random act of kindness for somebody. I love to do this, John. I do it for the other person, but also for myself too. I want you to have a life-changing experience.

Here’s what I want you to do: take a piece of paper and I want you to write an inspiring message on it. Hey, if you want, you can just look up an inspiring message on Reddit. Hand-write an inspiring message and then walk up to somebody and give it to them and watch what happens. It’s a practice I started recently. It’ll change your life.

CLICK HERE for more Onnit Stories

The post “It’s OK To Not Be Understood”: Leo Savage’s Onnit Story appeared first on Onnit Academy.

As a dancer and Pilates instructor, core training can literally feel like the center of my universe. I’ve always been taught and consistently teach the idea of drawing awareness to the deeper set of abdominals (the transversus abdominis) when performing exercises.

Whether I’m training a client or working on my own regimen, I take the time to draw awareness inward and engage the deeper set of abdominals before moving through the circuit. It’s not only a more efficient and safer way to move, but it also strengthens, enhances, and sharpens your kinesthetic awareness. It keeps you centered and in the moment.

And there is no better weighted tool than a Steel Club to keep you in the moment! Be it a Steel Club swing or Steel Club press, we are in a position to learn how the body can best support this remarkable tool – the club. How we coordinate technique, breath, strength and flow depends highly on our approach to this one-of-a-kind weight.

The beauty and effectiveness of working with Steel Clubs lies in their design. It’s that disproportionate/uneven weight distribution that requires us to turn our attention inward, to focus on technique and to rely on the depth of what we need to connect to for each and every rep.

When we combine a deep understanding of core engagement and challenging exercises with a Steel Club, what we have is an extremely well balanced relationship. The uneven weight of the Steel Club forces us to take a “physical inventory” of how best to maintain structure and move effectively.

If we learn how to cultivate this connection, we are less likely to rely solely on using the superficial muscles to maintain structure. We’re given a shot at developing a stronger, more balanced body, one with a solid connection to movement. So let’s couple the Steel Club and the keen awareness required to maintain structure with a crushing, core-based circuit that requires us to dig deep.

Now that’s my idea of a unique, challenging, and smart core workout! There are so many invaluable Steel Club exercises for core strength, but I’ve chosen the following since they require me to place more emphasis on engaging the deeper transversus. Here are four of my favorite Steel Club exercises for strength:

Top 4 Steel Club Exercises for Core Strength

Core Exercise #1: Swings

The swing starts from a position that looks similar to a squat with a torso pitch forward (the silverback gorilla stance). With your position now properly established, pitch forward at the waist while keeping the chest lifted— remember to keep the shoulders packed and to maintain crown to coccyx alignment.

Begin to swing the Steel Clubs to the back position. The Steel Club should swing backward to about a foot behind the heels. The knees stay bent when swinging to the back position. As you swing forward, engage the transversus (drive energy through the soles of the feet), press the hips forward to a standing position, and swing the Steel Clubs to shoulder height. It’s that forward swing or top position where the money’s at!

It’s an explosive exercise. So the swing from back to front is the point when you dig deep to engage the core. Find your swing—your momentum! Try this exercise as part of your Steel Club circuit using one of the timed intervals below.

60 sec/15 sec break OR 45 sec/10 sec break

Core Exercise #2: Floating Squat with Steel Club Extension

Use the 5lb Steel Club

Start by finding a stable bench. Sit on the edge of the bench, holding one 5lb Steel Club with the right hand. The left arm/hand is going to support your bodyweight as you shift forward. Glutes no longer touch the edge of the bench. The fingertips of the supporting hand (right) face forward and the arm remains straight.

Keep the hips square to the front and avoid driving the hips forward. You should be able to draw a straight line from the tailbone all the way up to the crown of the head. Pull the lower abdomen in to support the structure.

As you float and engage the core, hold the Steel Club so that the elbow is drawn into the side and the arm is shaped like an “L”. Pack the shoulders down and exhale as you extend the Club to a forward press. You can choose to perform this exercise as a static Club extension, or you can press the Steel Club forward and back. Try this exercise as part of your Club circuit using a timed interval.

