Fast forward to the present and my love affair with club training. Getting involved with the unconventional fitness scene has netted me some new friends with different ideas. One in particular is Chip Conrad of Bodytribe Fitness. Chip wrote an article that had an impact on me in a way where now the moment of movement is a greater sum than the total reps. It opened up the idea to study the exercise as it is being performed. The little things have now proved to be important.
Given that the club is a ballistic tool used in multi-planar exercises, little things can make a huge difference. Take the inside mill for example. The mill is probably the first 'flashy' exercise that club enthusiasts want to learn. It is a complex circle whose arc is performed both in front of and behind the body. Needless to say that performing the mill takes a fair amount of skill, and when the club weight is increased, that skill needs to be sharpened.
The nuance or trick that Chip's article had prompted me to learn was the importance of the position and movement of my elbow. It may not sound like much, but it was the same as someone discovering the perfect foot position for them to squat in. The club weight was able to be increased and form didn't suffer making a good environment for gains.
A video describing this and other clubwork techniques that will help take your club training to the next level will be available soon. Until then, keep swinging my friends.
