Today, a competition was held worldwide in International Clubbell Sport. The club swinging greats from all around the globe joined together for some massive sweating, callouses, blisters, and fun.
This is my first official clubbell competition, and I competed in the 15 lbs division. Here are my results…
Total Double Clubbell Swipes completed in 10 minutes: 160
Total Single Clubbell Mills completed in 10 minutes: 128 (129R, 128L)
Total Score: 288 Points
Notes:
A hot day and a mild headache are perfect conditions for high rep clubbell swinging! :) I warmed up with some joint mobility exercises from head to toe, core to periphery – most were taken from the Intu-Flow program. During the swipes event, I tried to focus on nothing except me and the clubbells. I just wanted my mind and body to be entirely wrapped up in the act of swinging, since I knew that my grip would fatigue eventually (around rep 80). I didn’t focus on numbers or the time except the occasional glance. It was just me and movement.
I did make one mistake during the swipes. After coming out of shoulder park, I should have placed them into back position before casting forward.
After the swipes event, I spent some time doing full body vibrations ala RESET style and some more joint mobility to stay loose and recover for the mills event. I also stood in front of the fan with an ice pack on my head, trying to drown out the headache and bring my body temperature back down. 25 minutes later, I was back at it again.
I was very confident going into the mills event, knowing that I shouldn’t need any rest since I’ve done high rep mills before. However, I can say with assurance that I left every single repetition I had in me on that platform with the mills. That last rep with the left arm was all I had left. I had never done a timed event for mills, so I sped through it a little too fast than I should have. Good learning experience!
All in all, it was a good experience and a fun time. Can’t wait to get a pair of 25’s to start playing with!
If you’d like to learn more about club swinging or get involved with clubbell sport, then here are some resources:
Official Clubbell Site:
http://clubbell.tv
Clubbell Shop:
https://rmaxinternational.3dcartstores.com/Clubbells_c_8.html
My Clubbell Resources here on the blog:
John Reviews the Clubbell Training Tool
Two-handed clubbell training highlights video
Interview with Clubbell Inventor and ICS World Record Holder Scott Sonnon
Interview with CST Head Coach Adam Steer about clubbells and more.
To your health and success,
.jpg "John Sifferman")
Fitness Professional and Clubbell Athlete
P.S. In case you’re not familiar with International Clubbell Sport, here are the official rules as summarized by Scott Sonnon on the Cross World Clubbell Competition Facebook page:
Double Swipe (2 clubbells): most number of repetitions in 10 minutes without clubbells touching the ground. One repetition requires both clubbells to be completely behind the head, and then completely behind the knees. Clubbells can be held or rested on the, but not below the knees, on the feet or ground.
One Arm Alternating Mill (1 clubbell): most number of repetitions in 10 minutes without clubbell touching the ground. ONE HALF repetition requires passing centerline in front with elbow locked until passing centerline to the side, with the clubbell finally (at least partially) passing the centerline behind the head. Hands can be freely alternated at any time. However, total repetitions equal the common number between the two hands; i.e. if 124 mills completed right side, and 126 left side, then only 124 total points are counted.
No more than 30 minutes between the two events for rest.
Due to consistency of weight distribution, only authentic clubbells can officially compete, but you can participate unofficially with any club. The clubbell is the most difficult design to swing, which is why.
Winner of each weight class will win a t-shirt. We’re working to have a trophy as well.
Weight classes:
10lbs Clubbell
15lbs Clubbell
20lbs Clubbell
25lbs Clubbell
35lbs Clubbell
Great job John. You should and can pat yourself on the back. You’re such a diligent CST athlete that these results don’t surprise me.
How do you feel?
Thanks Kevin. I feel great today – after the event. Some mild DOMS, but nothing that restricts my range of motion. That’s one thing that I love about clubbells versus dumbbells/barbells, I’ve never had severe DOMS like I used to. The joint mobility and vibrations help significantly, too.
Immediately following the event, I felt “used.” I gave all I had during the mills. My grip strength was the limiting factor in my performance, but the rest of me was pretty fatigued too. I don’t think I could have done another mill without dropping the clubbell. My left arm felt like a water balloon!
I got some more ice for my headache and drank a smoothie (recipe here: http://johnsifferman.com/blog/post-workout-shake-recipe-johns-favorite-post-workout-protein-shake/).
I’ll spend some time working on joint mobility and some light prasara today.
Thanks for checking in!
Nice work, John!
Thanks, Kathryn.
I am in awe of the stuff you can do. I still steer my patients to the simple stuff that makes sense for the sit-on-your-ass and wonder why your back hurts crowd. I’m getting ready to run a Mile Time Trial with my track club buddies in Santa Monica/L.A. and prove that you can actually get faster at age 57. Hope you are having a great summer. Had the pleasure of cheering my 24 yr old daughter to successful completion of Full Vineman Ironman Triathlon in Sonoma last week.
Dr. Dean