Reinhard's current routines (Jan 2008)

Which movements do you do? How many reps? In what order? When? Do you mix in other non-shovelglove moves? Post here or browse to get ideas.
Post Reply
User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Reinhard's current routines (Jan 2008)

Post by reinhard » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:10 pm

Below is a repost from another discussion, just to seed this forum with something potentially useful. At some point (soon, I hope) I'm going to create a routines section on the main shovelglove site with a list of "canonical" and "non-canonical" routines, sort of like I did with the movements. Each routine description will have a link to a discussion thread here. Since it's possible this may take a while for me to get to, please feel free to pre-empt me by posting your own routines in this forum. A bunch of you have already posted routines elsewhere on the bulletin board, it would be great to gather them all here in one place, even if it's only a copy and paste to begin with. I could trawl through the boards and find these myself, but "are you still doing it and paying attention" might be a good filter :-).
I'm definitely going to add a "routines" section, both to the forums and to the main site. In fact, thanks for the nudge... I'll do it sooner. Keep nudging if you don't see it, at least in some rough form, within the next few days.

Below are the details of my current default routines (since at least mid 2007, I think). I don't always do these. If things are crazy I set the timer, take that first swing, and just see what happens (though it usually morphs into something like one of the routines below, or a 21-14-7).

****************************************************

"hard days" (usually M, Tues, sometimes Wednesday also). Hard (but possible) to fit this in 14 minutes, sometimes I go over a minute or so, sometimes I just interrupt when the timer goes off.

phase I. "degraded beast:" max out super strict full range of motion pushups (I average circa 40, record is 45, near term goal is 50, I'd gotten over 50 before but then upped the strictness)

phase II. shovelgove proper (20 pounder)

Except for movement #10, all reps counts are for each hand, i.e., 42 means 42 right, then 42 left.

1. 42 reps drive fence posts
2. 42 reps churn butter
3. 42 reps shovel
4. 14 reps flip switch
5. 14 reps chop wood
6. 14 reps hoist sack
7. 21 reps tuck bales
8. 14 reps fireman
9. 14 reps chop tree
10. 14 (total, no left right distintion) reps swing bell/aka row boat (description pending)
11. 7 reps armwrestle (description pending)

phase III. max out pushups, squats to match daily pushup max

****************************************************

"weak days" (usually Wed-Thu, sometimes friday)

phase I and III as above.

phase II. shovelglove proper: just 7 reps of each shovelglove movement (same order as above); repeat until timer goes off. 7 reps doesn't sound like much, but because you don't rest in between movements, you wind up doing just as much work as in the above routine -- it's just distributed more evenly.

****************************************************

Freestyle Fridays

whatever I feel like. If I'm not feeling imaginative I'll just do a "weak day" routine or a 21-14-7. The rest of the week I usually stick with the 20 pounder, but I often go down to 16 and/or 12 on fridays. Sometimes I even do punching motions ("weighted shadowboxing") with a pair of very light dumbells (my wife's "girly" dumbells, I think just 5 pounds). With the 12 pounder I often do some one handed moves that I'm not strong enough to do with the 20 pounder, like: "The blacksmith" (hammer on an anvil) and "spear the fish." (I haven't posted about these yet, I will soon, my excuse is laziness plus I like to try things out forever before recommending them)

****************************************************

Reinhard

ezuk
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:55 am

Re: Reinhard's current routines (Jan 2008)

Post by ezuk » Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:29 pm

reinhard wrote:Below is a repost from another discussion, just to seed this forum with something potentially useful.
So, it has been almost exactly one year since you posted this.

I'm curious - have there been any changes in your routine? What is it like now, come 2009?

User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Post by reinhard » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:46 pm

Amazingly little has changed.

If anything, the routine as I've described it has just firmed up.

Mon,Tues are almost always "high rep."

Wed,Th are almost always "low rep."

Fridays are almost always "freestyle."

The one change is in the non-sledgehammer phases I and III.

I now do squats in both phases instead of just in phase III.

I rarely max out on pushups and squats on "high rep" days because it leaves me too beat to enjoyably do the sledgehammer moves (and pushes me too far over the 14 minutes). Instead, I just do 14 or 21 reps, depending on how I'm feeling.

This isn't part of my routine proper, but a few months ago I installed a chin-up bar and I "opportunistically" do pull-ups and chin-ups on N-days when I pass by it.

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4068

Reinhard

ezuk
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:55 am

Post by ezuk » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:47 pm

reinhard wrote:Amazingly little has changed.

If anything, the routine as I've described it has just firmed up.

Reinhard
Cool!

I'm looking for a nice routine to start with. I think tomorrow morning is going to be my first day -- or maybe the day after. :)

Finnigan
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:52 pm

Post by Finnigan » Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:16 pm

So just to be clear, you fit phase I-III into 14 minutes? Wow! You must be hauling!

I was wondering, do you do traditional squats or hindu squats?

ezuk
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2008 10:55 am

Post by ezuk » Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:30 pm

 
Last edited by ezuk on Thu Jan 15, 2009 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Post by reinhard » Thu Jan 15, 2009 2:39 pm

So just to be clear, you fit phase I-III into 14 minutes? Wow! You must be hauling!
I HAVE done it, but it isn't pleasant (or safe, probably).

So:
I rarely max out on pushups and squats on "high rep" days because it leaves me too beat to enjoyably do the sledgehammer moves (and pushes me too far over the 14 minutes). Instead, I just do 14 or 21 reps, depending on how I'm feeling.
or
sometimes I just interrupt when the timer goes off.
Or I go a bit over. I'll time a non crazy rushed max-out session and see what it comes to.
I was wondering, do you do traditional squats or hindu squats?
I'm not 100% sure. I stand on my toes and swing my arms. I think that makes it hindu?