60 sec/15 sec break OR  45 sec/10 sec break

The key points in maintaining structure for this exercise are as follows:

• Keep the hips and shoulders square to the front.
• Keep the hips back (or towards the bench) by pulling in the lower abs. Keep the knees directly under your ankles.
• Shoulders are packed.
• Press through into the soles of the feet for extra support.
• Don’t hunch!

Core Exercise #3: Bicycle with Oblique Steel Club Dips

Use the 5lb Steel Club or 10lb Steel Club

Start lying down, with the Steel Club at your side. As you pick up the Steel Club, hold the side closest to the knob with the right hand (left hand gets the larger end). Knuckles should be pointing up. Keep the arms bent and hold the Club above the navel. Bring the legs to a “table top” position. Draw the left elbow towards the ribcage as you extend the right leg.

At this point, the shoulders should be off the floor and the navel pulled in and up as you alternate legs. The side-to-side Steel Club dips offer great oblique activation as you move the Steel Club from a horizontal plane (center) to a vertical plane (side to side).

The key points in maintaining structure for this exercise are as follows:

• Engage the transversus.
• Keep the shape of the Steel Club exercise consistent as you move. It’s easy to get sloppy on this one!
• Keep the knuckles pointed up. Avoid bending the wrists back.
• Try this exercise as part of your Steel Club circuit using a timed interval.

60 sec/15 sec break OR 45 sec/10 sec break

Core Exercise #4: Sit-up to V-sit with Forward Steel Club Press

Use the 10 or 15lb Steel Club

Take a deep breath because I saved the best for last! There is no hiding from this one. Not only does it challenge the core, but the delts have a little fun too! This exercise really captures the gist of what I wrote of earlier—digging deep to discover how best to support the framework of the exercise.

Begin lying down on a mat with your Steel Club. The Steel Club should be positioned behind your head with the left hand near the knob and the right hand towards the center. Before beginning the exercise you might want to try a back and forth spinal rock to get a feel for the movement. Just remember not to roll past the middle of the back.

Take a deep breath in to prepare. As you exhale, pull the lower belly in, drawing the elbows in to the sides as you peel the spine off the mat to the top of a sit-up position. Once you are up, extend the Steel Club forward. Each time that you extend, be sure to “wring out” the Steel Club so that your elbow pits are facing upward. Slowly, take each foot off the mat to create a “V” shape. Drop your shoulders down, lift through the chest, and squeeze the lower abs in. Hold for 4 counts.

Slowly draw the arms in (elbows into the sides). Roll back one vertebrae at a time (for 4 counts).

The key points in maintaining structure for this exercise are as follows:

• Keep the shoulders packed throughout the exercise.
• Use your exhale! As you come to your “V” sit, use the breath to hold the position.
• Pull the lower abs in and up.
• Roll through this exercise slowly. The abs like it that way!
• Don’t hunch as you come to the full “V” sit! Shoulders down, lower core pulled in, chest lifts slightly.

The post The Top 4 Steel Club Exercises for Core Strength appeared first on Onnit Academy.

Whether you’re a longtime gym rat or not, if you grew up reading comic books or watching action movies, you wished you could have had sleeve-ripping arms like Wolverine, the athleticism of Captain America, strength like Thor, etc.

Well, now you can. Or as close as you can get without undergoing genetic mutation, government experiments, or divine intervention.

Introducing our Superhero Workout series—fitness tips, exercises, and routines designed to transform you from a mere civilian into the defender of the planet you knew you were always meant to be.

Check back here all week for plans to acquire your favorite superhero’s particular skill or attribute, which we’ll bring you one at a time.

Today, we offer the blueprint for Thor’s other-worldly strength, using a steel club to simulate his hammer.

The Thor Workout

Most people only know one way to gain strength: add more weight to the exercise. That works, of course, but only up to a point. The limiting factor in your ability to get beastly strong is your ability to keep good form—maintaining the body position you need to use your muscles maximally and perform the lift in the most efficient manner possible.

“Strength is a function of position,” says Shane Heins, Onnit’s Director of Fitness Education. “If you can create a stronger position, then you have greater strength to lift whatever implement you’re using.”

