Everyday Systems

Today I was reading about shovelglove (I know it has its own forum but I'm already hooked by this No S crew!), and was practicing some of the moves just using my broom -- essentially no weight. And here I am, 12 hours later, already sore! Are there any NoSers out there that also shovelglove? Reinhard says it's not boring, but it seems to me it could get boring just like any exercise. But I have to admit, it was fun today! And my kids loved trying out new shovelglove moves..... my two boys were shovelglove naturals!!

I did classic shovelglove for around 1 1/2 - 2 years. After that it evolved into something else, got more intense...

But i always kept the 14 minutes a N-day.

If the No S Diet is the slow, sane way to lose weight, Shovelglove and Urban Ranger are the afterburner to it. I recommend them to all people who think they are stuck with No S alone, or getting impatient.

I'm about a hundred percent sure, that everybody can reach a healthy and fit body by combining these three systems.

Regarding the "boring"-question: The whole structure of it aims at forming a habit. And that's the way it worked. It became a habit.

Let's compare it with teeth-brushing. That's pretty boring (nothing exciting about it since we were kids) but i still do it every day. It's the same with shovelgolve: Excitement only last for so long, but the habit stays.

I have recently been incorporating 14 minutes of any vigorous movements. I know a lot of them from years of fitness tapes and dance classes. I imagine Reinhard would think a lot of them fit into the category of undignified movements, but he's not a dancer! I use Shovelglove movements a couple of days a week with some weights I already had.(Keeping the ethic of cheap and good.) I also vary the speed of movements on different days. You can make 14 minutes work for YOU.

Try using something you have on hand to get the habit going. One woman used her cast iron frying pan! Not the perfect weight distribution, but the price was right.

The skillet weight distribution is fine if you hold it by both sides most of the time. And what a workout! I'm doing four minutes per N day right now, and it is definitely working my muscles! (I throw in squats, etc., while I'm doing the upper body moves.)

While it is definitely going to be like brushing teeth, long term, for me, the big difference from tooth brushing is that working a little with a weight leaves me feeling a little energetic and calm -- it changes my body temporarily in the short term in a positive way, and if I keep it up (boy I hope I keep it up) it will change it positively in the long term too.

Maybe I should look into a ten pound tooth brush and combine the habits?

Maybe they sell those in Texas.

Shovelglove is to exercise what N-S is to diet -- it's a revelation! It's not really the sledgehammer and the movements themselves that are revelatory (though they are pretty ingenious), but it's the admonition to exercise for 14 minutes a day in some manner. I can't say that's it's become a perfect habit for me -- I still have to psyche myself up for it -- but knowing that I'll be finished in 14 minutes just leaves me without any excuses. Also, no drive to the gym. And it's fun as hell to tell people about it... and even just to say the word.

Thanks everybody, for your ideas. I'm very seriously warming up to a shovelglove-type exercise habit..... Not totally ready to commit, but getting there.

Now and then I'll pick up my sledgehammer and shovelglove away for a couple of months. I will even go into the shovelglove discussion groups to pick up new moves and make up some of my own to keep it interesting. Then I get bored and lay down my slegde and do something else for a while.

Practicing the Shovelglove moves gave me the confidence to try a Cross-fit class.
After Cross-fit I moved on to Kettlebells, which I am currently doing (and love).
My trusty sledgehammer is in my office. I do the basic movements on a regular basis. And 14 minutes still kicks my butt!

I started No S and Shovelglove at around the same time back in the summer of 2012. I find that I like to find a great workout routine, do it for a week or two, then decide I need to change it up.

I usually swing my hammer for 2 or 3 weeks consistently and then take a break and do burpees or some other form of bodyweight exercise. This back and forth used to drive me nuts but I'm learning to embrace it.

The No S and Shovelglove combo (along with my aforementioned bodyweight workouts and some jogging) have changed the way I eat and workout and completely changed the shape of my body over the past year and a half. I also find that the Shovelglove is a great release at the end of the day. Just feels good to swing something.

Good luck!

Don't be afraid to post pics.