After stumbling across the shovelglove site, I was actually inspired enough to give it a shot. Yesteday on my way home I stopped at the mom & pop hardware store and picked up a 12 lb. hickory-handled sledge ($31), and this morning was my first workout.
I didn't follow the letter of the law; I set my timer for 20 minutes since I wanted to do some stretches first (I'm not exactly coordinated, or flexible, or even upright in the mornings) and the timer is all the way upstairs. I figured my stretch routine would take about 5 minutes, leaving the correct amount of time for shoveling. Also, I did not cover the head, since I was in an unfinished basement. I did, however, incorporate a cat into the routine since one of mine kept me company and hung out with me. I also don't plan to necessarily follow the nos schedule, it's going to be more of a 2-3 times a week thing as a core-strength supplement to my squat/deadlift/benchpress -based lifting program + 3-4 times a week running (I'm doing a half-marathon in december, but I'm not too worried about thatm, and I plan to do the marathon training thing next spring/summer), but it was fun enough that I can actually see myself doing it every morning, so it may turn into that. I can't do my lifting in the morning because I'm just not sharp enough to risk doing heavy squats or deadlifts before about noon. I may also throw in a few whack-the-old-tire sessions.
On to the impressions. I stretched then did 50 shovels, 14 hoists, 25 churns (with a squat movement), 25 stokes, 25 tucks, and 25 chop wood, then another 25 churns and another 14 stokes. I was going to do 25 more shovels, but the timer went off as I finished the 2nd set of stokes, and I was pretty much whupped by that point. This workout really kicks your ass, in a good way. My arms & shoulders feel pretty much wiped and my my back is feeling it as well (in a good way, don't worry). I think my shovels throwing to the right need the most work because that just felt all kinds of awkward. I may incorporate some automatons next time, too, but I have to find a place to do them, the 6 1/2 foot ceiling in my basement makes that tricky.
I think this + the nos diet (and the glass ceiling, since a not-insignifant amount of calories comes from my beer & wine consumption...) might just be what I was looking for. I'm gettting married next september, and my goal is to get as close to 170 pounds as I can, since that seems to be my ideal weight. Right now I'm at about 220. I've lost weight several times, but have not been great at keeping it off.
I ran a marathon in 2004, and went from about 205 lbs to about 185 during the training. After my first marathon in 2001 I got all the way down to 165. 170-175 seems just about ideal for me, a comforable size 32 in jeans. I'm at a 36 now
For my first marathon, I went from 205 to 165 in about 6 months, and in college went from 300 to 185 in about a year and a half. The first 15-20 is usually pretty easy when going from 0 to active, so I should be able to get to about 195ish by the end of the year leaving me with 9 months to drop 25 more. Then again, I'm 30 now so my metabolism is probably starting to slow down which might make it harder. But running generally compensates for that (at the peak of marathon training, it takes 3800 calories a day for a 180 pound person to MAINTAIN weight). The problem is when you stop running but still eat like you need 3800 calories a day...
