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Did you know that grip strength is associated with health, longevity and even cognitive functions?

In any case, a good grip is essential if you want to remain independent in your older days.

You can roughly break down grip strength into several specific and different types of grip:

  • Crushing grip (handshake, opening jars…)
  • Pinching grip (holding something heavy between thumb and fingers)
  • Supporting grip (holding something with fingers wrapped around)
Specific strength requires specific training, but training your forearms goes a long way towards increasing strength and endurance of your hands and grip related activities.  
 
You might experience less pain in your hands, arms or even neck like many other “swingers” we have met and talked to.
 
Follow along to our grip circuit video and challenge yourself with the appropriate weight Indian clubs!  If you can do more than 12-15 reps, the weight is too light, and won’t help you improve. 

Dexterity is defined as demonstrating skill in performing tasks with your hands.

Traditional artisanal crafts and similar hobbies are quickly becoming a thing of the past… 
Less and less people working with their hands (clicking a mouse does not count…), and kids are also showing signs of poor fine motor skills. 

Well, you can also use Indian clubs to address some of these problems, with the 2 exercises we show you below.
Remember, the goal is always smooth and graceful movement!

Finally, thick handled clubs are another way to work your grip and forearm strength. A thick handle prevents you to fully lock your fingers, creating an open grip. Your hand and wrist muscles have to work extra hard to control the clubs!

Here you can use Fatgripz and slide them on your Pahlavandle™, or swing our Pahlavandle™ XL. The XL club has no end knob on the handle, but a reverse taper, which forces you to really engage your hand to keep a grip. And of course, th fact that you can load up the Xl up to 20kg means there is lots of room for strength work and development!

Just be aware that doing too much work with thick handles when you have not slowly built up to it is likely to cause some elbow problems, so don’t overdo it! Make sure to engage all fingers, and stretch your grip muscles and wrists after training.

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Today we have a guest on our blog! Since we are in touch with a wide variety of people and trainers around the world, we decided to start running regular interviews with interesting people!

Meet Daniel De falco

indian clubs argentinaDaniel De Falco is a Sport Conditioning Coach from La Falda, Cordoba, Argentina. He’s been running small group and personal training at his training facility since 2009. 

He specializes in Neuroscience and Emotional Education (Universidad de Villa María)  as well as Movement Analysis and Applied Functional Science (Gray Institute).

He’s also a Qi Gong and Tai Chi Instructor, and explores other kinds of movement activities, such as Capoeira Angola, Improvisation Art Movement, Pilates and Groundwork.

Daniel, what is it about Indian clubs that is perfect for what you do?

I use Indian Clubs with my students for shoulder health and movement prehab/ rehab and when working towards more complex skills development. Basically, healthy and strong scapulas and shoulders are requiredas the foundation for everything we will introduce later on (Heavy Club Training, Mace Training, Calisthenics, etc…).
I also use club swinging as a form of dynamic meditation, in which music and rhythm are really important. They are perfect for exploring multiplanar movement and improving coordination skills.

Who do you work with?

I work with all kinds of persons, from athletes to older people. My work is to promote health trough movement, and Indian clubs are perfect for that. I teach Indian clubs workshops and also run classes.

What are the advantages of the Pahlavandle™ over other types of clubs on the market?

In my country it is very difficult to find Indian clubs (all my Clubs are at least 50 years old) , so Pahlavandles are a very accessible way to build your own clubs and Bulavas by using recyclable bottles.

I decided to become an affiliate for Heroic Sport because I really like the versatility of the product, being adjustable.  By filling them halfway you can tweak the drills in a proprioceptive way, due to the perturbation of the water. sloshing around.

How did you get started with Indian clubs?

I got started with Indian clubs 10 years ago while researching about vintage strength training, and Indian Physical Culture, as I have a strong interest in Ayurveda, Traditional Indian Medicine.

This ancient way of training really attracted me. Training with these kind of elements has a more holistic approach, and in many cases also a devotional content.

How do you train?

I swing with one and two clubs, also pretty much with everything that can be swung in a circular pattern, as you can see in some of my videos.
I like heavy traditional Gada swings, combined with light Indian clubs movements. Light weight, strong effect!

