Everyday Systems

Hi all,
I just went to the hardware store to get a small sledgehammer last week. Since all they had was large ones, I ordered a 6 pound one which should be here any day.

The website's description of the exercise is hilarious, especially as I am a wannabe farmer. My husband and I moved from San Francisco to buy an abandoned farm in Ohio a couple years ago. I really want to garden, with all the digging and such that that entails but am much too weak to get much done. Maybe if I shovelglove this winter, next spring I'll be a farming powerhouse! Here's hoping.

Anyway, I have an idea for a new move that I know I need... "Starting the Lawnmower" (or weedeater, or chainsaw...) No way I can start them myself, I always have to ask my husband or a neighbor for help pulling the starter cord. This seems like something that practicing with a sledgehammer would be perfect for.

Anyway, thanks for a wonderful idea.

Margaret

Welcome!

One of the shovelglove pioneers, my former neighbor, Justin, is now farming in Maine. Maybe shovelglove will kick off a new "back to the land" movement .

Let us know what you come up with regarding the lawnmower.

Warning: we've got a few push mower fans here who I'm sure will try to convert you.

Reinhard

Here in Ohio I've learned that push mower means, not a riding mower, but the motorized kind that you push. I'm assuming, however, that you mean a human-powered reel mower? I had one in San Francisco for my postage stamp lawn, but here with the acre of lawn we have, I would have to be quite the athlete to use a reel mower.

Maybe in a couple of years!

Margaret

Welcome to the Heartland, and to Shovelglove!

I'm a huge fan of my reel mower, but I have a postage stamp, too. I still use a gas weed eater for the edging, but I keep toying with the idea of switching to a good pair of grass shears. We're looking into moving out to the country next summer and I'm still debating whether I'll need to use a gas mower, or just upgrade to a larger reel mower. Time will tell!

I used to have the same problem with starting my weed eater, and I noticed that after a month of general shovelglove it was already getting a lot easier.

I made up a move that I call "pulling weeds", which started life "start the mower", but got modified slightly. Basically it's a bent- over row with a kickback at the end, as if you were pulling weeds from the ground and then tossing them behind you (I do it standing and bent at the waist rather than on a bench because it helps bring my lower back in as a stabilizer). Try it without the kickback, and it feels a lot like pulling that ripcord.

Let us know how that 6 pounder works out for you!

I'd say bent over rows sound like a good idea.

The thing I'd like to add is, you'd want to do them quick and jerky. I've been doing shovelglove here for about a month and I REALLY like it, but I don't think shovelglove develops much fast-twitch muscle- which is what I think is what you'd most likely use in starting a lawnmower.

I've been mowing with an oldschool Snapper here for a few years, and I really have to jerk the hell out of that cord to get it started. I imagine if you got a nice, new mower it would be quite a bit easier than the oldschool gas types.

Thinking about it... some type of resistance band would allow you to most closely mock the movement of starting a mower.

I know what you mean about the fast-twitch, and it's one of those workout debates that I haven't been able to find any good answers to - Fast/light or slow/heavy?

I was skimming through some of the 1800s workout manuals at sandowplus and it looks like the classic strongmen preferred relatively lighter weights for most of their training because it helped keep their agility.

I've been doing 15/10/5 rep sets (still building up speed for 21/14/7), and pulling back a little farther from the hammer head as the reps decrease, that way my set of 15 is pretty fast and light, and my 5 is slow and heavy. It makes for nice variety, and I think it's a good compromise since it kind of equals out to moderate pace/moderate weight.

Are you really EXPLODING into your fast reps?

I've seen people do bench presses at a (unsafely) fast rate... But just because they are doing them at a fast pace doesn't necessarily mean it is working the fast twitch fibers.

I'd bet if you can't say you are 'bursting' into the movement, likely it's not stimulating the fast twitch.

For sweet push mowers, check out the Brill Luxus series, everything I've heard about these is that they kick major amounts of arse.

You can even get battery powered ones now so that the pushing is easy too!

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000939.php

http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/