Something I get asked often is… for heavy club and mace training, how many sets and reps should I aim for?
Reps
Like all strength training tools, it depends on your goals and your training experience.
If your goal is strength, keep the reps low (under 6 reps).
If your goal is general strength and conditioning, then perform a higher rep range (8-12 rep range).
And, if you want to build endurance… aim for a rep range over 15 reps.
You can also work for time as well following the same format.
So, if 1 rep of an exercise takes 3 seconds to complete. 30-seconds of work should equal 10 about reps and 60-seconds of work should equal 20 reps.
Sets
It depends on how you structure your workouts and how many exercises you program.
Here are some general guidelines though, when your reps go up, your sets go down.
So… When performing low reps (under 6 reps) with a heavy weight you’ll do more sets.
i.e: 5 sets of 5 reps with a heavy weight
When performing medium reps (8-12 reps) with a moderate weight you’ll do slightly less sets.
I.e: 3 sets of 10 reps with a moderate weight
When performing high reps with a low weight you’ll slightly less sets again.
I.e: 2 sets of 20 reps with a light weight
Beginners
As a general guideline for a beginner, aim for 3 sets 10 reps.
Once you can perform the exercise with that weight for more than 12 reps, increase the load to a weight where you can only perform 8 reps.
Continue increasing the load and staying between the 8-rep-12 rep mark as you become stronger.