Hey guys, Dan here from Dangerously Fit… today I’m talking about one of the most fundamental and important movements in club training… the Clubbell Mill.
The mill is a cornerstone club exercise that builds coordination, shoulder strength, and control through multiple planes of movement.
And today we’re going heavy.
If you’ve been training with lighter clubs and you’re ready to make that jump, I’ll take you through how I perform heavy mills… this is the way that works best for me, and you can try it out and see if it works for you too.
The Difference Between Light and Heavy Clubs
First thing to understand… there’s a big difference between swinging light Indian clubs and heavy steel clubs.
With lighter clubs, say one or 0.5-1 kilos (1-3lb), we usually stand with our feet closer together, legs straight, we’re not trying to use the lower body at all. The focus is mobility, speed, and range of motion through the upper body.
Now with heavy clubs, that stance just won’t work. You’ll get pulled off balance straight away. Instead, you want a strong, athletic stance… feet hip- to shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
If you’re a bit tight through the hips, you can externally rotate slightly, but keep your base solid so you’re not getting thrown around by the load.
Controlling Balance & Lateral Load
When you’re swinging a heavy club out to the side… say 20, 25, even 30 kilos (50-60lb)… that’s a lot of weight pulling you laterally.
If you don’t counterbalance that force, it’s going to pull you off your centerline.
So as the club swings to your left, you want to charge your weight to the right.
That’s how you stay balanced and in control.
With lighter clubs you don’t need to think about that because they don’t generate enough force… but once the club gets heavy, your whole body has to work together to control that lateral swing.
Range of Motion & Speed Differences
Another big difference is lighter clubs move faster and have a much bigger range of motion.
As you go heavier, everything slows down.
You’re not muscling it, you’re guiding it.
The club becomes the moving force… and your job is to stay centered and connected as it pulls you side to side.
You must own the centreline by charging your weight in the opposite direction.
Using the Whole Body (Power Transfer)
When that club is coming up from the bottom of the swing, it’s not just your arm doing the work.
You’re transferring power from the legs, through the core, into the shoulder, retracting the shoulder blade to bring that club back into the sword-in-sheath position.
Everything works together… lower body and upper body in sync to control and redirect that weight efficiently.
The Elbow Circle (Moving from Back to Front)
Now once you’ve pulled that club into the sword-in-sheath position, the next key step is to use a big elbow circle to move the club from the back of the body to the front.
This is where a lot of people go wrong.
If you try to flick it through with your wrist… forget it.
You’ll never move a heavy club that way.
You need to whip that elbow around, using the shoulder and upper body to generate the movement.
With lighter clubs, you can muscle through it and still get away with bad technique… but once the load increases, good technique becomes everything.
Without that proper elbow circle, you simply won’t be able to move the club.
That’s how to perform the Heavy Clubbell Mill.
It’s one of the best movements you can do for building raw, functional strength… not just in your shoulders, but through your whole kinetic chain.
