20lb sledge

biglambo · Post by **biglambo** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:55 pm

The end of October marks a milestone for me in that I will have been shovelling for 6 months. I have not missed a single day although there has been a month or 2 heavily interrupted by me working away from home (for anyone checking my habit cal those yellow days are bona fide exemptions!). My hammer is 12lb and I feel like once I've reached 6 months I'm going to upgrade to 16lb. I can easily enough get hold of a 16lb hammer but for (far in the) future reference does anyone know where best to get a 20lb hammer in the UK? From having a look online it seems difficult to get one over here and my concern is that I upgrade after 6 months and then there is no further to go. I know there are a few modifications I could make to inrease the weight but I'd prefer to avoid having to do so if I can.

One other point, having pretty much decided to upgrade I feel almost sad at counting down the days until my current hammer is retired. I feel we have struck up a special bond now! Has anyone else experienced this or am I just a weirdo? I have my suspicions about which answer is correct.....

Post by **reinhard** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:27 pm

Congratulations on making it to six months!

Don't be ashamed of your "yellow" -- I've wracked up decent amount this summer, too. The fact that you're tracking it will make a huge positive difference long term. You know that you have enough real, legitimate yellow that you don't want to waste limited opportunities for green.

I don't know about UK sledge availability. I poked around a little on google uk product search and didn't see anything above 16 pounds. Wonder what happened to all those "Mondays?"

As for your hammer-bond, I think we're all weirdos here in that respect. I still have my 12 and 16 pounders -- and not simply for nostalgia. I'll use them for shugging if I'm feeling beat or just to shake things up a bit. And I actually have a suspicion that the lighter sledges, swung more forcefully, work the abs relatively better that the more arm punishing heavyweights.

Reinhard

david · Post by **david** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:54 pm

I have three hammers. None are permanently retired.

Congrats on the six months!

--david

JWL · Post by **JWL** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 8:42 pm

I have several hammers that I use, a 4# framing hammer for one-handed stuff, then an 8#, 10#, and my 16# (with the fiberglass handle... yech).

A hardware store near me actually stocks 20# hammers with wood handles... and I'm thinking about taking the plunge.

I use my 16# regularly, and I've been doing it long enough that my form is quite good with it, I don't strain or have to choke way up anymore. I would almost venture to say that an observer probably couldn't tell whether I'm using the 16# or teh 10# by watching my body (though obviously the larger head and yellow handle would be giveaways).

So I'm thinking of taking the plunge to the 20#er. I think it's like $40, maybe $50, so it will likely be a bit before I have that much liquid cash, but the thought is there.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 9:00 pm

Weirdos!

LOL..
Good luck with your new upgrade Lambo!

Keep the wee hammer by your bed at night so you don't miss it too much

Go for it James!
You are built like Paul Bunyan me thinks!
You shall be swinging that 20 lbder around like a toy before ya know it!

Debs

WinstonWolf · Post by **WinstonWolf** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:33 pm

Funny... I kinda like the fiberglass handles on my 8 and 10 lber.

I almost want to go ahead and get a 12, once I can find a source, just to have it for when i feel ready...

I've noticed between SG, pilates, 100 pushups - all 5 days a week... usually... wife just had our first kid, so this past week has been uneven, but hey, that's life with a newborn for ya...

... and kettlebells, as well as some other odd workouts (jump squats, etc)...

A lot of things are easier in general. Just got cat food (17 lb bags) and litter (25 lb boxes)... and compared to a few months ago (pre-daily workouts)... they are dead easy to lift. Almost don't feel 'em... where months ago they were rather challenging.

I've gone from feeling 15 lb dumbbells for back rows, to being able to use 35 lb kettlebells and have it be challenging, but not that hard.

Lovin' it. Down about 8 lbs since August, too.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:07 pm

I like the FRP handles, too, but have you noticed that they are typically about two inches shorter than the wooden ones?

WinstonWolf wrote:Funny... I kinda like the fiberglass handles on my 8 and 10 lber.

I almost want to go ahead and get a 12, once I can find a source, just to have it for when i feel ready...

I've noticed between SG, pilates, 100 pushups - all 5 days a week... usually... wife just had our first kid, so this past week has been uneven, but hey, that's life with a newborn for ya...

