Hey strength seekers.
Indian club swinging is a great way to improve many aspects of your training. Club swinging has been around for quite a while. There are the lighter weight club swinging and heavy club swinging.
I enjoy both of these and they each serve their purpose. Although heavy and light is relative to the person swinging them. I'm going to talk specifically about the
StrongerGrip Thick handled Grip Clubs. These were made with for combination club swinging and grip training. They have thicker handles and a 3" globe on the handle end that is used for swinging as well. The benefits of using them are many. When swinging them you get the conditioning of the whole body when doing circuit swinging, going from one movement to the next and also a dynamic grip, hand and arm training too. As with dynamic movements, like the kettlebell swings and snatches, the clubs are swung in a similar manner that the weight is moved through different ranges not by using just the arms, but the entire body and using larger muscle groups to get the weight in motion and transferring tension and looseness as the clubs travel their paths. The clubs should move smoothly as your swinging them, picture them as an extension of your arms and hands. When swinging any dynamic implement, there must be an awareness when using them. At all times be mindful of how your body is feeling and responding to the movements. Where the tension is, when to be loose, what should be tight and what should be loose. Clubs swinging brings out and heightens coordination as well as opens up new movement patterns. I've noticed that the club movements are picked up pretty quickly in young people. They are very open to these patterns where some older people I've shown take to them a little slower. I feel it has to do with as we age our body and mental patterns get in a stale groove and learning these new movements lubricates not only the body's joints and muscles but the mind as well.
Training with the Thick handled grip clubs works well with many specific sport training.
Boxing, MMA fighters where striking is involved. Grab clubs and do punching motions with the clubs. They can be gripped anywhere on the handle to make them harder or easier. Levering and rotational wrist work with the clubs is a must for strong wrists. Use them as push-up handles, and also use the globes for doing push-ups.
Baseball, golf, racket sports. All exercises are perfect to strengthen hands, wrist, forearms along with the core muscles which start all these sport motions. I would recommend picturing your sport specific movement when you are swinging the clubs. That will help determine where you will be focusing your body movement and different tensions as you're swinging.
Not sure when to use them or how to start. If you have been in physical training for a while, if you've been training with kettlebells especially, the club movements will come quickly. When to use them would depend on your current training and what you want out of them. Here are a few suggestions. Strength athletes such as powerlifters and gym rats(bodybuilders), you guys take a beating, especially your shoulders, hands, wrists. On your off days you can do some active recuperation with club swinging. High reps, low reps mix it up, depending on your current condition. Another great option to try would be swinging clubs between sets of your regular workout. Say, after you complete your reps on a bench press, pick up the clubs and do some light swinging. You'll not only feel good, but you may see a weight increase as well. Club swinging would also work right after a hard session of training as a cool down. It'll massage the shoulder muscles and get the body ready for recuperation.
In closing, a huge benefit of swinging clubs, is the way they open up the chest, loosen up the shoulders and strengthen the upper back, shoulder area all while swinging. They are a real benefit for those that have been doing the same type of training for years and years. Bodybuilders, powerlifters, MMA fighters and other athletes will take to club swinging nicely and will see big improvements in their endeavors. They are great by themselves, or with other training your currently doing. A super nice thing about the
StrongerGrip clubs is the ability to load them heavier as you need. The thick handled grip clubs are approx. 7lbs empty and can be loaded up to approx. 23 lbs. That's a HUGE weight capacity in one set of clubs.
If you have any questions on the SG clubs or how they would fit into your training shoot me an email at strongergrip@yahoo.com
Get swinging and take your training to the next level.
Ryan
