Clubbells

[irongymnast]

Does anyone use clubbells in their training?

I'm thinking of getting one (10kg). Thoughts/advices?

[Chris Hansen]

I have a pair of 15s and 20s. I think they're fun and can be a great workout but I don't use them much because I've been working on other things and there's only so much time/energy in a day.

[yuri marmerstein]

I have a homemade pair, ends up being something like 11 pounds each.

I do them as a finisher after hand balancing. great for the wrists and shoulders

[Cole Dano]

I started with Indian Clubs about 6 months ago, and recommend that anyone using club bells start with the lighter (1-2lb) weights first to learn the correct movement patterns. In any case the lighter weights allow more full range of motion patterns to be performed. This comes directly from Ed Thomas who is probably the leading educator in club swinging in the U.S.

Some heavier ones are on my Christmas wish list however.

[irongymnast]

So I got one (10kg). Anyone can recommend starter exercises with a clubbell?

[yuri marmerstein]

look it up on youtube, there are plenty of videos both instructional and just random people training

[Chris Hansen]

I would start with swings. Swipes are a lot of fun and great conditioning but make sure you're comfortable with swings first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrTmbZw8ECk

[Joshua Naterman]

You know, I've wondered about these for a while. They seem like a great way to end a workout and work on joint mobility for the shoulder on active rest days, especially with the lighter bells.

For those of you who have used these club bells, is it better to use an actual bell or is a sock with BBs in it ok as well? I can see some of the benefit being lost to the lack of lever action on the joints... maybe I've answered my own question. Would any of you want to fill an old sock with sand or something else heavy (maybe ground beef?) and post what the difference is?

[yuri marmerstein]

it's not that hard to make homemade ones, there are several guide to it online

the absolute cheapest version is to fill a plastic wiffle-ball bat with Quick-crete or some other concrete like material

I made mine out of plumbing parts which is nicer than plastic coated concrete though more expensive. Also it was difficult finding some of the parts; I had to call a bunch of specialty plumbing supply stores.

you can do similar type of training with a sledgehammer as well

[Chris Hansen]

There are only a small number of exercises that might work with a weighted sock. Any exercise where the clubbell would be brought to "order" or where the motion pauses would require more rigidity. But, since a weighted sock shouldn't be hard to come by, there's no reason not to give it a try.