One month of shovelgloving

DaveG · Post by **DaveG** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:27 pm

Yesterday marked one month of shovelgloving for me, and the results have been great. I tell people that while it may seem silly, and the physiology of it may not match up to more scientific weight training, the psychology of shovelgloving is Just Flat Perfect. No traveling-to-the-gym time. No changing-clothes time. No moving-to-the-next-machine-fiddling-with-the-weights-and-getting-into-position time. This incredible "tooth-to-tail" ratio, with all of the time spent working out actually spent working out, has eliminated all of the excuses I used to use not to exercise. If I've got fourteen spare minutes (and, realistically, who doesn't), I can have a workout, and what's more I'm actually eager for the workout.

After one month of shovelgloving (with some urban rangering and dietary changes worked in), I'm down eight pounds, and have better muscular definition in my arms, shoulders and legs than I ever have before. I can hardly imagine what results I'll get in the coming months, and more importantly I can hardly wait to do the workouts to cause those changes.

The one change I'd make is to the name. If I tell people I'm doing shovelgloving, they assume I'm doing some weird fad exercise. Being currently stranded in the south, I've taken to telling folk that I'm working out with my "redneck warhammer" instead.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:13 pm

Nah Dave,,,, Shovelglove has that certain ring to it.. Who cares what all the rest of the rednecks say.. The results will speak for themselves!

Fantastic news about your great month and results!!!!
Keep up the great work!!

Debs

winnie96 · Post by **winnie96** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:28 am

DaveG:

I, like Deb, am thinking the redneck reference is maybe not the way to go.

Since I shovelglove "naked" (i.e. no sweater wrapped about the sledgehammer head), I just tell people "yeah, I'm workin' out with a sledgehammer".

You would be surprised at the wanna-know-more reactions I get when I say that ... and people are completely blown away when I give them a demo. They immediately get the "no traveling to the gym / changing clothes / moving to the next machine / fiddling with weights" thing that you so aptly describe.

You're right, though ... if I say I'm shovelgloving, I get a lot of weird looks and not much interest. However, once they've seen the demo and get the idea, they start using the term "shovelglove" (whether they're naked or not).

Since "shovelglove" is the term to Google and look at on YouTube, etc., I'd really like to see you stick with that term -- JMO.

Way to go and glad to hear about your success with shovelglove! Isn't it just great to have an exercise program that you not only can stick to, but actually look forward to! Major boost to my life!

Midwestern Ranger · Post by **Midwestern Ranger** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:54 am

Whatever else happens, results are the best revenge. When people are asking you next summer how you got so buff they'll listen no matter what you call it.

Post by **reinhard** » Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:49 pm

Congratulations, Dave. I'm very happy to hear this.

As for the name, I've gotten so used to it now that I can't see it impartially (and like it just fine), but in any case I'm afraid changing it is out of the question at this point just because a critical mass of people have it in their heads already. And I think the fact that it isn't quite as testosterone saturated as other possibilities is actually a good thing, it broadens the appeal. As someone who's fond of history, I like the fact that the name organically evolved from the process of inventing the thing itself, as opposed to being some eureka marketing decision.

The good news is that anyone searching for "redneck warhammer" will find this thread as the first hit on google, and so presumably find what they're looking for.

A friend of mine once misheard it as "shovelclub" which wouldn't have been bad either. But alas, also a few years too late (and not so google-able).

Reinhard

morganalefay · Post by **morganalefay** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:05 am

It's great to hear how well this is working for so many people. I've been at it for nearly four months now. It's ideal for me since I work from home, as I can just pop out the garden with my sledgehammer while my lunch is cooking. (I usually prefer to do it in the garden as I'm slightly less likely to hit the light fittings - whether that continues as winter comes in, I'm not sure...)

I've moved on to doing longer sets of up to 15 repetitions, although I usually start with a set of 7 of everything. I can usually get through one set of 7, one set of 15 and a few other bits in 14 minutes.