Hello, I'm a former competitive cyclist who has seriously let himself go in the last ten years since getting married and having kids.
After eight years of saying I was going to get back in shape and start racing masters classes, I finally tried to do something about it. This summer I spent two months riding 100-120 miles a week (what I could fit into naptime) and going to the gym three times a week and using the weight machines, thinking that that would lay a base for the fall cyclocross season.
After two months there was little discernable change in my fitness or body composition, so I started looking for a different way. I stumbled across Shovelglove after searching for functional fitness workouts. I did Kettlebell a couple of summers ago and really like the concept.
My long-term goal is to get strong and lean enough to race bikes again, my short term goal is to lean down enough that the vein in my biceps pops out again. I'm now married to the idea of a daily short circuit workout to build/maintain fitness, but in the future I may mix Shovelglove up with Kettlebells and sandbag training.
I've been shugging for a week now. My first workout didn't impress me, I got really sweaty, but didn't seem to feel it, but the next morning my back, shoulders, and arms were dying. Also, my heartrate stays around 135 for the entire workout, which is in the lower end of my training range, which is a bonus to me. When my heartrate drops below 130, I'm going to get a bigger hammer.
Thanks for reading,
-ted
Introductions
Introductions
Last edited by slothlike on Mon Oct 03, 2011 12:29 am, edited 2 times in total.
my workout
I'm swinging a ten pound hammer, I try to transition from movements as fast as possible - no rest, I do 15 reps on each side, I get through the Shovelglove circuit 3 times with a little extra fireman and sometimes shoveling. It's 20 minutes total, with 15 minutes of Shovelgloving.
1 minute of pain (planks)
25 Kettlebell swings
25 bodyweight squats - this is a mini-circuit I do it until I have 100 swings and 75 squats, takes about 4 minutes. It really spikes my heartrate.
Fireman
Shovel
Chop Wood
Churn Butter
Flip the Lever
Sometimes I stretch afterwards, but usually not.
It took me a while to figure out churn butter so that it was hitting my muscles hard enough, I grab the hammer at the very end, smash down hard like I'm tamping dirt, and raise it 'til my hands are at eye level.
I go as hard and as fast as possible, I leave a nice puddle of sweat on the basement floor.
1 minute of pain (planks)
25 Kettlebell swings
25 bodyweight squats - this is a mini-circuit I do it until I have 100 swings and 75 squats, takes about 4 minutes. It really spikes my heartrate.
Fireman
Shovel
Chop Wood
Churn Butter
Flip the Lever
Sometimes I stretch afterwards, but usually not.
It took me a while to figure out churn butter so that it was hitting my muscles hard enough, I grab the hammer at the very end, smash down hard like I'm tamping dirt, and raise it 'til my hands are at eye level.
I go as hard and as fast as possible, I leave a nice puddle of sweat on the basement floor.
Fall has hit Minnesota. My basement has gotten cold and I'm no longer leaving a pool of sweat. This morning I had to don the traditional pajama bottoms as I worked out. My shovelglove, however, is still naked.
BTW men stick with a workout plan longer if it has a social aspect, even if its only a virtual one. So, even though this board is pretty quiet, I'm going to use this thread to occasionally leave inane chatter.
BTW men stick with a workout plan longer if it has a social aspect, even if its only a virtual one. So, even though this board is pretty quiet, I'm going to use this thread to occasionally leave inane chatter.
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Heybazilla
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 2:29 pm
Thanks bazilla.
I'm gonna have two red days in row (my life doesn't have S days, so I don't take them). The family did an overnight camping trip on Sunday and the 2 year kept waking up, not know where she was and crying hysterically. I didn't fall asleep until 5, the 3 mo. old slept through it all, but woke up at 7. So my plan to get up early and do 14 minutes of body weight stuff disintegrated.
Since I didn't get any work done this weekend, I'm in the middle of an all nighter writing a paper that's due tomorrow. So no shovelglove tomorrow either.
I'm gonna have two red days in row (my life doesn't have S days, so I don't take them). The family did an overnight camping trip on Sunday and the 2 year kept waking up, not know where she was and crying hysterically. I didn't fall asleep until 5, the 3 mo. old slept through it all, but woke up at 7. So my plan to get up early and do 14 minutes of body weight stuff disintegrated.
Since I didn't get any work done this weekend, I'm in the middle of an all nighter writing a paper that's due tomorrow. So no shovelglove tomorrow either.
Hi, Thanks. Are you Robb from the blog? It looks like you're getting some nice rides in on your bike.