Reinhard

Finnigan
Posts: 85
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:52 pm

Post by Finnigan » Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:37 pm

I think so. I think traditional squats are done with hands on hips. I also think they are how I blew out my knee. Someone told me your leg shouldn't bend more than 90 deg, and your kneeshouldn't pass your toe. I think I broke these rules and I suffered for it.

User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Post by reinhard » Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:05 pm

April 2009 Update:

For the last few weeks I've been doing things SLIGHTLY (but perhaps, significantly) differently.

I decided to take the non-shovelglove movements out of my 14 minutes and do them (and/or some other stuff) "opportunistically" during the day. The shovelglove part is still exactly as I described above.

Here's why I decided to make this change:

1) I like the shovelglove moves more than the non-shovelglove moves. Maxing out on pushups first was leaving me a little too exhausted and short on time to enjoy the main part of the workout. But the main reason I do pushups (and chinpus/pullups, more below) is not so much for the workout in itself, but as a generally comprehensible fitness metric (when shovelglove conquers the fitness world and "how many drive fence posts can you do?" becomes a meaningful question for most people maybe I'll stop), so sticking them after the main routine (when I'm guaranteed not to be able to bang that many out) didn't make much sense.

2) I got a chinup bar and wanted to incorporate that into my overall exercise plan. It's not near my shovelglove space, so not convenient to incorporate into my 14 minutes.

3) My schedule has gotten rather tight, and I've taken to urban rangering home from work at high velocity ("running late," literally). Squats aren't so much fun after that.

4) It's kind of nice to have a mini-exercise to get the blood flowing in the morning before work. I (literally) don't have more than a minute or so to spare in the rush to get the kids and myself out the door, but a set of pushups or chinups or pullups don't take more than that.

What does "opportunistic exercise" mean?

Just that I do them whenever I see an opportunity.

But I have a few additional guidelines that make them more likely to (sustainably) come up.

I added a little routine task to my daily index card called "maxups." Every N-day, I max out on EITHER chin-ups, pull-ups, or pushups and record how many I did on this card. I'm only allowed to max out on one of these exercises per day, to reign myself in from overdoing it (I cycle through them in alphabetical order). If I want to do some of the others, that's ok, but I have to stop at my "cruising altitude" rep count, no more than 80% of my consistently reproducible max. It doesn't matter when I do my "maxups," but morning is usual because I do shovelglove at night. The constraints on how much I'm allowed to do are key: not only do they throttle my enthusiasm and keep me from overdoing it, they make each maxup session seem like a precious opportunity, not to be squandered. And on the "cruising altitude" sets, I might not be able to hit numbers, but my ambition can still find something to strive for: perfect form.

So far so good. I enjoy my "pure" shovelglove routines more, and have been consistently doing my "maxups" as well. They've been fun, too. It's sort of like a game.

"Run late" doesn't require any additional structures besides an overly demanding day job and a wife with two small kids at home desperate for reinforcements :-). It is funny the weird looks I get from people because I'm not wearing any special running gear but am running because I actually want to get somewhere. It's probably the summer heat will make run late less fun. But even if it's just a cold weather activity, hey, that's when we need the exercise most.

Reinhard

Ray E.
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2007 2:12 pm

Post by Ray E. » Mon May 04, 2009 2:44 pm

This is essentially what I do. I SG three days/week and do kettlebell swings the other two. I enjoy the change. I was doing burpees the other two days, but got to the point I dreaded them so I switched to something challenging that I actually enjoy.

I intersperse pull-ups and chin-ups whenever I pass the bar so they aren't formal workouts, but I do quite a few reps each day. I haven't been doing push-ups, but after reading your post, I may do a set after the pull/chin-ups.

Ray

tripitaka888
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat May 23, 2009 5:00 am
Location: Australia

Why pushups?

Post by tripitaka888 » Mon May 25, 2009 3:50 am

Hello - I thought the idea was just one exercise routine per day?

Isn't adding push-ups / chin-ups broaching into additional areas?

I am a new follower of your exercise and have a fibreglass handled 12lb hammer - wrapped conveniently with three blue 24" square cloth nappies that every parent buys, thinking they will be enviro friendly (and never use) - but two years on, none of them have ever seen my daughter's hinney - and tied off with string looks a little neater than a tied jumper [even when swinging a sledgehammer in the house one must keep a modicum of decor].

I wonder what those poor buggers who built the first transcontinental railroad etc would think about people swinging SH's ... for fun! (well I guess it was 140 years ago)

Best wishes, AC

DC++
Posts: 44
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:08 am
Location: Australia

Post by DC++ » Mon May 25, 2009 4:12 am

Hello - I thought the idea was just one exercise routine per day?
I do more exercises than the 14 minutes of shugging, but I am careful to keep them separate, and track them as separate activities in the HabitCal. The reasoning is that if the daily shovelgloving time is allowed to grow then we will reach a point where it becomes much easier to find reasons for not doing it, which would mean not doing anything. Keeping the other things I do separate means that even if I miss yoga I am more likely to still do SG or skipping. So the 14 minutes is primarily for the habit-forming side of things rather than physical conditioning.

However, the 14 minutes of SG is certainly long enough to be effective. Indeed it is the only strength training I do and the benefits have been dramatic.

PS: Nice to see another Aussie here!

Post Reply