You can build muscle and strength if that’s the only tool you use. “I put on 10 pounds in three months using clubs exclusively,” says Heins.

Heins recommends working with a steel club—not just because it’s analogous to Thor’s hammer, but because it helps correct all the muscle imbalances that hold back your ability to maintain good technique on any lift you attempt.

Men can use a 20-, 25-, or 35-pound club for the following exercises. Women may start with a 10-, 15-, or 20-pounder.

Club Swing

Hold a club with both hands, left hand over over right, and stand with feet between hip and shoulder-width apart.

Heins recommends working with a steel club—not just because it’s analogous to Thor’s hammer, but because it helps correct all the muscle imbalances that hold back your ability to maintain good technique.

Think “proud chest,” drawing your shoulder blades back and down, and screw your feet into the floor to create tension in your hips.

Now extend your arms in front of your chest and point the club in front of you. Perform a swing as you would with a kettlebell—tilt your tailbone back and bend your hips backward to lower your torso until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.

Allow the club to swing behind you between your legs. Keep your spine long throughout the movement so your head and hips are aligned.

Explosively extend your hips to swing the club up to eye level.

The swing trains your ability to transfer load from the back of your body to the front without losing a strong body position—long spine, proud chest, and hips neutral.

It will improve your technique on any hip hinging exercise (think deadlifts, squats, and kettlebell swings).

“It works the glutes, hamstrings, core, and shoulders,” says Heins, as well as your upper back, which has to keep the club from yanking your shoulders forward and rounding your spine. “Having to fight that creates a better base of strength.”

But don’t think that club training only leads to gains down the line when you apply it to other lifts. You can build muscle and strength if that’s the only tool you use. “I put on 10 pounds in three months using clubs exclusively,” says Heins.

Side Swipe to Pullover

Hold the club with both hands, left over right, and stand with feet between hip and shoulder-width apart. Hinge at the hips while keeping your spine long and your chest proud. Swing the club a few degrees to the right to generate a stretch reflex and then rotate your shoulders to your left and swing the club up to shoulder level as you come up to a full standing position. Your torso should be turned nearly 90 degrees, shoulders perpendicular to your hips.

From there, reach the club over your head and back between your shoulder blades. Keep your ribs down and core engaged. Pull the club back over your head and down in front of you. Hinge at the hips again and repeat for reps. When you’ve completed all your reps on that side, switch sides and repeat.

“You can do the same movement with a kettlebell,” says Heins, “but the narrow structure of the club helps you keep it tight.” It’s easier to control a swinging club than a kettlebell with its bulbous weight. “You don’t have to displace your body to make room for the tool. That equals better form, which equals less risk for injury.”

The side swipe to pullover is a lateral movement, which most people rarely if ever train in their workouts. Moving laterally trains your body to stabilize itself in positions you’re often forced into in sports and other out-of-the-gym activities. Plus, “the club is huge for rotational core strength,” says Heins, which is needed for throwing a ball—or a punch—and absorbing external forces that are placed on you.

Lastly, finishing the lateral swing motion with a pullover opens up your shoulders and stretches your lats, which helps to offset the tightness that results from excess chest training and the hunched posture you get from sitting in front of a computer for hours.

Twisting Press

Stand holding the club as described in the call to lightning above. Turn your shoulders as far as you can to the left and, keeping your proud chest, press the club straight out in front of you to lockout. Pull the club back to chest level, activating your upper back. Try to keep your hips facing forward the whole time.

“You’ll feel it in the core,” says Heins, as well as the upper back and shoulders. Unlike the call to lightning and side swipe to pullover, the twisting press isn’t done dynamically—there’s no momentum. So if you’re looking for a movement to act as an assistance exercise to fry your shoulders, back, or core, this is for you.

How to Use These Steel Club Exercises

You can perform the swing and side swipe to pullover as part of your warmup to prepare your body for a major strength movement like an overhead press or clean and jerk, or a push/pull workout that consists of moves like the bench press and deadlift Perform reps for 30 seconds with one grip and then switch sides and repeat. Do 3 sets with each grip.

