shovelglove & half squats

Take a sledgehammer and wrap an old sweater around it. This is your "shovelglove." Every week day morning, set a timer for 14 minutes. Use the shovelglove to perform shoveling, butter churning, and wood chopping motions until the timer goes off. Stop. Rest on weekends and holidays. Baffled? Intrigued? Charmed? Discuss here.
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exnerd
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Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:30 pm

shovelglove & half squats

Post by exnerd » Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:23 am

In my previous post, I said that by assuming a deep "horse stance" position SGing becomes more difficult.

I just found another option: combining upper body shovelgloving moves with lower body half squats. Squat depth is restricted by the length of the shoveling prop, and with some movements the squat is very asymmetrical - higher injury potential if executed with sloppy technique and a lot of uncontrolled twisting, so take care when experimenting.

Still, I find the hybrid exercise useful, because I am able to boost my heart rate even more than with the former "horse stance" variation. I just finished my morning SG workout, and at the end of the 15 mins, my HR was almost at 150 bpm (starting from 60 bpm resting HR). Without any deep stances/squatting, the same workout barely forces my heart rate above 100 bpm.

Another advantage: the horse stance is very much a mental toughness thing (at least for me). If my thighs are at almost parallel, the burn after some shovelglove rounds is really hideous and makes me feel like a soldier in basic training. This prospect makes the mental effort of starting my morning workout even harder. With dynamic half squats, the burn is less intense.

pirateman2k
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Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:08 pm
Location: Colorado

Post by pirateman2k » Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:29 am

Protip:

Keep your abdomen tight to prevent injury--like you are bracing for a punch in the chops. This pressurization helps stabilize the spine and prevents damage. Very important when you're getting asymmetrical.

-p

exnerd
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Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:30 pm

Post by exnerd » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:43 pm

+1!

chiangmaiboss
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Post by chiangmaiboss » Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:51 am

This seems like a very interesting idea to me. I do hindu squats and push ups every day but quit running as I have herniated disk. Problem with these exercises is my heart rate does not go up too much from them and also when I do shovelglove heart rate does not go up much. But perhaps doing them together will be the answer. I will be careful though as with back situation this could be tricky.

On related topic, I have started having massage recently and has helped reduce pain greatly. You would think I would have done this before as I am owner of traditional massage and beauty parlor so it would seem natural to be customer of own business but truly I never found massage helpful before. I now have new massage worker who has been doing it many years and was teacher at Chiang Mai School of Massage. She can tell where pain is just by touch and even though what she does is painful while she does it I think it is helping a great deal in the long run so I recommend this treatment for people with disk and sciatica problems, as long as it is from qualified person.
Chiang Mai and Nakhon Sawan, Thailand

exnerd
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Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:30 pm

Post by exnerd » Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:43 pm

chiangmaiboss, you will definitely see a difference concerning heart rate. But proceed with extreme caution in order not to aggravate your lower back! Maybe experiment with horse stance first.

You could also reduce the number of reps per set with pushups/squats and perform them in alternating fashion with minimal breaks in between. If you find a way of extending such a session to 15 minutes of continuous work, you will have a good cardio workout.

If you have stairs in your house, you could also try walking up and down some flights of stairs (or walking uphill outside, if this is possible).

Another low-cost cardio gizmo that I have found useful is a mini-rebounder (the cheap version for $ 20 or less, often to be found in department stores etc.). You can jog in place with almost zero impact, and even do sprint intervals with much reduced risk of injury.

chiangmaiboss
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:20 am

Post by chiangmaiboss » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:54 pm

Thanks exnerd. We think alike because I do all of the things you suggested. Sometimes I do the squats and push ups with a deck of cards which makes it interesting and also gets heart rate up. I have no stairs in house but could do that at my business as it has 3 floors, but the employees would think I am crazy. I also have an elliptical machine which I do every day, but it is a cheap one for little Thai people so it does not have much tension so only way to get good workout is go really fast.
Chiang Mai and Nakhon Sawan, Thailand

exnerd
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Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:30 pm

Post by exnerd » Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:28 pm

chiangmaiboss, you must be in excellent condition if you get through an extended pushups/squats combo - hat off!

Although I don't suffer from lower back problems right now (knock, knock), I also see the problem of combining strenuous cardio work with low-risk, low-impact modalities. The perfect choice would probably be swimming or aquajogging (I have a foam belt - great for sprint intervals), but the trip to the pool is just too time-consuming to make this feasible on a regular basis. As you are in Thailand, probably close to the beach, you may have better luck there.

chiangmaiboss
Posts: 88
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:20 am

Post by chiangmaiboss » Tue Feb 16, 2010 4:24 am

Thanks exnerd. Actually swimming would be great but I live in northern Thailand and very far from the beach. There are swimming pools around but none I can get to on regular basis. There is a lake called Huay Tung Taeo which has wimming but also too far to go to regularly.
Chiang Mai and Nakhon Sawan, Thailand

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