Another convert

[moxie]

Hello everybody,

After following the link from stumptuous.com and reading just about everything on the site, I decided to give shovelgloving a try. I'm only two days in and taking it slowly, but I figure posting here about progress will help me keep it up until the habit is fully ingrained.

Yesterday I did 7 reps of every motion out there, and today did 14 of the same. I haven't hit 14 minutes of pure sledgehammer action yet, but within the week that will happen. I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll be able to do 21 of everything, but my arms and shoulders are still debating that possibility with me.

[Kevin]

Glad you've joined us. You'll love it more as time goes by. And you are right to start slowly...

[moxie]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Everything the same today, still the 14-at-a-go, still only 10 minutes so far, but at least I didn't forget or put it off. I feel wierd about posting a little notice like this, but it was surprisingly motivating knowing I'd be embarassed if I didn't. "Oh no, a group of total strangers will think I'm a flake!"

[heidster]

Go moxie! Girl Power!

[Kevin]

We won't think you're a flake. Keep posting if it motivates you. Take it slow to start and build up to a nice habit. I've been doing this for two years (although not as regularly as I should) and still love it.

[moxie]

I did it! 14/7, all 14 minutes! My hands feel like they're going to fall off!
It's wierd, apparently the right arm is stronger overall, but the left grip is much better. I didn't think I used it more... hmm. I'm still moving very slowly compared to what most people posting here are able to do, but every little bit of improvement counts.
Driving to work I was aware of every bit of pressure my hands had to put on the wheel. What an unusual sensation.

[reinhard]

Welcome, Moxie! And congratulations on making it through the full 14 minutes. Great to have another female shugger on board. I finally got around to linking back to stumptuous.com on the shovelglove.com home page in belated recognition of all the traffic Mistress Krista has brought my way over the years -- and because it's an excellent, relevant site. Those of you who haven't seen it yet should check it out.

Do keep posting. If we found little details about shovelglove boring, we wouldn't be here.

Reinhard

[moxie]

Today was really, really hard. After getting to bed late after overtime, being woken often by much-crazier-than-usual cats, and getting up early to go to a meeting, I was exhausted and had less time than usual. I sat in the living room, staring at the shovelglove with glazed eyes, cats bumping against my legs for the attention they didn't get yesterday, arguing with myself.

"It seems like people do four or even three day weeks, I could do that for now, I'm starting slowly after all..."
"But you're trying to build a habit! What, you'll come up with a new excuse daily?"
"No, but - I can do it this evening after work."
"Riiight. After another three hours of overtime, you'll come home and do calisthenics. Ha."
"Well, I don't think I even have fourteen minutes left this morning."
"Not even one week! You can't make it one week without compromising?"
"Augh! Fine! I'll take it to work!"

Well, that left me with other questions - do I SG in the parking lot and risk being found by a security guy? "No, sir, I wasn't going to smash that windshield there, honest." On the other hand, I could claim it's self-defense for the perverts arrested every other month. Hmm. Do I SG in the stairwell during a break and risk being found by someone who'd think I was on the verge of going postal? "It's a workout program! Really! My, what a lovely shade of pink this slip is." I eventually chose the stairwell, because I'd rather be fired than arrested, in general, and now I sit with the shovelglove under my desk. Let me tell you, nothing - I mean nothing - boosts your heart rate like a workout with possible major life consequences. Also, I can swing a sledgehammer in high heels. Ha.

Fitting SG in each morning is going to be so much easier now that I know the mortifying consequences.

[david]

Moxie, that was one of the best shovelglove posts ever!

--david

[fungus]

Well, that left me with other questions - do I SG in the parking lot and risk being found by a security guy? "No, sir, I wasn't going to smash that windshield there, honest." On the other hand, I could claim it's self-defense for the perverts arrested every other month. Hmm. Do I SG in the stairwell during a break and risk being found by someone who'd think I was on the verge of going postal?

Maybe your "glove" needs to be fluffier. And pink.

[moxie]

Thanks, David.

I'm not really a fluffy and pink person, fungus, though that would make anything look less threatening. I'll keep it in mind if I ever have to drag the SG to work again.

Today was blissfully routine compared to yesterday. I'm starting to speed up and not have to think about where my elbows are, so next week maybe I'll start grouping movements together for certain days instead of just working my way down the list.

[moxie]

Got my 14 minutes in with no problem, which is good. I'm still not very fast, but all things in time.

For some reason the muscles on the left side of my back burn with effort when I'm SGing, but not the right side, no matter which way I'm angled. Has anybody else experienced this? Am I doing something wrong, or is one side of me stronger than the other?

[moxie]

Today I decided to start grouping exercises together for each day instead of running through all of the movements in turn, and oh god do my arms burn. It's much harder. You were right to advise beginners to diversify their movements, Reinhard.

[david]

It's a near certainty that the muscles on one side are stronger than the other. One of the benefits of SG which isn't touted much is that those differences can get evened out.

--david

[moxie]

Yesterday was insane - a snowstorm! In April! So, of course, life became more complicated. I did SG, but didn't get to post about it.
I'm proud of myself - with the more limited range of movements, I'm doing 2 sets of 20.

[heidster]

Good job, moxie! I am hanging in there too -- can't remember if I'm on my second or third week now. However, I skipped this morning due to a little twinge in my back (which I don't believe is SG related -- I think I just slept on it wrong). I'm taking advil and stretching and hope to get to shugging tonight after work if it's feeling better.