You could also do all three exercises in order for a 15-minute total-body blast. Perform a circuit of 10 reps of the call to lightning with each grip, 15 reps of the side swipe to pullover with each grip, and 5 reps each grip (and side) of the twisting press. Rest 30 seconds and repeat for 5 total rounds.

Another option: use the twisting press as an auxiliary exercise in a pressing or upper-body workout for sets of 10–12, or maximize strength on it with 5 sets of 3–5 reps. “Do the reps slowly,” says Heins, “press out with a four-count and take four seconds to bring the club back in.” Rest 90–120 seconds between sets.

The post Superhero Workout Series: Get Strong Like Thor appeared first on Onnit Academy.

These four core exercises target all the major muscles spanning between your hips and your shoulders, all while offering an extra burst of cardio to torch a few extra calories. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, and cycle through the series two times.

You’ll be done in just five minutes, or if you’re feeling motivated, you can cycle through the routine four times for a 10-minute core workout that’s guaranteed to be effective.

Equipment Needed:

● Steel Bell
● Suspension Trainer

Top 4 Core Exercises

1. Twisting Mountain Climbers

Start in a high plank position, palms under shoulders, legs fully extended. Keeping your core engaged and upper body steady, draw one knee up and across your torso, reaching it toward your opposite elbow as you twist your hips the same direction, engaging your obliques.

Reverse the movement to return your foot to the starting position, but as you do so, hop your opposite foot into the air, drawing it up and across your torso toward your opposite elbow as your first foot returns to the ground.

Continue this movement as fast as you can while maintaining good form, keeping your core engaged, preventing your low back from sagging.

2. SteelBell Slams

Stand with a SteelBell between your legs, feet shoulder-distance apart, knees slightly bent. Engage your core and squat down, pressing your hips back and keeping your chest lifted as you pick up the SteelBell.

Press through your heels to return to standing, and as you do so, lift the SteelBell up over your head in a fluid movement, rising up onto the balls of your feet.

When the SteelBell is lifted over your head, forcefully slam it back to the ground between your feet, tightening your hips, abs and low back as you swing your arms forward and press your hips back to throw the SteelBell to the floor. Immediately squat back down to start another repetition.

3. Suspension Pikes

Set up a suspension trainer so the straps hang about 12 to 18-inches off the floor. Place your feet into the straps so they’re looped around your arch near your ankle and start in a high plank position with your core tight, palms under shoulders. Engage your core to keep your body steady, making sure your low back and hips don’t sag.

From this position, press through your palms and your feet as you lift your hips to the ceiling, drawing the straps closer to your body as you enter a pike position, your body forming an inverted “V,” your arms and legs straight. Carefully reverse the movement and return to the high plank position before continuing.

4. Plank Jacks

Start in a low plank position supported on your forearms and the balls of your feet, your hips aligned between your knees and shoulders. With your core braced to support the effort, forcefully press through the balls of your feet and hop your legs into the air, spreading your legs so your feet land farther apart.

Allow your knees to bend slightly as your feet land to help absorb the impact. Immediately hop your feet back into the air, bringing your legs together. Continue this in-and-out hopping motion, just as if you were performing jumping jacks, for the duration of the exercise.

The post 4 High Intensity Core Exercises to Finish Off Any Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

I’ve been toying with concepts and ideas that have helped me learn more about myself (strengths and weaknesses) as well as about my clients. As I’ve programmed for individuals and groups, I’ve zeroed in on a few ways in which to engage my clients with the Steel Mace (both as individuals and in a group setting).

I recently had a conversation with a colleague about this topic and as I was sharing with him my ideas on programming, I realized that these concepts would be helpful to any Steel Mace Specialist or even enthusiast working out on their own.

Although I’m sure there are plenty of ways to program a Steel Mace class, I’ve come up with three basic focal points for my Steel Mace Training programs, based on concepts from my experience as a Salsa dancer. They are:

1. Skill Acquisition
2. Foundational Movement Centered
3. Choreography Style

When I lived in Bangkok, I was looking for something constructive to do with my evenings and a guy who lived next door to me told me about a Salsa club where I could learn to dance before the party started. I checked it and after my first class I was hooked.

