Written by Sam Coleman | Co-founder
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
If you haven’t read much into the steel mace, it may come off like the latest and greatest workout tool. And for many people, it is. Yet, it has been around for centuries. Just like the kettlebell and Indian club, the steel mace training is simply making a welcomed comeback.
Thanks to the current incline in professional acknowledgment of functional fitness, unconventional training equipment that had been lost to history (and the battlefield) have found their way into modern gyms.
I say "thanks" because this type of equipment is fun and extremely effective.
Macebells, sandbags, stones, kettlebells and sledgehammers are each showing up in training regiments, workouts, and gyms across the world.
We, at SET FOR SET, have been training with each of these to great success…
But today, let’s focus on The Steel Mace.
We love this ancient Persian war tool. The movements really have a profound effect on the mind and body. It genuinely feels good to use the steel mace, and it will kick your ass. Steel mace workouts will improve your rotational and anti-rotational power, stability, balance, coordination, muscle endurance and more.
Consistent training with a steel mace will lead to incredible physique results, but more importantly, it will help maintain your body and joints like a well-oiled machine.
This article will go over 5 important steel mace workout methods that you should employ in your steel mace training. Use these mace workout methods to achieve maximum fitness results. We've also included different steel mace exercises to help build workouts using these 5 different steel mace training methods.
The exercise movements are meant as an introduction, so most of them are basic exercises, you can get far more exotic and complicated with the movements as you master the mace…and your coordination.
But before we get into the 5 steel mace workout methods…
Why Should You Do Steel Mace Workouts?
Functional (athletic) training purposely demands balance and body awareness during training through the use of unilateral exercises. This is essentially the same way steel mace training works due to its uneven weight distribution. With that being said, Steel Mace workouts are the EPITOME of functional training.
Functional training should require controlled amounts of instability so that the athlete must react in order to regain their own stability.
By design, functional training makes use of single leg and arm movements that demand balance to properly develop muscles.
It’s the same concept and effect when training with the steel mace.
Most of the weight is in the ball of the mace, which is on one side, so it requires you to focus on stabilizer muscles, utilizing joints in their full range of motion and making your core work overtime.
If you have done any type of single-leg weighted exercises, you know it takes a lot of stability to move well when performing these one-legged movements. You’ll also have noticed your abs being worked significantly. That is a good thing.
The steel mace stimulates the core incredibly, and it can help fix any imbalances you might have.
Training with a unilateral weight like the mace will keep your dominant side from assisting your weaker side.
Essentially, the mace will allow you to hit every muscle evenly due to its uneven weight distribution.
It will help you improve coordination, balance, strength, and endurance, which in turn will boost your overall performance in future sport and daily life.
If you are looking for an in-depth look into the benefits of steel mace training, this article explains it all.
Start working out with your Steel Mace safely and effectively using our 84-page Steel Mace Training e-Guide pdf, which will lead you from beginner to advanced mace skill level, covering more than 39 steel mace exercises.
Steel Mace Exercises
If you haven’t trained with a steel mace before, please make sure you are paying strict attention to your form when performing steel mace exercises. Try to always keep your torso upright, your abs tight, and your glutes engaged.
Start slowly, mastering individual movements first, and then putting them in sequence.
Once you are comfortable with the individual movements, you can combine them to make some incredibly tough workout schemes like the 5 listed below.
Remember though, first focus on individual movements. Master the form of those movements, because if you don’t it can do more harm than good in the long term.
Related: Steel Mace Basics - What every Mace Beginner needs to learn.
5 Steel Mace Exercise Examples
*There are over 100 different steel mace exercises...feel free to get creative with your exercises.
1. 360
Related: Steel Mace 360 Practice Moves.
2. Dynamic Lunge
3. Staggered Stance Squat with Uppercut Press
4. Squat with Offset Overhead Press
5. Glute Bridge with Chest Press
Focus on improving your mace-skills foundation before accelerating to more advanced exercises and routines. The great thing about mastering the steel mace is the ability to train in multiple planes of motion during one movement/workout. And, it is an especially great tool for the transverse plane.
Implement these workouts and movements into your regular training split for a fun and tough challenge once or twice per week.
Once you master 3-5 movements, you can put them into sequence for one of the following steel mace workout methods:
5 Steel Mace Workout Methods
As you get more comfortable with the workout methods, and whichever movements you choose for that workout, you can add reps, do the reps more quickly (or much slower), and take less rest.We recommend performing 5 different steel mace exercises (aka movements) for whichever steel mace workout method you choose, so we will explain each mace workout method based on 5 movements.
Steel Mace Workout Method 1: Traditional
This method is excellent for increasing strength and muscle mass.Carry out your first movement for 4 sets of 8 reps on each side.
Rest for one minute between each set, and each movement.
Repeat 4 sets of 8 reps each side until you complete all 5 steel mace movements.
Related: Targeted Mace Exercises - Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulder, Arms, Core
Steel Mace Workout Method 2: The Circuit
This method is great for increasing muscle mass and muscular endurance.
Do each of the 5 steel mace exercises one after the other, 8 repetitions per side - limit rest.
Complete 4 rounds. Rest 2 minutes between rounds.
The SFS FIVE Steel Mace Workout Package has 5 fun and challenging full length workouts that only require one piece of equipment, a steel mace! Each steel mace workout has a unique protocol, and when combined, they make for the perfect weekly workout routine.
Steel Mace Workout Method 3: The Ladder Circuit
This method is best for increasing muscle mass.
Perform each of the 5 mace exercises for 10 repetitions each side in a circuit.
Recover for as long as needed, and then carry out each exercise for 9 repetitions on each side.
Continue to reduce repetitions by 1 rep each round until finishing with a round of 1 rep.
Try to rest just long enough so that you keep proper form. You'll be seriously challenged here!
Steel Mace Workout Method 4: Escalating Density
This method is best for muscular endurance and fat loss.
Carry out all 5 steel mace movements for 5 repetitions on each side, circuit style. Consider that one round. Do as many rounds as possible in 10 minutes.
Rest for 4 minutes, and repeat.
Try to do more rounds in the next cycle.
Recommended: 2-3 10-minute cycles.
Steel Mace Workout Method 5: Every Minute On The Minute (EMOM)
This method is best for muscle-building and fat loss.
Start a timer; immediately carry out 10 reps for your first exercise. Rest until the clock hits one minute. Continue doing one set (5 each side or 10 reps total, depending on the exercise) per minute for four total rounds.
At minute 4, change to the next exercise. Continue doing 1 set every minute on the minute for 4-minutes, only resting between completing the set and the next minute mark.
Repeat until all 5 movements are completed. If you do five movements total, this workout should take you 20 minutes.
More Steel Mace Workouts:
Want more Steel Mace Exercises and Steel Mace Workout Plans?
- Steel Mace Workout - Beginner
- 7 Steel Mace Rotational Exercises for Beginners
- Steel Mace Workout - Intermediate
- Steel Mace Workout - Advanced
- 10 Fun & Challenging Steel Mace Workouts to Try
- 16 Best Steel Mace Exercises
Be sure to follow us on Instagram and sign up to our newsletter for more steel mace workout plans and specific mace exercises and routines as we release them.
Please share with us videos of yourself training with the mace; we would love to see them. We can also answer any questions you may have about your form or technique. We love seeing people's accomplishments.
Sam Coleman
Author