Club training is the missing link in most people’s training routine.
Clubs provide a unique set of benefits that very few, if any, other training tools can provide.
They are by far the best tool to train rotational strength and power – the most important quality for human performance.
They are exceptional for building resilience and durability, specifically in the most vulnerable areas like the shoulders, hips, and spine.
Clubbells also provide a unique healing effect for beat up bodies, providing mobility, distraction, and lubrication of cranky joints.
The magic lies in what’s called circular strength, meaning strength in all directions, produced by moving loads in arcs, as opposed to straight lines.
Circular strength is the type of strength you need for the unpredictability of real-life, and exactly what you need for jiu-jitsu…which is precisely what clubs deliver.
They can be used to warm up, for recovery, or for a complete workout, making them an invaluable tool in any minimalist training routine.
Here are the 5 best foundational, two-handed club movements that yield the most benefits for grapplers.
Shield Cast
Sometimes called the 360, the Shield Cast is a fundamental movement in club swinging. It involves rotating your torso to propel the club around your head in a complete circle.
This movement greatly improves shoulder and thoracic mobility; two things that are vitally important for BJJ performance and injury prevention.
The ability of your rib cage to rotate and move freely has a profound effect up and downstream, meaning on your hips, shoulders, and neck.
If the ribs are restricted, other things will be too.
The Shield Cast mobilizes all necessary structures of the upper body, including the ribcage, scapulas, shoulder sockets, and thoracic spine.
A few sets of these before training is perfect for an effective warmup, or add in heavy Shield Casts to fortify your upper body unlike any other tool can.
You will also add Shield Casts to more complex club sequences as you advance, making them an important foundational move worth mastering.
Pendulum
The Pendulum, sometimes called the Side Clean, is a dynamic rotational hip hinge.
Starting with the club in the Order position, you rotate to one direction propelling the club laterally, allowing it to swing out, then down and across your midline.
Once it reaches the bottom, you drive the club back along the same route up to the Order position.
This move not only trains rotational hip strength and power, it has a very effective way of targeting the core and fortifying the lower back.
Managing a load that moves down and laterally builds your ability to produce and receive force at odd angles, much like you’ll need on the mat.
The Pendulum has become a go-to warm up exercise and staple in my durability training.
Squat With Front Press
Everyone knows the benefits of the squat, but adding the club cranks them up to new levels.
When you press the club out in front while squatting, your entire anterior chain fires up unlike anything else you’ve done.
You must brace as hard as possible to maintain stability and integrity.
This will provide multiple benefits for the grappler.
First, your entire core and front side of the body, including chest and shoulders, develop immense isometric strength – exactly what you need for crushing pressure and holding bodies where you want them.
Second, with the club extended in front you can sit back deeper into your squat, improving hip and ankle mobility.
Last, all of these things in combination fortify your hips, low back, and spine, making you more resilient and less likely to blow a disc or get hurt.
The Squat with Front Press will forever change how you squat.
Shin box To Hip Snap
If you’ve read any of my content then you know the immense power of the Shin Box for grapplers.
It’s a movement we regularly use on the mat, but it also improves hip internal and external rotation, two things vitally important for BJJ.
In fact, I overcame lower back pain by improving my Shin Box, specifically on the right side.
By loading the Shin Box with the club we can enhance the benefits even more.
The Hip Snap improves hip strength and power, and by adding the club we can increase force production and deepen hip mobility even more.
Once you master the Shin Box to Hip Snap you can add the Shield Cast or front press for even more mat-ready benefits.
Mill
The Mill is the premier club swinging technique, combining rotational lower and upper body movements for the ultimate rotational exercise.
A Mill is essentially an Inside Circle and an Outside Circle combined with a Pulllover.
Adding the two together builds rotational hip and core power with shoulder and thoracic mobility.
It’s the perfect combination for human movement and performance, especially for martial artists.
Your entire body builds strength, power, and resilience with the Mill, including the hips, core, arms, shoulders, and spine.
Plus, developing the ability to rotate symmetrically in both directions will only make you a better performer and less injury prone.
Final Thoughts
The complete benefits of club swinging for BJJ go beyond the scope of this article, but the mobility and rotational strength improvements alone should be enough to add club training to your routine ASAP.
The moves listed above are only a sample of the many exercises you can do with clubbells, however, these also target exactly what you need as a grappler.
Every major area you will need for BJJ, including the hips, core, shoulders, knees, elbows, ankles and spine are improved with the movements above.
These moves will improve your guard for sweeps, counters, and submissions, your takedowns and scrambles, and your passing, from both the knees or feet.
Again, these can be done before training, on a recovery day, or with heavier loads for a complete workout.
Save time, heal beat up joints, and fortify your body for grappling with these best club exercises for BJJ.
