There is a debate going round that clubbells are superior to Indian Clubs. Heavy verses large, steel v wood. I believe all have their merits.  There are options for all club-types. Physios use lighter clubs for shoulder rehabilitation… not a smart idea with a 6lb clubbell. Club swingers come from all bodytypes and not solely the domain of fit and able. I personally train people from 14 to 70 years of age, male and female, and carry a varied collection of clubs to suit – from small clubs to Persian meels. Some prefer using lighter clubs for longer periods for a more meditative stress release.

More can be achieved with a pair of lighter clubs than you may think. Coordination is challenged while flexibility and grip is constantly being developed. With a little imagination, even the lightest wooden clubs can be made challenging through isolating your upper body by simply sitting on a stool (with legs tucked out of the way to save the kneecaps)! The varied circular motions of Indian clubs are now accepted as being of great benefit for shoulder stabilisation. Therapists have used them as part of shoulder rehabilitation programmes and are widely considered as perfect prehab as they exercise the muscles of the rotator cuff.

Some argue that Clubbells can be very heavy and yet still much more compact than wooden clubs. That’s one of their biggest advantages as a piece of club swinging equipment. Naturally, there are a lot of clubbell exercises that cannot be performed with other longer tools. However, regular Indian Clubs can be a work out in their own right or used as a warm up to other workouts such as kettlebells as I favour with my own classes. They are also very different to clubbells in that they are more often used in pairs and thereby offer the further benefit of balanced coordination development.

However, those wanting to train for more extreme reasons and with a physique conditioned beyond the standard Indian Club movement, may call for a heavier strength workout to broaden their cause. The choice used to be either a super large meel, mace or the more recent steel clubbell. Not any more…

Body Mind Fit introduces the best of both worlds. Our weighted Indian Clubs combine the compact physical sizing of a clubbell with the beautiful tactile nature of natural wood. This year we have seen a recent surge in demand for our larger clubs with bespoke weighting from 1.5 to 3kg wooden clubs. Our Swedish friend, Walsson asked us to make a bespoke club to take his training to the next level. We obliged, and hope he doesn’t mind tipping the scales 33 grams over!