The Pahlavandle extender is a great way to freestyle and experiment with flowing routines with a light and short mace,  and my shoulders have never felt so great!

Do you have a tip for the readers?

For beginners I always recommend to focus on recovering full function and mastering before moving to complex skills or adding weight. Don’t be afraid of regressions, of going back to more basics skills, because with a better foundation, everything is easier and safer in the long run.

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Thank you for your time Daniel!

You can follow Daniel and get in touch with him through social medias

  1. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.centrosakya
  2. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/laotse1981
  3. Instragram: https://www.instagram.com/defalcodaniel

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In this blog post, we have free Indian clubs videos for you to get started with this fantastic training form!

You will experience for yourself how club swinging can help you, just by adding a few moves to your daily routine. We talk on end about how great and fantastic the clubs are, and what they can help you with. Or you can get a set of Pahlavandle decide for yourself. 

We even have created for you 2 full follow along programs with simple exercises!

STEP BY STEP INDIAN CLUBS INSTRUCTION

Click here and save our Youtube playlist : tips, step by step instruction with Indian clubs, inspiration for new moves, general info and even simple flows and combinations. We are sure you will find something you can use, and learn new things!

Indian clubs can be used in many different ways!

While swinging 2 clubs is great for coordination and cross crawl exercises, there is plenty of benefits to swinging a single club. Just repeat the swings on the opposite side!
And if you decided to swing with 2 hands on the club, remember to switch grips to balance the training.

Nobody says you have to use Indian clubs exclusively. In fact, you’d miss out!

We show you  2 easy ways to combine clubs swinging with bodyweight and kettlebells. Try the free follow along programs we made for you, and leave us a comment on Youtube!

You can customize those workouts to your own needs by deciding the length of the intervals or number of repetitions for each exercise.

Sample program #1: Indian clubs & Bodyweight

This one is based on time intervals.

Sample program #2: Indian clubs & Kettlebells

This next workout is based on reps, but you could easily adapt it to time intervals. 
If you’re new to kettlebells, we also have the right tutorial for you to learn the kettlebell swing.
Remember that Thierry is a former Kettlebell Sport champion and has coached many athletes to national and international level!

You’re welcome!

We hope you enjoyed this intro material to club swinging, our approach to teaching, and are now interested in learning more! 

You will not find a better set of affordable and adjustable on the market, period. Go to our shop to order your set of Pahlavandle™, and check out the range of video tutorial downloads we have! 

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Today we have a guest post, written by Jonas Thylstrup, Trainer at InnerGym in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“We’ve had the privilege of training with Thierry Sanchez from Heroic Sport. And let me tell you, it’ wasn’t your typical experience of attending a workshop with lots of filler and little relevant info you can pass on to your own students…

Here’s why we think of Thierry as a world-class coach at what he does:

Attention to detail

Most people can teach different skills in training reasonably well.

Indian clubs and kettlebells workshopBut, due to his background as a World-Champion, and his extreme attention to detail, he always tries to improve technique and form, and how to teach those skills to others. The foundation skills keeps being refined, so that you end up with principles instead of yet another method.

Thierry also tries to remove superfluous details that while sounding great and might impress novices serve no real purpose…

Seriously practicing what he preaches

Indian clubs workshop and certificationWe know the usual saying ‘practice what you preach’. Yet does it really mean something anymore? Isn’t it just a smart slogan?

In Thierry we found the real deal. Few people can boast of being a world-champion at what they teach, yet titles are only one side of the coin. If you’ve been a champion 10 years ago, a lot of things can change, and you might lose some sharpness in that long stretch of time.

This is not the case here. Due to continuous practice and being constantly challenged by questions from his students, Thierry is always razor sharp and able to provide you with new drills, techniques and info on how to improve your training even more.

Learn and apply!

The best teachers usually come as students from the best teachers in the previous generation and this is definitely true here as well.

Having learned from 2 former world-champions, Thierry brings the best from both the great masters of the past and from new knowledge, to teach to all of us in the present.

All in all, if you are looking for a top kettlebell and Indian clubs trainer and educator, Thierry has our highest recommendations.
We plan to bring him back to Copenhagen to further develop our skills!”

If you cannot attend a live workshop with us, you have the possibility to learn at your own rhythm with our video downloads and even become certified online.