Everyday Systems

Hi all,

I found Reinhard's website some years ago and have done some shovelgloving as part of my fitness routine ever since. But until this week, due to some computer problem, I was unable to register in the forum. Some days ago I finally made up my mind to send him an email, and he was able to fix the problem instantly - many thanks! I enjoy shovelgloving very much, I see it as a superior way of combining steady-state cardio with functional core and grip work (see below).

The reason I'm posting: Following the old Bruce Lee adage, I have added some personal quirks to shovelgloving, which I'd like to share and get some feedback on:

1) As a shoveling prop I don't use a sledge but a unilaterally loaded barbell (hollow rod, the type used in "body pump" classes). I see that this is heresy when viewed from the basic idea behind Reinhard's fitness philosophy, but I already had the stuff to begin with and thus saved the expense of buying a sledge. Additionally, I can easily change the weight for faster and slower paced workouts. Also, the bar is longer and so I can choose how much leverage I would like to employ.

2) I do the moves from a very deep stance - kind of like the "horse stance" used in martial arts. This supports an upright posture, saving my lower back, and puts more stress on the big lower body muscles. The workout is definitely more strenuous this way, as my heart rate gets up about 20 to 30 beats higher than when using a higher stance.

3) I have wrapped the bar in some pipe insulation, boosting the diameter to about 2.5". This way, I get an integrated grip workout.

My routine consists of ten reps of the following moves, performed back-to-back on the same side (and afterwards on the other with no rest, until the time is up): shovel, chop wood, tuck bales, fireman. These are compound movements that literally work every muscle and joint from my fingers to my toes.

I hope these ideas are of interest to you. If you have any input on modifications that I could make use of, go ahead!

Exnerd,

I'm glad I was able to sort out those login difficulties and thank you for posting here!

I have added some personal quirks to shovelgloving,

Shovelglove is all about personal quirks.

I see that this is heresy when viewed from the basic idea behind Reinhard's fitness philosophy, but I already had the stuff to begin with and thus saved the expense of buying a sledge.

Not at all -- heresy would be spending more money to seem frugal.

I do the moves from a very deep stance - kind of like the "horse stance" used in martial arts.

That is interesting... I'll have to give that a try. How deep?

Reinhard

Reinhard, thanks again for your help with registration, and providing this website in the first place!

Concerning the positioning: My thighs are still above parallel, and the angle in my knees is about 90 degrees. However, this really depends on the movement - especially the firemen feel awkward in a symmetrical horse stance, so I slightly turn towards one side. When "tucking bales", I bob up and down slightly.

The general idea is to bend the knees more than necessary, so there is an isometric contraction in the hips and thighs, in addition to the regular shovelgloving work. You can increase the difficulty level by increasing the depth of the squat, and back off by straightening the knees when the burn becomes too intense.