Everyday Systems

Hi all,

I'm a shovelglove virgin but have been seriously considering getting into weight/resistance training to boost my fitness (and have read a hell of a lot recently about the benefits of weight training even over cardio for losing weight). As I hate gyms and want something I can do at home, shovel-gloving seems like the perfect solution!

So, I'm a girl - 5'6", weigh about 80kg. For some reason here in the UK sledgehammers seem to come in 7lb or 10lb weights. I'm pondering whether to just go for the 10lb-er and work my way up to 14 mins a day by building strength up and doing as many reps as I can each day, or start with the 7lb-er. I'm not afraid of hard work or pushing myself, but just worried I'll barely be able to move the thing

I may just be overthinking it and actually, 10lb won't be so hard

Any shovel-gloving ladies have any tips?

Welcome, milliem!

You might be surprised with the workout you can get with just 7 pounds. Leverage is a powerful thing.

10 pounds is probably going to be a tad heavy, but keep your hands closer to the head and you might find it works fine.

If money isn't a big issue, I'd say err on the side of the lighter weight. The small financial risk that you'll have to upgrade sooner than expected shouldn't count all that much compared to the risk of being turned off or injured using a too heavy weight.

Reinhard

I started shovelgloving about 3 weeks ago. I have an 8-pound sledgehammer- the only one the hardware store had. I was intending to go with 10 pounds, but once I actually picked up the 8-pounder and started swinging it around, I decided it was plenty heavy for me! Going with a heavier option would probably make it too easy to hurt myself.

Thanks for the replies, I think 7lb is probably the way to go for now - I can always upgrade at some point in the future

Well, a girl can't have too many sledgehammers. That's what I always say.

I ended up with the 7lb-er - and phew I'm glad! I'm not sure I'd have been able to lift the heavier one let along swing it around like a madwoman

I'm on Day 3 of Shovelglove now, working my way up to 14 minutes as my arms get sore after about 10 mins at the moment, but I've taken to doing a few minutes of stretching after the workout too. I'm also not doing it every day yet to give my muscles a chance to adjust.

Explaining to my housemate why a sledgehammer turned up at the door in an Amazon package was interesting