Forward

This book is dedicated to my mentors in steel mace and club

training:
Don Giafardino
Valerie Pawlowski
Rik Brown
Without them this book would never have been written.
 Chapters
1. Italian ingenuity
2. Armed and dangerous
3. Hungry for more
4. Learn from the best
5. Who would go to Miami on purpose?
6. Crazy girls
7. Heading for Carolina
8. Barbeque and brilliance
9. Coaching good coaches
10.The big reach
11.Max reps or load? Both!
12.A taste of the “Big Time”
13. Amongst the mighty
14. Don’t call them ladies, they’re Warrior Women
15. It shouldn’t be that hard
16. Thrive, don’t just survive
17. Onward!
18. What Mace Fit can do for you
Thanks for checking out my book!
I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.
Whether you are new to working out or you have trained for
years, our training can be a great way to improve your health,
strength, cardio and more.
Chapter 1

I had no idea who this guy was, but he was following a

product review on Adex clubs by Dave Hall and Chip
Conrad on Facebook at the same time I was.
The product review seemed legit, so I posted that I should
get some clubs.
The other guy says “I have clubs, talk to me.”
It turns out the guy was Don Giafardino, the creator of
Adex adjustable clubs and maces.

Come to find out he lived a few hours away from me on

the other side of Florida. He offered to do a free
introductory workshop at my gym, the Cave, in Sarasota,
Florida.

On January 23, 2016 he drove over with a load of his

clubs and maces to do the workshop.
It was very informative with a lot of hands-on teaching.
 Donnie is a true
Italian and “talks with his hands” as you can see. He gets
his point across very well, though.

Once I got a steel mace in my hands I knew that this

would be the next wave of fitness.
 A few months later
Don did a second free workshop at my gym and we were
hooked.

Don had taken a chance on me at his own expense and we

have been at it ever since,
Thank God for Donnie!
Chapter 2
I had run a solid training program at my gym for quite a few
years already.
Now that this new tool has been added to my training toolbox
I had to integrate it into my current program.

Our crew already was doing all kinds of unconventional

training in addition to the basic barbell lifts. They liked hard
work so that helped.
I started integrating the mace exercises into their warmups
first. Then into their conditioning/accessory work .

They really liked it once they started getting the hang of it.
Eventually I got a steel Adex club and added it in.
Over time I kept adding more maces and clubs, plus the heavy
add-ons that came out later. Now were armed and dangerous in
the fight against mediocre health and fitness.
Chapter 3
They interest level kept growing so I started “stand-alone”
classes with Adex steel mace and clubs.
At first, the Mace Fit name had not been thought of. I was
just using steel club and mace training.
Then one day it hit me, and I changed the name to Mace Fit .
Soon after I got the name and logo Trademarked.
The classes grew in popularity, so I had some cool t-shirts
made up for the class. They were a hit!
 The classes appealed to both
men and women from a variety of occupational and ethnic
backgrounds as well as different age groups.

People came for different reasons, but they all loved it!
Some wanted to get stronger, some wanted to get leaner, some
wanted to get rid of work stress, others just saw the benefit of
this radically different way of training.
 Chapter 4
Donnie introduced me to Valerie Pawlowski, a very
accomplished kettlebell and mace competitor.

They had an online 8 week mace course that I took and it

helped me to improve on my own technique and
knowledge of mace training.

Don, Val, and myself hit it off really great and work
together to this day.
Later Val introduced to Rik Brown aka Mr. Maceman.

He was and is the world’s most well-known mace

instructor. I enrolled in his online course and learned from
him for about 18 months.

Rik is incredibly knowledgeable and greatly added to my

understanding of the mace.
He has taught the mace in many countries from Europe to
China.

I learned a lot from him in his online course.

Chapter 5
Though I had already been running my own training program
for a while I attended a Vintage Strength Mace and Club
Certification at at LyonStrong in Miami.
It added to my knowledge base and improved my technique
and coaching skills.

Don Giafardino was the Instructor. His keen eye kept

everyone’s technique in line.
Chapter 6
Donnie and Valerie thought our training program was solid
enough to start our own certification.
We did that at the Cave in 2018

Donnie, Valerie, and myself certified seven Level 1 Coaches

that weekend.
Garage Gym Life Magazine came down to do a review on this
which was very cool!
You can watch it here
Here’s how they reacted to completing the certification
successfully.
Chapter 7
Our first out-of-state certification was in North Carolina at
Woodall’s Fitness later that year.
Valerie and I certified six more Level 1 Coaches there.
Chapter 8

Our inaugural Mace Fest happened in April 2019 and it was a

weekend of learning, feasting, and fun.
We had a good turnout, thank God!
Here are some short videos from that weekend
https://youtu.be/Kp0Vjgrk9t4
https://youtu.be/XI9GhvrO4-0

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzdrveARte/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzyCa3A5dz/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzcgjvA6In/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwxU05oAEv7/
 We had
quite a crew plus we had a special guest appearance by
Strongman Bud Jeffries (center).

