Everyday Systems

Just found this site about 2 weeks ago.
I used to do some levering excercises and some sledge against a tire for a workout.
This is great!
I 've done 4 solid workouts between last week and the weekend.
Sledge is 8 lbs. My back took a couple of workouts to get used to and over the 'day after' mild soreness. I now have a 5 lb. plate duct taped to the end of the sledge for a 13 lb'r...feels good!
Actually just got back from traveling for work (car trip) and had the sledge in the trunk. When it got dark, I went out to get it and brought it back to the room and had a pretty good workout last night. It was great after a 5 hr. car ride. Put it back without anyone seeing me or throwing quizikel looks my way .
Plan on another this evening.
Anyway....just wanted to say 'Hello'.
Thanks for the site and the ideas.

Welcome to the group, sledge.

Do be careful about the duct taped plate... 20 something dollars for a heavier sledge is not a prodiguous sum for a modicum of safety and wieldyness.

Also keep in mind that the hard part is not the muscle work but building the habit. I'd focus my hard coredom on that. A lighter, stabler sledge is more excuse proof during those critical first few weeks.

Best of luck and keep us posted (I promise I won't pester further on this score now that I've got my obligatory warnings out of the way).

Reinhard

I totally agree!
These hammers are designed to hold the weights they came with...
So, welcome, and I encourage you as well, to just go and get the right weight sledge for you....
I experimented with several weights before I decided on my 12 lb one..
At this point, I'm actually considering going to the store sometime in the near future and trying out a 10 lb one since that might allow me to move slightly faster and get more of a rhythm going...
Good luck!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Thank you for the 'welcome', Reinhard!
Yes...I am very careful with how secure the extra weight is.
I am going to look into getting a 16lb'r. I have a 12, but it's up at my brother in laws when we were actually splitting wood last fall. I will be bringing it back next trip up.
I guess I won't tell you that I actully went up another 5 lbs ...only for the one handed butter churn last night.
I did it tabatia style...20 sec hard...20 sec rest...sets of eight...for both the right and the left hand. In consecutive order and the one arm right after the completion of the first arm.
My arms and shoulders were feeling it.
I went back to the 13 size for the wood chops.
I did a 'half tabatia' (fi there is such a thing?) for both the right and left (4 sets 20 sec/10 sec) Could not have gone the whole 8 for each side. The wood chop right after the churn was a huge pump for the upper forearm and arms.
Boy, does my back feel great too!
Rested for about 15 minutes and went back to the shoveling motions, left and right for 2 sets of 25 each side and went right into the 'curling' motion for 3 sets of 10 with each arm. I was fried....but in a good way.
It was cool last night and by the time I was done, I had a nice sweat coming through.
Overall...I have found a new, great, fun and productive way to train!

Thanks, agin, Reinhard for putting this together!

Deb,
Thank you, too, for the warm welcome.
Thank you, also, for the words of caution.
I will be going through Wisconsini today and tomorrow...and there are many Farm and Fleets up there. One of them has to have a 16 lb. sledge

OK...16 was wishfull thinking.
I gave it 3 great workouts with the 12 and in upper 80-degree heat with high humidity....those were great workouts.

Came up with two other movements that you might like to try or add.
One was just the movement of mimicking an axe chop into the side of a tree...from both sides. Almost like a Baseball bat swing.
The 2nd that I added....similar to the chopping movement, instead, I have the head of the sledge on the 'outside' of my body and I have the palms down on both hands. A short, rapid movment. I would do set of 20 with each side and do these two times in a row.

Just a couple of other movments to try.

Yeah... twelve pounds packs a punch!
I did about five minutes of doodling with a sixteen pounder in Lowes hardware last year, and my hands were like "What the *beep* is your problem!!!!!????" LOL...

Leverage my dear, that's why it's soooo darn heavy!

Keep it up Sledge!
I'm gonna join you guys again this week!
It's been a while, but I like SG very much...
Seeya soon!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Blisters heal, though, and you can pad the thing... My guess is, my arms would be hating me.

"Uh, boss? We quit. Ten seconds notice... We'll be detaching... now."

Plop. Plop. The pain!

Actually, it wouldn't be so bad. Four years of high school and one year of college means my backpack IS an upper body workout! I just carry useful things in there, like a laptop and two stacks of CDs (some blank, some full of software...)