Newcomer joins the shovelglove ranks!

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:33 pm

Hey all...

Today was my first ever try at shovelglove. I set the alarm for 14 minutes and managed 60 shovels of snow per side, 50 pieces of wood chopped per side, and 60 butterchurns per side. Wow! Can I ever feel that!

My shovelglove is made from an 8 lber, which I felt was the perfect weight for me to start with. I was able to throw around the 8lb and the 10lb in the store pretty well, but I decided the 8lb was better for me.

I'm going to try the same routine again tomorrow, so wish me luck! (I'm sure I'll be sore!)

Jesslyn

phayze · Post by **phayze** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:17 pm

Welcome to the wonderful world of Shovelglove! Sounds like you're off to a good start, so keep it up and let us know how it goes.

jules · Post by **jules** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:36 am

so Jesslyn, how's it going?

On Friday, I just returned to shovelglove after taking time off. Very bad case of plantar fasciitis.

SG is going well! I haven't exercised much in the past couple of months so I'm noticing some places where SG seems to hit that I didn't notice earlier (when I started SG, I'd been exercising regularly -- including lifting weights.)

Differences I noted? Well I feel it a bit more in my core & legs than I had before. So I'd say it does hit those areas but you won't notice it unless you're sadly out of shape.

jules the sadly out of shape

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:54 pm

I wouldn't say I'm sadly out of shape (or I wouldn't have until yesterday

) I'm into martial arts and running. (I assume running is how your PF came around, yes?)

But I've never done much upper body workout. I can hardly manage 10 girly pushups in my martial arts classes.
Surprisingly it's my lower back that's noticing the most ache (although I feel it well in my arms too!).

Today was another SG success. I did 14 minutes: 50 shovels on each side, 40 churns each side, and 40 wood chops each side. Less than yesterday, but I still finished!

david · Post by **david** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:24 pm

Good going so far!

Keep it up!

I've been Shugging for a year-and-a-half now and I still get sore. In fact, my shoulders are talking to me today. It's a good sore, though.

--david

phayze · Post by **phayze** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:35 pm

Is it just me or do we seem to have a fairly high percentage of martial artists around here? Not that I'm complaining, mind you! It's always good talk to other people who enjoy a good fight.

What syles do you study Jesslyn? I'm into Iaido right now, but I've done some Aikido, Karate, western fencing and a lot theatrical combat.

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:20 am

I do Kuk Sool Won, a korean martial art, but have previously studied some Shaolin Do and Karate. (That makes it sound like I was good at them. I did them each for less than 6 months. But I'm pretty serious about KSW now, I'm loving it and am in a place were I can afford to pay for it.)

Phayze, how did you get into theatrical fighting? I am always up for a good fight and I'm a thespian at heart (and sometimes on stage) so theatrical fighting holds interest.

The shugging from the last two days is still aching, and between that and my paper deadline coming at me like a freight train on speed, I skipped my martial arts workout tonight.

I think I better tune down the shugging for awhile to keep from missing too many classes.
So for now, I'm only shugging MWF, but not tomorrow...

jesslyn

jules · Post by **jules** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 6:43 am

mrs.cummings wrote: (I assume running is how your PF came around, yes?)

No. I got my PF from bad shoes & too much weight. I need to lose a gob. (I need to lose well over 50 lbs.) Though I think the bad shoes are the biggest culprit -- when I got better shoes, it helped tremendously. The weight is just slowing the healing.

The latest PF flare-up though did happen when I started a couch to 5k program.

As an undergrad I walked a lot. Also biked a lot. Additionally, I did some shotokan karate & kendo. If I'd kept up w/ just the walking, I'd be in a lot better shape. Got a car & became lazy. Got a sedentary job -- working in an academic library in my case.

I think folks notice a lot of martial artists, current practitioners or past, interested in SG because of the practical component. It's something that will have a real world application. That's the same reason I'm interested in Urban Ranger. Walking has such a practical application.

jmc

Post by **reinhard** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:58 am

Belated welcome, Jesslyn. Ease into it. Shovelglove will get you very strong, but there's no rush. If you're aching tomorrow, take it off with a clear conscience. If you keep at it, and go slow, you'll soon get to the point where there is no carryover ache.

phayze · Post by **phayze** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:02 pm

Interesting! I don't really know anything about Korean styles, aside from a little Tae Kwon Do when I was a sprout. I have a pretty low opinon of TKD these says, just because so many of the schools teaching it are run by scam artists and self-proclaimed "masters" of thier styles . . . but I digress

I got into stage combat by accident, actually. I went to this place to learn saber fencing and got tempted into the stage class with promises of broadsword work. Next thing I knew I was choreographing fights for community theater! I haven't been real active in it lately, what with renovations and school work, but I'm hoping to get a couple more SAFD weapon certifications this summer. They have an index of teachers on the website, so I'm sure you could find a class, or at least some workshops in your area.

It's an enormous amount of fun, and if you got a few contacts to start with, you can be the best friend of just about every producer in your local community theater inside of a year.

mrs.cummings · Post by **mrs.cummings** » Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:39 pm

jules, I don't suppose the Couch to 5k program was from coolrunning.com? I've known a lot of people who used that one. I agree that the same people who are drawn to martial arts are also drawn to everyday systems, because of the simplicity, the logic, and the practicality.

reinhard, thanks for the advice. Going slow has never been my forte, except in running.

phayze I totally agree about TKD. I think in most cases it's a joke. I'll have to look into SAFD classes and workshops. It sounds like fun. I doubt it would get me into community theater here much though because here in Austin it's sort of a small LA. But who knows.

Today I'm not doing shovelglove, but I am doing martial arts. My arms are achy but only when I try to use the muscles, not all the time. My upper back is a little achy too but not bad.

Hopefully, by Friday, I will be back to shugging! My plan will be every MWF N day I will shug for December. Then in January I can see if I'm ready to do it everyday.

jules · Post by **jules** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:47 am

I don't suppose the Couch to 5k program was from coolrunning.com?

Nope. I looked at that one though. It was one from triathlete.com (I believe.) Goes a bit slower than the coolrunning one.

Now that I'm back to SG, I find that I'm needing to use the sledge on MWF and a broom on TTh. Like most women, my upper body is definitely weaker -- one of the appealing things about SG I think -- and I'm feeling it.

In a week or two I should be ready to use the sledge M-F. It's weird because I can lift 110 lbs on the cable row but except for the upper back, I'm a wuss.

jules