I've been slowly working my way up this week and am finally able to do 50 shovels each side -- previously I was doing ten right, ten left, another ten right, another ten left and so forth; then series of 20, etc. Now I'm up to 50 and often groaning around 49.

I've also been alternating between SG in the morning and SG in the evening. I am not and never have been a morning person, so I find in the morning I sort of slog through it without giving it any special effort, and usually go, "Goody!" when the timer goes off. In the evening I take out my aggressions of the workday, really attack the moves, and when the timer goes off I go, "Awwww."

[moxie]

Oh, well done, Heidster! I'll have to try out sets of 50 next week. Your perspectives on the morning/evening are interesting - time's available reliably in the mornings for me, but maybe the evenings would be more entertaining. I'll have to try Monday night.

The 20 today was easier, but maybe that was because on Friday I can do any movement I like (which doesn't lend itself to repetition).

[moxie]

Yesterday I was restless and SGd and extra day (and at night, no less, which was actually just as good as you said it would be, Heidster), and made it to 20/15/10. Tonight I'm going to try to hit 30/20/10, though that may be too much for me. I'm getting a bit of muscle on part of my upperarm and a good-sized portion on my forearms, which is a very cool feeling.

[reinhard]

Moxie,

Sorry it's been a while since I popped in here...

I'm very happy to hear how well it's going for you.

High heeled shovelglove... now that would make some compelling youtube

I'm very impressed (and amused) with how you talked yourself out of skipping a workout, but do be careful about swinging too much in the other direction and overdoing it. Extra days can be dangerous, not just because they can be physically overwhelming, but because they can set you up with an excuse to skip your regular routine later. It's like a credit you feel you've built up -- the excuse generating part of your brain then thinks it can make future debits. If it didn't go further than that, it would be fine. But once people start getting in the habit of exercising (or not exercising) on credit, things get complicated fast, and good habits tend to collapse. I don't mean to be a downer about your great efforts -- I just want to add a little note of caution.

Reinhard

[moxie]

Good advice is never a downer! That's an excellent warning about the dangers of bargaining and credit-earning - it's the sort of behavior that everybody has but rarely pays attention to. To be honest, yesterday that very issue came up; thankfully, the oh-so-simple every weekday rule won out.

In SG news, I've hit 30/20, not three rounds yet, and now that I'm strong enough to handle the movements with relative ease all of the ancillary supporting muscles are starting to complain. It's a revelation how many parts of your body you use with each movement.

[heidster]

Doing good, Moxie! Out of curiosity, how heavy is your sledgehammer?

[moxie]

It's only an 8-pounder, but I'm moving further and further down the handle each day, so leverage is probably changing that. In good news, muscles are beginning to show on my arms, and my shirts are beginning to fit differently. There aren't too many opportunities for heavy lifting in my life, so it's been hard to gauge results except by numbers, so it's nice to see progress. Speaking of numbers, I can't seem to do better than 30/20/10, or sometimes just 30/20. Should I be trying to go faster?

[heidster]

8 lbs. was more than I could handle; I managed to find a 6 lb'er at Lowe's. I'm starting to move down the handle too. I spied some biceps on myself this morning, hidden under my arm flab.

My morning SG routine goes something like this:

50 shovels each side
20 chop wood each side
20 "Fireman" each side
20 Churn butter each side
10 Flip Lever each side -- for Flip the lever I still have to hold the hammer way down just below the head, and can barely get through 10.

After that I improvise -- sometimes I will do 10 shovels right, 10 chop wood left, 10 fireman right, 10 shovels right, 10 fireman left and 10 chop wood left. I often get confused doing this and end up shoveling on the same side a few times.

Sometimes I will do 10 or 20 "coal train" each side, which is a combo of shovel and stoke oven. Occasionally I will do 10 or 20 tuck bales.

And/or any combination of the above until the timer goes off. When I'm tired or aren't sure which move to do next, I always fall back on shoveling. Today I did 20 chop trees, first time I've worked that move in.

[david]

moxie,

I don't think you need to go faster. I think it's way more important to coordinate your breathing and your movement. You will likely fall into a natural rhythm.

--david

[Kevin]

Be careful with the chop trees (or firemen). Those "rotating" moves put a lot of stress on your back. Take it easy and go very slowly.

It sounds like you are doing very well.

8 lbs. was more than I could handle; I managed to find a 6 lb'er at Lowe's. I'm starting to move down the handle too. I spied some biceps on myself this morning, hidden under my arm flab. :)

My morning SG routine goes something like this:

50 shovels each side
20 chop wood each side
20 "Fireman" each side
20 Churn butter each side
10 Flip Lever each side -- for Flip the lever I still have to hold the hammer way down just below the head, and can barely get through 10.

After that I improvise -- sometimes I will do 10 shovels right, 10 chop wood left, 10 fireman right, 10 shovels right, 10 fireman left and 10 chop wood left. I often get confused doing this and end up shoveling on the same side a few times.

Sometimes I will do 10 or 20 "coal train" each side, which is a combo of shovel and stoke oven. Occasionally I will do 10 or 20 tuck bales.

And/or any combination of the above until the timer goes off. When I'm tired or aren't sure which move to do next, I always fall back on shoveling. Today I did 20 chop trees, first time I've worked that move in.