Find out more about Bud here

Chapter 9
One town over we certified we certified two coaches from the
Havoc Gym.
We also did some “invitation-only” certifications locally.
Chapter 10

We went online with our courses and certification to expand

our reach. People from all over the world can now learn how
to do Mace Fit

All fitness levels can find a course that fits their goals right
here
Chapter 11
Along with our teammates and friends from Maceworx,
Vintage Strength Training, and Adex Clubs & Maces we ran
the inaugural Vintage Strength Games in Manassas, VA in
August 2019.
Which was the East Coast Regional competition.

Watch some
of the action in this video
Chapter 12
Our first big time public exposure was at the Tampa Bay
Fitness Expo. This held at the Tampa Bay Convention Center.
We had a lot of interested people stop by to try out our maces
and clubs.
Chapter 13
Being a sponsor of the Tampa Bay Strongman Classic 2019
was a great opportunity to be among a group of athletes I have
a lot of respect for, and to let them get their hands on our Adex
steel maces and clubs.

It was help at Valor Fitness in Seminole, Florida which is a

great venue for competitive events.
This is Strongman Coringa Conway with one of our 45lb
clubs. He is also a professional MMA Fighter and he “gets it”
about these training tools.
 Roman & Roman Law
had the booth next to mine. They big supporters of Strongman
and sponsor all the local events.
Everyone who got their hands on our maces and clubs loved
them!
Scott Weech Jr. is crazy strong! I am glad he is a friend of
mine.
 Chapter 14
Sometimes it’s a good idea to set up an event just for the
ladies. We did that a few months ago with the Warrior Woman
Workshop.

https://youtu.be/qM-ipcaM1p0
https://youtu.be/gNPiHCNjOJM
https://youtu.be/psg2IwpHJsI
https://youtu.be/g7yCBnMYnNE
 Chapter 15
Strongman Coringa Conway owns Iron Life Athletics in
Orlando, FL. He had stopped by my booth at the Tampa
Strongman Classic a while back. I followed up with him later
and we set up a time for a “hands-on” Mace Fit workshop.
Both of these guys are crazy strong and they were surprised
how weights that light could be so challenging.

They worked from different body positions to get a good feel

of the exercises and equipment.

I look forward to working with these guys again.

As strong and as accomplished as they are they still want to
learn ways to improve. I respect that.
Chapter 16
On March 20, 2020 all the gyms in Florida had to close due to
an Executive Order from the Governor. No problem, our
maces and clubs fit easily into my car. We were blessed to still
have access to county parks so we didn’t have to slow down at
all.
https://youtu.be/nHEJC1lC8TU
https://youtu.be/rl_XWGv1rKo
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Pi6e9H7mm/

The outdoor training was a hit! We will keep several non-gym

workouts on the schedule even after the gyms are allowed to
reopen.
Chapter 17
It’s been an extremely exciting journey this far, we are far
from done.
Our next project is Home Grown Mace Fit

Which is in response to the corona virus shutdown. This whole

program can be done at home with a few simple training tools.
Sign up for our email newsletter for updates on the release of
this program.
Chapter 18

Here’s what Mace Fit can do for you:

For the general public, just doing something that works their
bodies differently than machines or even free weights will help
them get healthier.
They get their strength and cardio in the same workout, plus
it’s fun to do.
Older folks can improve their balance, core strength, and grip.
Powerlifters can improve their recovery, keep their shoulders
healthy, get stronger grip and forearms.
Strongman competitors the same benefits as above but they
also get better endurance and speed.
Olympic Weightlifters can improve coordination, timing, grip
and shoulder health.
Grapplers can improve isometric strength, speed, balance,
range of motion and the ability to work in compromised body
positions.
Athletes who play baseball, golf, hockey, or tennis can
improve their ability to decelerate quickly and safely.
They can also get stronger abductors and adductors which
improves lateral movement.
Everyone can benefit from stronger tendons which helps
prevent
What to do next:

1-get all our workouts sent to you here

2-check out our online courses here
3-get your maces and clubs here

Let me know if you have any questions, okay?

Contact Frank DiMeo
(941)228-8341
frank_dimeo@yahoo.com
Have a blast slinging steel!