I've been doing the starter shovelglove workouts for 2 weeks, after a month of kettlebells, and I find the sledge much more fun. However, I'm looking for a leaner look. Not bulky, nor megaripped, just tone the muscles I already have, and get visible abs.
Is this possible with shovelglove "gaming"?
What have your experiences been?
Shovelglove physique
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Matthew Warner
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 6:57 pm
I haven't seen any dramatic changes in my physique after a month of doing it. Just some nips and tucks, as my wife puts it, some subtle toning.
It's definitely helped my endurance and energy level, though. Today, I hauled over 40 bags of mulch up the hill in my back yard, and other than some mild low-back soreness, I feel great. Last year when I mulched, I was a done turkey for a couple days.
It's definitely helped my endurance and energy level, though. Today, I hauled over 40 bags of mulch up the hill in my back yard, and other than some mild low-back soreness, I feel great. Last year when I mulched, I was a done turkey for a couple days.
I got discernible (if not exactly) bulging abs from shovelglove. It took many months for me to notice this, and the fact that I no longer eat like a pig probably also had something to do with it.
I didn't really come up with shovelglove to get movie star ripped, but to get in sustainably decent shape, to be strong and healthy and to look good by ordinary layman standards -- and to be able to stay that way for the rest of my life. Could it get you movie start ripped if you did it for half an hour every N-day instead of just 14 minutes? Maybe. I'm even inclined to think probably. But I have no idea. It's not really a problem I'm interested in. I wouldn't mind being awesomely ripped, but after 14ish minutes the law of diminishing returns starts to set in.... until then, I get huge bang for my buck, but after, it's hard to justify reallocating those extra minutes away from other pursuits.
A lot of people seem to be skeptical that shovelglove sufficiently works your abs. I find this a little odd. What do you think your abs were made for? For situps? crunches? Of course not. They were made to play a supporting role in complex movements -- among others, the movements that shovelglove mimics. Maybe you can take a shortcut to building big abs with precisely targeted movements, but frankly, the abs you wind up with will be fake abs, strong maybe, but not usefully strong, and out of proportion with the rest of the muscle groups they normally work with. Your abs will make you look deceptively strong -- you don't really deserve those abs. They're like a Potemkin village. People may be less likely to kick sand in your face, but if they do, you might be in for some serious trouble.
It would be one thing if these Potemkin villages were easy or fun to build, but they're emphatically not. It's easier and move fun to become actually, usefully strong. So while I understand that the "moral" quality of one's abs are unlikely to be a paramount concern, it's a nice bonus on top of the other considerations.
Sorry for going off on this Jeremiad, hope there's some thing useful buried in there.
Reinhard
I didn't really come up with shovelglove to get movie star ripped, but to get in sustainably decent shape, to be strong and healthy and to look good by ordinary layman standards -- and to be able to stay that way for the rest of my life. Could it get you movie start ripped if you did it for half an hour every N-day instead of just 14 minutes? Maybe. I'm even inclined to think probably. But I have no idea. It's not really a problem I'm interested in. I wouldn't mind being awesomely ripped, but after 14ish minutes the law of diminishing returns starts to set in.... until then, I get huge bang for my buck, but after, it's hard to justify reallocating those extra minutes away from other pursuits.
A lot of people seem to be skeptical that shovelglove sufficiently works your abs. I find this a little odd. What do you think your abs were made for? For situps? crunches? Of course not. They were made to play a supporting role in complex movements -- among others, the movements that shovelglove mimics. Maybe you can take a shortcut to building big abs with precisely targeted movements, but frankly, the abs you wind up with will be fake abs, strong maybe, but not usefully strong, and out of proportion with the rest of the muscle groups they normally work with. Your abs will make you look deceptively strong -- you don't really deserve those abs. They're like a Potemkin village. People may be less likely to kick sand in your face, but if they do, you might be in for some serious trouble.
It would be one thing if these Potemkin villages were easy or fun to build, but they're emphatically not. It's easier and move fun to become actually, usefully strong. So while I understand that the "moral" quality of one's abs are unlikely to be a paramount concern, it's a nice bonus on top of the other considerations.
Sorry for going off on this Jeremiad, hope there's some thing useful buried in there.
Reinhard