What size shovelglove should I start with?

[Travis Sherry]

I'm sure this has been answered other places, but a cursory scan of the forum and I couldn't find a great answer, although I saw that Reinhard started with a 12 pounder.

So, maybe a little input from others? Just to give you a little background, I'm 5-10, 245 pounds and have always been fairly athletic even with the 60 extra pounds of fat. That said, I've never been a huge weightlifter, so I'm not exceedingly strong.

Thanks.

[TimothyChenAllen]

I got a 12 pound sledge. That said, I am pretty athletic-- I'm not a weightlifter, but I do a lot of bodyweight stuff, and I have good upper body endurance. I think the trouble with getting too heavy of a sledgehammer would probably have more to do with stamina than strength. I can manage 12 pounds, but I'm pretty beat at the end of it.

I would suspect it would be very frustrating to go a few pounds too heavy. Maybe better to start with a ten pounder if you're not sure.

[Kevin]

This is sort of counter-intuitive, but you can do more work with a lighter hammer than you can with a heavy one, because you can swing it faster. Force increases linearly with mass, but exponentially with speed.

So don't think a lighter hammer is necessarily going to be easier: it will be harder to "brake". It's one of those interesting paradoxes that makes SG interesting.

I'd start with 10 pounds, tops, if you are going to be concentrating on swinging motions (for me, SG has to be "authentic", so all the motions I do are things I can actually imagine a hammer being useful for). When I split wood (really split wood) I use and eight pound hammer because I can do more splitting, more quickly, and in better control with it. It's much more cardio to use an eight pound hammer. I have 8, 12, and 16 pound hammers.

Even in the John Henry song, he tells the boss to buy him a 12 pound hammer, meaning he usually worked with less. And then I think he worked himself to death...

[fungus]

This is sort of counter-intuitive, but you can do more work with a lighter hammer than you can with a heavy one, because you can swing it faster. Force increases linearly with mass, but exponentially with speed.

That's true but you have to balance it out. Fast swinging can lead to injuries much more easily than moderate swinging - you only have to get one swing a little bit too fast and suddenly the force needed to catch the swing is *much* higher (force is proportional to the square of the velocity).

Plus there's a limit to how fast you can physically swing something. I think we'd agree that a shovelglove can be too light.

From what he said I'd go with 12. He'll have a hard time for the first week or so, but, hey...just take it easy.
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[yoozer]

I'm a reasonably big and strong guy, and I started with a 10-pounder. At first I thought it might be a little light, but not after a few days of swinging it around for 14 minutes. I'm surprised that this small amount of exercise, about 4 times a week, has led to noticeable (although modest) muscle development within two months.

I'm susceptible to lower back aches, and at first shovelglove seemed to exacerbate that if I wasn't careful. But that seems to have improved. I'm guessing that the exercise has strengthened muscles down there.

I think in a few months I might go up to a 12-pounder.

[reinhard]

I started with a 12 pounder (a touch over 6 feet and about 190 when I started), but in retrospect, I don't think that was optimal. 10 pounder would probably have been better. That being said, it couldn't have been THAT suboptimal, or this site wouldn't exist. If you're worried more about safety, go with the 10 pounder (and don't overcompensate by swinging it around like a maniac). If you're worried more about saving money, go with the 12 pounder (and take it nice and slow in the beginning). Either way, I think you'll be fine.

[Travis Sherry]

Unfortunately, I went to my local hardware store here in Hamamatsu, Japan and noticed that they had one size of dai hanma (sledge hammer) and that it was 3.6 kilos, which is 8 pounds. I bought it because I figured if I didn't start now, I'd keep putting it off, with excuses like "it's too cold to bike to the next hardware store and look for a bigger one."

Anyway, I bought the 8 pound one and am going to try to find a place that sells a 10 pounder in the next day or two. If I do, I'll return the 8 pounder and use the 10. If not, I guess I'll just go with the 8 pounder.

I guess smaller people means smaller sledgehammers.

Thanks for the advice!

[Kevin]

You can do plenty with an eight pound sledge.
And, there are folks around here that have added a couple of pounds when they were ready with diving weights and nylon straps.

Unfortunately, I went to my local hardware store here in Hamamatsu, Japan and noticed that they had one size of dai hanma (sledge hammer) and that it was 3.6 kilos, which is 8 pounds. I bought it because I figured if I didn't start now, I'd keep putting it off, with excuses like "it's too cold to bike to the next hardware store and look for a bigger one."

Anyway, I bought the 8 pound one and am going to try to find a place that sells a 10 pounder in the next day or two. If I do, I'll return the 8 pounder and use the 10. If not, I guess I'll just go with the 8 pounder.

I guess smaller people means smaller sledgehammers.

Thanks for the advice!

[filipe]

You can also add some pounds with wrist weights.
These are filled with sand. In my opinion its easier to use and safer in case they get loose, and have the benefit of padding the hammer surface.

[fungus]

You can do plenty with an eight pound sledge.
And, there are folks around here that have added a couple of pounds when they were ready with diving weights and nylon straps.

[/quote]

See thread here: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6113

[Kevin]

True, and safety is important.

You can also add some pounds with wrist weights.
These are filled with sand. In my opinion its easier to use and safer in case they get loose, and have the benefit of padding the hammer surface.

[Travis Sherry]

Thanks guys for the advice. Looks like I'll be staying with the 8 pounder for a bit for a couple of reasons:

1. Apparently Japan has a lack of real sledgehammers, meaning the 8 pound option is the best I've found so far.

2. It certainly gave me a workout in my first week, so much so that I strained my left bicep a little bit. This was only due to the fact that I hadn't done any type of lifting in a considerable amount of months, but I think it also means that I should be fine with the 8 pounder for a while.

[twoidhd]

I just bought an 8 pounder and I think it is plenty to start with. I'm 5' 9" 225 lbs. Eating paleo I've lost around 100lbs this last year but had to have back surgery in November, so I'm not willing to do anything to screw up my back again. I'll add a little weight several months down the line. I get a good workout with the 8 lb hammer.

twoidhd