Hey guys, Dan here from the Dangerously Fit Academy. In this week’s video, I’m going to go through my three favorite movements with the mace.
I’m going to be using our Adjustable Maverick mace. These are made of bamboo, and you can stack them with any Olympic size weight plates.
Okay, so the first exercise I’m going to do is a 360 squat switch rotational uppercut. This is an excellent full-body movement.
The 360 works the shoulders, upper back, grip, and core. Then we’re going to go straight into the squat, hitting the legs, into our switch, working the arms and shoulders, and finishing the movement with the rotational uppercut, which works the chest, grip, and core.
This exercise is also multiplanar, so we are working in multiple planes all in one movement.
There are three planes of movement: the sagittal plane (front and back, up and down), the frontal plane (side to side), and the transverse plane (rotational). This movement hits all three.
Starting off with our 360, all the usual cues apply. We’ve got our feet about shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, elbows tucked in, shoulders packed down, chest up nice and proud. We have our hands at the navel, and we cast the mace over the left shoulder, bringing our arms out to the right slightly.
Keep that mace close to the body, and make sure your triceps are in full flexion during the backswing. As it comes around to the front of the body, take your bottom hand away and slide it down towards the mace head, straight into a squat. With the squat, try to get the femur parallel with the floor if you can. If not, get as low as you can with good technique.
Squeeze the glutes, drive down through the heels, and come up into extension. As you come up, go into a switch movement, sliding one hand down and the other up. Switch sides, and finish with a rotational uppercut.
When doing the switch, make sure both hands are on the mace handle the whole time. Keep everything tight, maintain good form, and always control the mace through a full range of movement, changing from side to side.
Okay, so that’s our first exercise: the 360 squat switch into rotational uppercut.
The next exercise is something I call the Bondi swing. It’s essentially a single-arm 360 into a paddle row squat. This dynamic exercise is great for getting the heart rate up and targets multiple muscle groups in the upper and lower body. With the upper body, we’re working in the transverse plane, and with the lower body, we’re in the sagittal plane.
Set up in a single-arm 360 position, with the mace in the “order” position. Cast the mace over the shoulder, ensuring full tricep flexion. As the mace comes around the body, with your thumb pointing away from the mace head, bring it down into a paddle row type movement, straight into a squat. Try to get the femur parallel with the floor or as low as you can with good technique. Squeeze the glutes, drive down through the heels, cast the mace back up, and switch hands. Repeat the movement on the other side.
Lastly, we have the 360 to reverse lunge and front lunge. This versatile exercise can be used if you’re short on time. It combines a 360 swing and a press, working the upper body, with a forward lunge hitting the quads, and a reverse lunge focusing on the glutes and hamstrings.
Starting in the rack position, perform a 360, catch the mace on the other side, and step back into a reverse lunge. Make sure to keep the front knee over the heel, squeeze the front glute, and drive down through the front heel. Then step forward into a front lunge, pressing the mace up at the top. Maintain an offset grip or a wider grip for more unilateral loading. Repeat the movement for 8 to 12 reps, then switch sides.
All right guys, that’s it for today’s video. I hope you enjoyed it. Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know your favorite mace exercises. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.