I returned every Thursday night for the class and party. The class was a step by step training, which started with basic steps and finished with a few moves put together in sequence. We then practiced a few times to music and once the party started, I used the hell out of those moves until they became second nature, assessing whether my hands in the right place? Were my steps correct?

Each week I built on the last week’s knowledge and each party I added new moves to my repertoire. I learned to sequence moves together until they became a “flow” and I could complete a 4 minute song with variety. Before I knew it, I went from the guy no one wanted to dance with to the guy every woman wanted to dance with. My dancing became unconscious, effortless and smooth.

See where we’re heading here?

My 3 Styles of Steel Mace Training Programs are based on these concepts:

1. Skill Acquisition

This format is based on acquiring a specific skill. So in Salsa I would liken this to learning to Hook Turn, Spin or a Cross Body Lead. There are specific steps involved. The steps would be demonstrated and then we would work and drill that specific movement.

For a Steel Mace Training Program, we may choose to introduce two or three basic movements in the training session. Lets take the Lap Squat with Handswitch for example. I would teach this movement in steps and create mini intervals to refine those skills just learned.

Assume everyone is a beginner and even if they’ve attended your class previously, it doesn’t hurt to refresh them on their landmarks.

Sample 1 Exercise Program:

Part 1

• Holding the Steel Mace properly (over under, pulling the scapulae down and back, creating weight where there’s no weight) – all concepts a Specialist would know.
• 30 to 45 second engaged holds with the Steel Mace Head on each side, 15 second rest x4 total Rounds (total time: 3 to 4 mins)

Part 2

• Lap Squat – teach the Lap Squat
• 2 sets 45:15 second work:rest ratio. (total time: 4mins)

Part 3

• Hand Switch Instruction (Middle to Prayer, Pet the Cat and Middle) – Go through it slowly together.
• 2 sets 30:15 second work:rest ratio. (total time: 90 seconds)

Part 4: Combine Squat & Switches

• 2 Rounds 45:15 work:rest ratio (total time: 90 seconds)

Total time for 1 Exercise Skill Acquisition: 10 to 11mins working time. 15 minutes when instruction, demonstration time is included.

2. Foundational Movement Centered

This format is centered on the concept of the four Foundational movements; Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull. It’s more geared towards improving strength.

I would compare this to learning the basic steps in Salsa and learning the beat counts. These things are at the core of anything and everything you do.

Choose a Foundational Movement like the Pull for example. Design your program by choosing a few Pull Movements.

I like to work these movements with a focus on the start and endpoint of the movements or Landmarks. Holding at one end of the movement before moving to the other end of the movement.

Example: High Hinge Row

Step 1: Cue correct start position of high hinge position while holding the mace; Shoulders engage with Scapulas down and back; Pulling apart on the mace.

Step 2: Have clients move slowly to pull the Steel Mace towards the Belly Button.
*Note: I like to either do the exercise with the client(s) or count out loud the speed I’d like them to move with.

Step 3: Hold at this position for a 5 count before lowering

Step 4: Make sure to cue re-engagement of the Scapulae before the second rep.
Protocol: 5 Sets of 5 Reps: 60 second Rest per set

3. Choreography Style

Finally, we have Choreography Style. This style is best utilized when teaching a flow.

You can demonstrate the flow at the start if you choose to. I prefer not to do this, but to start by instructing the first exercise after warmups and movement prep.

Here’s the outline for the workout:

Part A: Lap Squat Instruction

A1: Lap Squat Practice x 30 sec
Rest: 15 sec x 3 sets

Total Time: 2:15 mins

Part B: Prayer Handswitch & Switch Squat Instruction

B1: Switch Squat Practice x 30 sec
Rest: 15 sec x 2 sets

Total Time: 1:30 mins

Part C: Cross Body Top Position & Extended Shoulder Curl Instruction

C1: Extended Shoulder Curl Practice x 30 sec
Rest: 15 sec x 2 sets

Total Time: 1:30 mins

Part D: Extended Shoulder Curl with Prayer Switch

D1: Practice x 30 sec
Rest: 15 sec x 2 sets

Total Time: 1:30 mins

Part E: Lap Side Lunge Instruction

E1: Lap Side Lunge Practice x 30 sec
Rest: 15 sec x 2 sets

Total Time: 1:30 mins

Part F: Lap Side Lunge with Prayer Switch

F1: Practice x 30 sec
Rest: 15 sec x 2 sets

Total Time: 1:30 mins

Part G:Shaolin Archer Flow

Perform one repetition of each, one after the other with no rest. Continue for allotted time.

