The macebell derives from an ancient weapon known simply as a “mace”. A mace is a bludgeon, a type of club that uses a heavy head attached to the end of a handle, though spiked versions of this fearsome weapon are also known.

The use of maces in warfare dates back thousands of years. Many ancient civilizations throughout history had maces in their arsenal. Most notably, Hindu and Persian warriors wielded maces during battle inflicting deadly blows to their enemies.

Maces were also used as a training tool by those warriors because the swinging motion directly transferred to their battlefield prowess - rotational strength and power! Essentially, it was functional training at its finest.

Macebells, also known as Gada were first introduced as a regular training tool by the pehlwani (traditional wrestlers) on the Indian subcontinent about 100 years ago. They incorporated this unique tool in their training arsenal to great effect.

Early macebells were mainly made of heavy or weighted wood with a solid head, spherical or pear-shaped like the Gada, and weighed anywhere from 5 to 30-40kg. Due to the weight being set from the start, trainees had to make different progressively heavier macebells as they got stronger. Loadable gadas and macebells were also used, fashioned with large hollow heads that could be filled with sand, leadshot or other heavy ballast thus allowing for progressive work-out with the same tool. These adjustable macebells evolved…..until one day ...