A Message From Don
My journey with the development of the adjustable exercise (ad-ex) club began in 2007 after using a one sided dumbbell as a club to rehabilitate a 10 year old shoulder injury. I had watched a video of a man performing mills and thought, that looks like it’d relieve my shoulder from pain. I couldn’t afford one of those clubs at the time, so I improvised by using the dumbbell. It worked so well I figured more folks would want one, but it should be adjustable in weight so almost everyone can use it.
2007...
My journey with the development of the adjustable exercise (ad-ex) club began in 2007 after using a one sided dumbbell as a club to rehabilitate a 10 year old shoulder injury. I had watched a video of a man performing mills and thought, that looks like it’d relieve my shoulder from pain. I couldn’t afford one of those clubs at the time, so I improvised by using the dumbbell. It worked so well I figured more folks would want one, but it should be adjustable in weight so almost everyone can use it.
2008...
The first real Adex prototype was fabricated in 2008 from an aluminum T-ball bat, used standard barbell weights, a 4 speed shifter knob, and an aluminum thread that was turned in a lathe. After finding that the diameter of the 5lb barbell plates was too big to properly move about the body, sleeker weights were made and tested. This second design club handle and weights featured an interlocking design which kept them from loosening and causing harm. Both of these prototype club handles were finished with a different truck bed liner for grip.
2010...
The third design was the beginning of the Adex Clubs seen today. After getting the chance to train for some time with traditional shaped clubs, the T-ball bat clubs didn’t have the proper swing feel due to their weight being condensed at the far end of the club.
2011
Time to revise the design, and in 2010 it was drawn, and the first Provisional Patent applied for, but the prototype didn’t get made until 2011. That club had 6 weight settings and the original ‘Martini glass’ shape. I trained with this prototype for 2 years before deciding that the design was good enough to produce. The initial order of 50 was made in 2014 and took over a year to sell. Adex Adjustable Clubs® became a registered trademark
2015...
The fourth design, 2015, featured a faster to insert, dual helix thread-set, and the handle changed to the new shouldered Adex ‘Martini glass’ shape. Again, another provisional patent was filed. The Adex Mace was also designed with input from Mr. Maceman Rik Brown. The addition of our Fat handle line (1.21” dia) of clubs and maces is first offered.
2016...
2016 marked the addition of two 2.5lb weights which allow for an easier progression in weight than fixed weight clubs that jump up in 5lb increments, and increased the weight settings from 6 to 10.
2017
While in 2017 the Adex Arc (bulava) made it’s debut along with the Ad-On Kit. The Ad-On Kit affectionately became known as the ‘Rhino’ and added another 8 settings and up to 20 more pounds for the ADEX Club, Mace, or Arc kits.
2018- Present
From 2018 until 2020 ADEX Clubs and Maces grew exponentially. Some of our customers waited up to 3 months to receive their orders. This amount of growth required the manufacturing process to be redesigned a few times to expedite production. Working closely with our machine shop, we reduced part manufacturing times, went through different coating processes, and bought steel in much larger quantities to get better pricing. In 2018, Adex became the official equipment of the MaceFit® training program and the AMCCA/Vintage Strength sanctioned mace and club competitions. 2019 saw the introduction of our Fat Handle 1.21” dia line of clubs and maces. Another of the major highlights from this time was on January 1, 2019 when Adex Clubs was granted US Patent 10,166,428. Prototypes for the larger ‘Mastodon Kit’ began beta testing in 2020, which puts another 25lbs over our Ad-On Kit.
In 2021, we teamed up with celebrity trainer Mark Wildman. The Adex system plugging directly into his Nerd Math™️ style of exercise programming.
2022 Adex launched the Mark Wildman Edition Clubs and Maces with the much thicker 1.4” diameter handles, an improved textured finish, and include the 1.25lb weight as standard in the kit. Our Original and Fat club and mace handles now received the grippier finish as well.
The future - keep an eye on us, we are still growing!