... and kettlebells, as well as some other odd workouts (jump squats, etc)...

A lot of things are easier in general. Just got cat food (17 lb bags) and litter (25 lb boxes)... and compared to a few months ago (pre-daily workouts)... they are dead easy to lift. Almost don't feel 'em... where months ago they were rather challenging.

I've gone from feeling 15 lb dumbbells for back rows, to being able to use 35 lb kettlebells and have it be challenging, but not that hard.

Lovin' it. Down about 8 lbs since August, too.

WinstonWolf · Post by **WinstonWolf** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 2:49 pm

Hmm. Don't know about that.

I actually, as a bit of a reward for having done 1) SG since the beginning of September, and 2) finished the last Saturday class for this MBA term, I went out and got a 12 lb sledge. (Not last class for the term, more's the pity, but no more Saturdays.)

Took going to 4 stores to find one, and the only one they had had a wooden handle. I had gone with fiberglass because they are pretty smooth, but I rather like the wood now that I have one.

Thing about the 12 lber with the wooden handle, I think the balance is better because the handle is slightly heavier! It would make sense also if the handle on the fiberglass was slightly shorter, the 10 lb fiberglass one "feels" slightly heavier (the balance isn't as good, maybe) when I heft it, if that makes any sense, but the 12 lber is definitely overall heavier.

Two days now with the 12 and I'm doing okay. So far I've upgraded twice, 8 to 10 and 10 to 12.

Think I'll stay at 12 for a good 6 months before even thinking about a 16 pounder... may depend on how I do with other training. I'm comfortable with the 100 pushups I do, and I do kettlebells a couple times a week usually.

The 12 actually feels really good at this point, but I'm glad I worked up to it - and now, I can go back to the other ones as well.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:45 pm

Well, the wooden handle on my 16 pounder is skinny and has no "profile." It just isn't easy to grip.

WinstonWolf wrote:Hmm. Don't know about that.

I actually, as a bit of a reward for having done 1) SG since the beginning of September, and 2) finished the last Saturday class for this MBA term, I went out and got a 12 lb sledge. (Not last class for the term, more's the pity, but no more Saturdays.)

Took going to 4 stores to find one, and the only one they had had a wooden handle. I had gone with fiberglass because they are pretty smooth, but I rather like the wood now that I have one.

Thing about the 12 lber with the wooden handle, I think the balance is better because the handle is slightly heavier! It would make sense also if the handle on the fiberglass was slightly shorter, the 10 lb fiberglass one "feels" slightly heavier (the balance isn't as good, maybe) when I heft it, if that makes any sense, but the 12 lber is definitely overall heavier.

Two days now with the 12 and I'm doing okay. So far I've upgraded twice, 8 to 10 and 10 to 12.

Think I'll stay at 12 for a good 6 months before even thinking about a 16 pounder... may depend on how I do with other training. I'm comfortable with the 100 pushups I do, and I do kettlebells a couple times a week usually.

The 12 actually feels really good at this point, but I'm glad I worked up to it - and now, I can go back to the other ones as well.

Sixty · Post by **Sixty** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 12:40 pm

I've been using a 6kg hammer (about 12lbs) five days a week for almost a year now, and my workouts now seem too easy some days. So I've been thinking of moving to a heavier hammer - the next two sizes up are 8kg and 10kg. Unsure about whether to go for the 8kg model or the 10kg model - any thoughts about which would be the better hammer for me at this stage of my Shovelgloving career?

Thanks,

Sixty
ps: plus I realize that the hammer weight isn't nearly as important as the commitment to regular work outs.

david · Post by **david** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:42 pm

I would go for the 8 kg.

--David

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:36 pm

Me, too.

david wrote:I would go for the 8 kg.

--David

WinstonWolf · Post by **WinstonWolf** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:15 am

Same - I'm a fan of incremental improvements.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:42 pm

Does the cost of the incremental hammer drive you to the heavier one?

If so, consider some other way to incrementally increase the weight of your existing hammer. Folks here have used ankle weights on the end of the handle or diver's weights strapped to the head.

WinstonWolf wrote:Same - I'm a fan of incremental improvements.