How about a crowbar?

Take a sledgehammer and wrap an old sweater around it. This is your "shovelglove." Every week day morning, set a timer for 14 minutes. Use the shovelglove to perform shoveling, butter churning, and wood chopping motions until the timer goes off. Stop. Rest on weekends and holidays. Baffled? Intrigued? Charmed? Discuss here.
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mschalock
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How about a crowbar?

Post by mschalock » Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:14 am

Hi to everyone. I've been reading your posts for quite a while and finally signed up officially. I'm intrigued with the shovelglove idea, but all our sledgehammers are really heavy. I'm a very short woman, so my husband brought in a crowbar and weighed it...5 pounds. I know it's not weighted like a hammer, but it seems to be doing me some good anyway. Eventually I'll go buy a 6 or 8 pound hammer. Until then. it's going to be shovelglove moves with a long crowbar! What do you think?

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gratefuldeb67
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Thu Jul 06, 2006 6:49 am

Be really really careful please!
Sledghammers are heavier, but don't have a sharp jagged end!

I would say you are better off with a baseball bat if you can't get a sledge right yet..

Peace and Love,
8) Deb
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

sledge
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Post by sledge » Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:33 pm

Also, the crowbar is pretty consistent in the overall distribution of weight. A lot of the 'magic' and influence of the sledge on the workout and performance is based on the non-concentric weight distribution. It forces your body to adjust to that and that's a great portion of the benefits of the workouts that Reinhard has developed and that you can augment.
Find a nice 6 lb sledge. They're not really expensive at Home Depot or Lowes....and give it a go!
Or you could try a large dirt shovel (not a snow shovel) and tie a blanket or sweater around it and see if you like the movements before you make the investment.

Just a couple of ideas.

mschalock
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Post by mschalock » Thu Jul 06, 2006 8:17 pm

Thanks for the input. I hadn't thought about the weight distribution aspect. I'll go see what I can find at Lowe's. I just didn't want to put things off again and never start anything, so I thought that using a crowbar is better than sitting on my rear!

Big Phil
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Crowbar

Post by Big Phil » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:03 am

I say go for it! The weight distribution will be different but not necessarily inferior. Anyone who has used a fencing bar or crow bar for a few hours will know that having the weight distriuted all along the length does not make it easier!

Phil.

mschalock
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Post by mschalock » Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:21 am

OK. My husband did some searching and came up with a 12 pound and an 8 pound sledgehammer in the depths of the garage. They're pretty cobwebby, but I can clean them up. I really needed to start with a 6 pound but I'll just have to make do with the 8 pounder. How should I modify when using a hammer that is too heavy? Should I slow down and do less reps? It's embarrassing to be so ignorant, but I have to start somewhere! I am really enjoying reading the bulletin boards. The people who post are interesting and helpful. Thanks so much.

jules
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about that crowbar

Post by jules » Fri Jul 07, 2006 5:52 am

I just starting shugging this week too. I have an 8 lb sledge. I've been lifting weights for months and this is hard. (And I'm not just one of those women who lifts 5 lbs each time.) If you haven't been doing any weight training, I think you might want to think about a 6 lb sledge. If you're going to be using the crowbar until then, I think you can find a way to make a "glove" for it -- just like for the sledge. But you won't have that uneven weight distribution thing going for you which is why you'll definitely want to go for that hammer.

And I found out about SG through Krista's site. You know the one. :)

Oops forgot to address the using a heavier hammer issue, hence the edit, -- if you're going to use the 8 lb one, grip closer to the "business end" of the sledge. Also, do less than 14 minutes at a time if necessary. Move slowly. Getting the correct form is important in any weight bearing exercise. Once you've got the form, strength will follow. Then you can worry about going faster.

jules

ThomsonsPier
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Post by ThomsonsPier » Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:43 am

If you're really struggling to find something, you could always gaffa tape a bag of sugar to the end of your crowbar. Just don't let it hit anything at speed, or it will suddenly start snowing.
ThomsonsPier

It's a trick. Get an axe.