Total Time: 10 mins

3 Ways to Start Programming Your Steel Mace Workout

The post 3 Ways to Start Programming Your Steel Mace Workout appeared first on Onnit Academy.

What is Odd Object Lifting?

Any weight that is unevenly dispersed could constitute an Odd Object. When I was 18, I was at my then girlfriend’s lakehouse with her cousins. I spent three hours throwing kids in the lake and SHIT was I sore in places I normally wasn’t.

Sure, a heavy set of deadlifts or overhead presses can get the work done, but this was different. I realized right then that by picking up a weight which was uneven (and then throwing it) was amazingly effective at hitting EVERY muscle in my body and was fun as hell.

Some other objects besides medium-sized kids that you can lift:

•Sandbags
•Atlas Stones or Heavy Rocks
•Kettlebells
•Heavy Steel Clubs
•Another Consenting Adult
•Literally ANYTHING Heavy!

Benefits of Lifting Odd Objects

Odd Objects provide the body with a training stimulus that mimics an opponent better than most forms of lifting. They force you to stay in a near constant state of tension that will dramatically increase overall body strength, power and control.

Besides the obvious fact that by lifting heavy things you will get stronger, you also increase your own body awareness. By lifting a weight that’s shifting around, doesn’t have a balanced center or is INCREDIBLY hard to grip, you have to focus a greater amount of attention at the task at hand making you aware at EVERY movement necessary to hoist that weight. This type of training has benefits beyond crushing your opponent.

Odd Object Lifting makes you comfortable in uncomfortable positions. Because of that body awareness you develop it will also help keep you injury free. Since you are being insanely mindful of the task at hand, you’re not just half-assedly throwing weights around.

Think about those times you’ve hurt yourself. Was it when you were completely focused or was it when someone called your name in the gym and you stupidly looked? That’s what I thought.

How about we get into some specifics now, shall we? Let’s take a heavy sandbag you plan to raise to each shoulder. Similar to Olympic lifting and ballistic kettlebell work (snatches, cleans, juggling) there are lots of moving parts.

You set up over the sandbag with your hands around the sides (using the handles defeats the purpose). You tighten up your core, control your breath and while driving with your legs pull as hard you can to get that dead weight up to your shoulder.

Here’s where the magic lies. As you start to pull all those grains of sand say to each other, “Hey guys, this idiot thinks he’s going to lift us. Let’s all run in different directions and make this as hard as possible.”

So while the weight on a barbell is evenly distributed the sandbag moves all over the place changing the focus of the lift the entire time. Since that weight is transferring, you have to compensate all while maintaining strict form and alternating between relaxation and tension.

Sounds a lot like a suplex with an opponent flailing around, right?

How to Start Lifting Odd Objects

So, how do you get started throwing around stupid heavy, moving odd objects? Well, in this case start small and start light to get the feel for it.

Let’s take keg cleans. Don’t fill a keg to the brim and then expect to lift it the first time. If you’ve spent your life in the gym lifting barbells and using machines you’ll be in for a rude awakening. Treat the lift as the only thing you’re doing rather than incorporating it into a circuit.

Get used to the lift and practice the movement first and foremost.

Set the timer for 60 seconds and clean it (we’re still on the keg in this scenario, but the tool isn’t important.) Reset after each lift. Rest two to three minutes just as you would with a power or Olympic lift and repeat for 3-4 more sets. Once you’ve got the hang of it you can start adding the weight.

If you’re advanced, you’re going to do the same thing; but you’re going to increase the time to 90 seconds to 2 minutes and move a little faster performing as many perfect reps as possible. As long as you’re not feeling pain or extreme discomfort, speed it up.

You’ll find after a few reps you’ll be hitting your cardio BIG TIME all while building strength.

