Everyday Systems

Okay so I am the absolute wimpiest person on the planet, and I've been neglecting shovelglove (for girls), but today I started again with 4 minutes on the cast iron skillet. WOW! Four lousy minutes and I feel like I just spent an hour with a trainer. I guess it just goes to show how very little I do normally to see how a teeny workout can kill me.

I plan to treat this like the No S diet and take my time, moving like a glacier (a melting glacier) and build up to 14 minutes on N days, even if it takes me a year to get there. (Don't want to strain my chronically strained neck, which is probably weak due to my overall weakness anyway).

I have not felt this good in a long time, from four lousy minutes. This motivates me to go get a stand-up desk again. I had one for a year, but moved offices and haven't been able to figure out how to do it. Strength is really a good thing to have.

Welcome back! What shocked me most about shovelglove was how little it takes, if you're reasonably consistent, to get a great, effective workout. It's almost like all your body needs is a signal "yeah, I need these muscles. Don't let them dissolve" and it doesn't take all that many minutes to convey that signal.

Been pretty sporadic, but I'm remembering the 14 minutes on occasion. I found myself posting this on my daily check in, but it feels like a big win, so I"m reposting it here:


My meals today are scheduled around my schedule at 9, 3 and 9 -- six hours apart, which is perfect for my body, but....

at 1:30 I was chilly, bored, stressed, tired, and hungry. I wanted lunch or a snack. I was also in the kitchen. What did I do? 14 minutes of anything! Lifted some hand weights, did a bunch of slow squats, some sit-ups, some stretches.

at 1:44 I was clear headed, warm enough to take my sweater off, calm, slightly energetic, and not hungry!!

Had I gone ahead and had lunch then, I would have been: sluggish, cold, probably still "hungry" due to stress, would have been superstarved or snacking well before dinner, and in a state of muscular atrophe.

Yay! In the case of "shovelglove", I think for me the short term pay-off might be even greater than the long-term payoff.

Agree completely. I've noticed sleepiness hunger and a chill I just can't shake both are subdued by 20 quick push ups and a cup of water. Clear headed is a great way to put it.

Great idea, finallyfull, and not something I would have thought of. I'll try to remember this next time the cravings hit.