Sledge size

[MissyMoo]

This has probably been covered many times before, but I haven't found the info yet.

I am a female, 5'2". How heavy a sledge do I start with?

Thanks all!

[JillyBean]

I am the same and I've just started and mine weighs 8 pounds. Don't know if that's the norm, but it works for me (for now)!

[MissyMoo]

Well, I went to buy it before any replies came. I had to choose between the 8 pound and the 10 pound (plus the much heavier ones). I ended up choosing the 10 pound, b/c it was much cheaper (the 8 pound one had a molded plastic handle, whereas the 10 pound had a wood handle). I can barely lift the thing, but, OK...

[reinhard]

If you find the 10 pounder is a little too heavy, go real slow, position your hands closer to the hammer head, and don't be ambitious with the rep counts.

If it's still too heavy, downgrade to the 8. If you can't exchange or return the 10, you can always hold on to it as a future upgrade. I know it may seem like a waste, but it's worth it to get a weight that you're comfortable with and will actually use. An extra 25 bucks or so isn't that much compared with a gym membership or infomercial machine.

Reinhard

[MissyMoo]

Thanks, dude. I figure going slowly with a lesser amount of reps should do the trick. 8 pounds sounds so light! (I'm carrying at least that much on each butt cheek - ).

[BrightAngel]

I'm 5'0", 115 lbs and 63 years old.
I have started with a 4 lb, long-handled sledgehammer.
I've been doing it almost 4 weeks, and sometimes feel just a tiny bit sore,
but not uncomfortably sore.

I've never been able to be consistent at strength-training before.
Except for body resistence exercise.
The only weights I did previous to shovelglove
was a progression from 1 lb to 5 lb dumbbells,
but 5 lbs was actually too heavy for me.
I think Shovelglove to music is kind of fun,
while I find lifting regular weights to be incredibly boring.

[navi]

I am female, 5'4", 45 years old. For the first week I used a broom handle so that I could get the movements down perfectly before using weight. I then purchased the smallest sledge i could find, which was 8 lbs. I found this difficult to lift, so week 2 consisted of 5 reps each side, and I did stretches or walking around between exercises, because my arms would burn. I added a rep per week, and eventually settled in at 15 reps per side. I alternate the exercises with 5 hindu squats, which is good for the lower 1/2 of the body, keeps the heartrate up, but gives my arms a small rest (still have problems with arms burning if i go from one exercise to the next). I have been shugging for 9 weeks at this point & I am really happy with it. It really wakes me up in the morning! In addition, I have suffered from herniated discs in my lower back for the past few years - the least incorrect movement would throw the back out for weeks. Since shugging my back is 1000% stronger. I am still VERY careful of course, both with the exercises & with lifting objects, etc., but shugging has definitely helped me! I also have bad knees, but doing hindu squats (done VERY carefully, with perfect form) is working wonders - much easier to use stairs, etc.