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david
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Post by david » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:58 pm

I would try the eight-pounder. Make sure your forward hand is all the way by the hammer head. Start with 5 minutes moving super slowly and just do it 3 or 4 times per week. Even if your first couple of weeks is just 1 minute of "stuff" and 4 minutes of catching your breath each time that is OK. It's way better to underdo it than overdo it. You might find that in a few weeks you are going full bore and are as addicted as some of the rest of us!

Also, Jules, thanks for posting! I would like to hear more about what drew you to shovelglove and what your impressions are so far.

--david

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gratefuldeb67
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:09 pm

Hi there :)
Here's my two cents..

Yeah it's very challenging at first, but your muscles will adapt within less than a week if you do it regularly.. Eight pounds is what I would recommend, but just choke up on the handle and slow down and move mindfully..
If you feel you need a little breather... Do what I did when I was SG'ing on a normal basis (Did it faithfully for about 4 months and then discovered a couple of other exercises which took over for me..)
I would just "jog in place" for a minute or so if I felt like my arms were really taxed... I have a 12 lb hammer and maybe ten would be even better, but unless you are really tiny teeny gal, I wouldn't go down below 8... If you can do this for at least 4 minutes without feeling really pushed to your edge, then trust me, in a short period of time, your muscles will adapt and get very used to that weight!

Six is just so little... But what feels right to you..
Frankly, when I went to buy my hammer, I took my time in picking the one which really felt like it was a little challenge..

Have a great day!
Peace and Love,
8) Deb

Gee this is starting to make me want to get my sledge back into the house and start again!
Thanks!!!
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:46 pm

mschalock,

It may not be ideal, but I think it's sufficient to get started. The hardest part by far is building the habit of doing this regularly, the actual muscle work is comparatively easy, whatever the weight (up to a point, obvioiusly). You can build the habit with a broom. And a crowbar does have a nice hard-core ring to it...

You're not locked into your initial shovelglove forever. If you find you love shovelglove after a trial period with the crowbar, you can always get a real sledge then.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes.

Reinhard

VanillaGorilla
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:05 pm

Reinhard makes an excellent point. It is the getting started that is the most important part. Once you've started something, you can move onward and upward from there.
Fall down seven times, get up eight.

sledge
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Post by sledge » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:29 pm

I agree wholeheartedly.....seriously, it's an old cliche', but it rings true.....The First Step is the Hardest....
Then it become the desire to have the 'stick-to-it-ness' of creating the routine 'habit' and keeping up with it. I believe that studies have shown that a 'habit' or routine starts to entrench itself between 21-28 days (vauge memory of an article I conce read...so please dont' hold me to it)
I'm going into my 4th week...and I actually do 'miss' not doing the workout if I do happen to miss it once in a while.
Yesterday actually did 2 seperate ones, with the last one after the rest of the household went to bed, at about 11:15 I gave it heck and had a nice solid 15 min. workout. Seriously, may sound a little flakey, but my 2nd workout came about by reading my one son his Disney 'John Henry' book before bedtime.
That was enough for me to want to grab the hammer and get to work.

Anyway...not to get off track....by all means start it....and then figure if you want to keep up with it. Again, the weight is the weight. THe distribution of it adds a different side to the workout. Give it a go with the crowbar and get some of Reinhard's basic movements down and see how it feels. I really think you're going to like it.

VanillaGorilla
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:31 pm

I think it's great to get motivated for a second workout from time to time. I had already worked out once the other day, and then I ended up stopping by here and felt motivated to do some sledgehammer work. I ended up going at it for about 20-25 minutes at around 2AM! :lol:
Fall down seven times, get up eight.

jules
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Post by jules » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:02 pm

Also, Jules, thanks for posting! I would like to hear more about what drew you to shovelglove and what your impressions are so far.
hi David, What drew me to shovelglove is that I really need to work on my core strength -- this was something that would obviously do it -- plus I liked the "usefulness" of it. I grew up in an area w/ snow & I also had to chop big weeds on my grandparents farm. Real work, like shovelling and chopping, is really tough and can only help me get in better shape.

What I'm doing now is working up to SG 5 days a week. I already go to the gym 6 days a week. Twice for lower body. Twice for upper body. Twice for racquetball. I also do cardio w/ the weight workouts.

Now I have some World Cup to watch! :)

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