I am, but I'm not riding much. I put in about 120 miles a week in the summer in addition to putting the kids in the box bike and going to the park or pool, which is probably another 25 miles a week.
My goal is to get in good enough shape that I can do some masters class racing next year without embarrassing myself too badly.
I am, but I'm not riding much. I put in about 120 miles a week in the summer in addition to putting the kids in the box bike and going to the park or pool, which is probably another 25 miles a week.
My goal is to get in good enough shape that I can do some masters class racing next year without embarrassing myself too badly.
Some chatter:
My form must be bad, kettlebell cleans are leaving an ugly bruise on my forearm.
I just bought this because I wanted some data to track. http://www.amazon.com/AccuMeasure-MyoTa ... pc_title_1 I'm sure it has a big margin of error, but it says my body fat is 25.5%. Which is down from 27%, but way up from my lean and hungry years.
Every time I go to Home Depot I check out the 16# sledgehammer to see how it feels. Every once in a while someone sees me trying Flip the Lever and gives me an odd look.
My wife is making me go to our 25th high school reunion tonight. Ugh.
edit: I was reading the caliper wrong, the reading was actually 20.4%. A nice drop from my highest when I wasn't exercising or paying attention to what I ate.
My form must be bad, kettlebell cleans are leaving an ugly bruise on my forearm.
I just bought this because I wanted some data to track. http://www.amazon.com/AccuMeasure-MyoTa ... pc_title_1 I'm sure it has a big margin of error, but it says my body fat is 25.5%. Which is down from 27%, but way up from my lean and hungry years.
Every time I go to Home Depot I check out the 16# sledgehammer to see how it feels. Every once in a while someone sees me trying Flip the Lever and gives me an odd look.
My wife is making me go to our 25th high school reunion tonight. Ugh.
edit: I was reading the caliper wrong, the reading was actually 20.4%. A nice drop from my highest when I wasn't exercising or paying attention to what I ate.
Last edited by slothlike on Sun Oct 16, 2011 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
hey Slothlike,
The kb cleans, like the kb snatches should not be hurting or bruising your arm.( I know you know that) As the kb comes in contact with the arm try to bend the legs a bit. That seems to help disapate the blow. Just my two cents. Have fun at the reunion.
The kb cleans, like the kb snatches should not be hurting or bruising your arm.( I know you know that) As the kb comes in contact with the arm try to bend the legs a bit. That seems to help disapate the blow. Just my two cents. Have fun at the reunion.
two wrongs don't make a right.
But three lefts do.
But three lefts do.
It's nice to meet you, Who Me? I haven't looked through much of your blog, but Robb looks pretty fit in the pictures I've seen. Also, I love the urban farming posts. Unfortunately, we live on a small corner lot, so I haven't been able to talk my wife into chickens or bees (which the city doesn't allow and we'd have to hide in our non-existant back yard.)
Other chatter:
3 red days in a row.
I started taking ADD meds and it totally wrecked my ability to sleep. I'm still waking up ungodly early, but I'm too brain dead to function and too tired to move. This morning I watched TV for the first time since August.
BTW It's not that I have anything against TV, I just can't sit still long enough to watch a full show and even if I did I'd lose track of the plot - unless it was something totally mindless.
3 days off moved my belt back up a notch, even though my weight stayed the same.
Other chatter:
3 red days in a row.
I started taking ADD meds and it totally wrecked my ability to sleep. I'm still waking up ungodly early, but I'm too brain dead to function and too tired to move. This morning I watched TV for the first time since August.BTW It's not that I have anything against TV, I just can't sit still long enough to watch a full show and even if I did I'd lose track of the plot - unless it was something totally mindless.
3 days off moved my belt back up a notch, even though my weight stayed the same.
16# sledgehammer
I'm sleeping again and I'm working out regularly again. I moved up to a 16# hammer this weekend. 10 months early according to official Shovelglove doctrine, but my body had gotten used to the 12#; I wasn't feeling sore afterwards and my heart rate had dropped out of my training zone for at least a couple of the movements. Besides, I found a 16# sledge on sale for $22 because it had a replacement handle.
After the first day my arms were very sore, the next day it was my back, the next two my abs were/are killing me. I'm going to back off and do 2 days with the 12# and 1 with the 16# and work up to using it every day.
After the first day my arms were very sore, the next day it was my back, the next two my abs were/are killing me. I'm going to back off and do 2 days with the 12# and 1 with the 16# and work up to using it every day.