Have you ever watched the Strong Man competitions on ESPN (of course you’ve spent half a Saturday watching four in a row. Who hasn’t?) The atlas stones event is one of my favorites. The blend of strength, agility, power, work capacity and flexibility make it a lesson for all fighters.

Move heavy things as quickly and safely as possible to create an indestructible athlete.

So, let’s get out here, pick up heavy crap, throw it, run with it, pull and push it and above all else – have some fun doing it!

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For example, bodybuilders use heavy squats, bench presses, and deadlifts to put on mass using rep schemes that differ from what a powerlifter would use.

Powerlifters will use those same lifts as well as variations (front squat, close grip, stiff leg deads) in higher rep schemes to put on mass and flush blood into the muscles to boost recovery. With that being said, there are two things to consider for both disciplines:

Shoulder Health

Whether bench pressing or overhead pressing, your shoulders are going to take a beating. Doing a proportional amount of pulls (row variations, pull ups, etc) will help keep your body balanced, but eventually that won’t be enough.

You’re going to have to come up with a pre-hab routine (meaning you’re preventing yourself from getting hurt) to keep your shoulders healthy.

Conditioning

The more conditioned you are, the more work you can do. The more work you can do, the stronger you will get.

Pre-fatigued training is one way to approach that concept. So grabbing light dumbbells and hitting 5×10 or 4×25 prior to getting on the bench press is a great way to train your muscles in a fatigued state. Why?

So when you’re going into the bench at a powerlifting competition (after squatting), you can hit your max bench because you’ll still feel fresh.

With that being said, a tired muscle is susceptible to injury, especially as your stabilizers fatigue. So it’s great to pre-fatigue your muscles before hitting heavy sets, but don’t just jump into it – you have to build up.

As an example: I’m a 540 pound raw bencher. When I started with the pre-fatigue training, I grabbed 30lbs dumbbells and did 4×25 (takes about 5 minutes). Fast forward a year later I’m up to 55-60lbs doing the same thing. So take your time and build up slowly.

So how do the steel mace and battle ropes fit into shoulder health and conditioning in relation to powerlifting and bodybuilding?

Steel Mace

Shoulder health

This beautifully crafted piece of steel will make you feel like a savage when you pick it up and start swinging it around. And it will help with shoulder health. You think the ancient Persian warriors had shoulder problems? I don’t think so.

I’ve dealt with impingements in both shoulders, meaning I couldn’t raise my hand straight over head as a result of tight lats and tight shoulder capsules. I tried ART, massages, and standard rehab protocols. Some of it helped, but only temporarily.

I grabbed a steel mace when I saw them from Onnit and had a couple ideas. I started with a 15 pound mace and used the pendulum technique – loading the shoulder internally and externally by swinging the mace back and forth behind your head like a pendulum.

Eventually I worked up to the “360,” starting with the mace in front of you and swinging it 360 degrees behind your head, returning to the starting position. This is essential for shoulder mobility.

In both the pendulum and 360, the goal is to ‘open up’ your lats, letting them relax as much as possible. Let the weight carry the mace through the arc and pull it over to complete the 360. This video shows you the perfect form.

Keep in mind none of this should be painful – even if you have shoulder problems. If you’re experiencing pain you should always consult a doctor.

Conditioning

And imagine if before you bench, you pick one of these bad boys up and swing it 50 times each side. You’ll probably be pretty tired. If you can start at 10-20 and build up to 50 and even 100, while still being able to hit your programmed numbers, then I’d say you’ve definitely gotten stronger through pre-fatigued training. Remember, that takes time, but it works.

Battle Ropes

Shoulder health

Using the battle ropes in the hinged pulse and double overhead slam are great ways to flush blood into the shoulders. Increased blood flow means better recovery. Better recovery between workouts means less of a chance for injuries.

Conditioning

This one is pretty obvious if you’ve ever used the ropes before. The hinged pulse and double overhead slam will tire your ass out. If you can go through a few rounds of those before hitting your heavy bench or overhead presses, you will get stronger.

But keep in mind, it’s the idea of taking one step back to take two steps forward. The first couple weeks you do this will be a pain in the ass.

Get yourself some battle ropes and a steel mace and get your shoulders healthy while increasing your work capacity. Winner winner, chicken dinner.

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