My Results So Far

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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slothlike
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My Results So Far

Post by slothlike » Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:17 pm

After one month:

I've Shovelgloved 26 of 30 days.

I went from a 10# hammer being hard to swinging a 12# hammer at full speed with my front hand almost half way down the handle. I can now do 1 pull up - up from 0 and 7 full push-ups - up from 2.

My weight went from 184 to 179 without changing my diet; this is significant because it put my BMI back in the normal range. My belly (measured at belly button) has shrunk from 38 7/8" to 37 5/8". My bicep has grown from 13 1/2" to 14 1/8". (Can you tell I like data.)

My posture is a lot better and that minor nagging minor back ache has disappeared. My wife says I'm more flexible now, based on my newfound ability to reach back in the car and put a pacifier in the baby's mouth as I drive.

It should be noted that these changes aren't from zero. I spent the two months before I started using the weight machines at the gym 3 times a week and riding my bike 100 miles a week. The gym and biking brought my weight down from 192#, but I didn't see much increase in strength or musculature.

-ted

guille
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Post by guille » Tue Oct 04, 2011 6:19 am

great! congratulations

what is your rutine?

14 mins every week day? what movement are you useing?

slothlike
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Post by slothlike » Tue Oct 04, 2011 10:45 am

Thanks. I try to work out every day. It takes about 22 minutes, but I do planks, kettle bell swings, and squats first. Shovelgloving takes about 16 minutes.

I do 3 sets of 15 per side and go as hard as I can:
Fireman
Shovel
Spear Thrusts
Chop Wood
Churn Butter
Flip the Lever
Back Scratchers

slothlike
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Month two

Post by slothlike » Fri Nov 04, 2011 3:11 am

In October I worked out 25 of 31 days. I didn't do the planned 25 minute kettlebell/shovelglove workout very often, mostly it was 15 minutes of pure shovelglove.

My weight stayed stable at 179# all month - normally when school is back in session I put on almost a pound a week from Labor Day to Thanksgiving and lose it in the spring. My belly shrunk another 5/8" to 37". My bodyfat dropped from 20.1 to 19.6%. My bicep hasn't grown, but it feels denser.

In November I'll be working in a 16# sledge into a pure Shovelglove workout.

edit: my max. push ups are now up to 11, but my max pull ups are still at 1.

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:28 pm

Great progress, Slothlike!

I like the pushups and pullups as metrics.

Pullups are really hard -- my pushups to pullups maximum ratio is about 4. So it makes sense that going up one is going to take a lot more work (doubling of your current number).

Do be careful about upgrading sledges too fast. The minimum amount of time I stuck with a sledge is a year. I understand your eagerness to make progress but make sure not to risk burnout or injury for it.

Reinhard

slothlike
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Post by slothlike » Fri Nov 04, 2011 3:01 pm

Thanks Reinhard. I've used the 16# for four days so far and it was too much, too soon (I do that a lot). I'm backing off and using it every third day and will work up from there.

I decided to move up to make sure I stayed in my aerobic training zone, mostly because I don't want to have to run this winter to get a cardio workout.

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Re: My Results So Far

Post by captain_trismegistus » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:39 pm

slothlike wrote: My posture is a lot better and that minor nagging minor back ache has disappeared.
Hey slothlike, my lower back's been playing up this week & it's worrying me a bit...

Was the back ache you mentioned "caused" by SG, or was it an existing problem? If because of SG, how bad was it, & did it clear up on its own?


Thanks,
Tim.

slothlike
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back ache

Post by slothlike » Sat Nov 05, 2011 12:07 pm

Hi Tim, I hope some time off is all you need.

No, my back has ached for years. I was sway backed and with it came near constant lower back pain, usually not a lot, just enough to bother me. I tried stretching, yoga-like exercises, heat, ice, ibuprofen, but nothing helped, so I wrote it off as being middle-aged and lived with it. But a few weeks of Shovelglove strengthened and flattened my back enough that it doesn't bother me any more.

A couple weeks into Shovelgloving I wasn't paying attention to my form and something went pop in my mid-back. The pain was intense and I couldn't lift my arms above my head, but after a couple of days of rest it subsided to where it just felt like muscle soreness and I started working out agian. I would imagine if I worked a physical job like you, it would have taken a lot longer to recover.

Good luck,
-ted

slothlike
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Another Metric

Post by slothlike » Sat Nov 05, 2011 8:59 pm

I brought my daughter to the Y today for a dance class. I forgot my homework and I've already read to latest Onion, so I hit the weight room.

Shovelglove has made me a lot stronger. After two monthes I went up at least two plates on every machine I hit. It probably would have been more, but I already worked out with the 16 pounder this morning and my arms were a bit wobbly. To put it in perspective this summer when I was going 3 times a week for an hour I only went up half a plate a month.

Some numbers - for sets of 10:
bench machine: 62.5# to 87.5# - I know, I have a really wimpy chest, although I still sport an impressive set of man-boobs. I stayed at 62.5 all summer.
cable row: 115# to 145#.
lat pull down: 100# to 130#.

When I tell my friends about Shovelglove they think it's ridiculous, but it's working better for me than any other strength training I've done.

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Post by captain_trismegistus » Sat Nov 05, 2011 10:53 pm

Hi Ted,
thanks. I'm glad SG helped you out - constant, low-level pain can really get you down.

Anyway, I've left a detailed post over in the other thread, so I won't rehash it here. Just wanted to say congratulations on your progress - those numbers are really impressive!


Regards,
Tim.

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Post by koopa » Mon Nov 14, 2011 5:34 pm

My long time goal is to be able to do a pullup. I've never been able to do one, and would love to accomplish this feat.

Been shugging for close to a year now, still no pullup...in due time. It doesn't help that when I started shovelglove, I weighed 285, now down to 230. Still too much weight to pullup with :)

slothlike
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3 month progress

Post by slothlike » Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:36 pm

November wasn't a good month for me. I spent about 3 weeks sick and/or tired; the flu shot didn't work. I managed to Shug 21 out of 30 days, but several of those days were with a 10# hammer for the minimal 14 minutes, otherwise I used the 12# for 20 minutes.

My weight dropped one pound to 178#, my belly shrunk another 3/8" to 36 5/8". My bodyfat went back up to 20.1% - I figure it stayed the same, but that's in the margin of error. Otherwise everything is the same as last month - bicep at 14 1/8", 11 push-ups, and 1 pull-up.

I went to the Y again, this time I was fully rested, and checked how how much stronger I've gotten from Shovelglove - this is for sets of 8-10, except for my monthly check in I haven't lifted at all:
Cable row: 115# to 160#
Bench machine: 62.5# to 95#
Lat. Pull Down: 100# to 160#.

I'm really impressed with how much stronger I am now. I also can't figure why I can do sets of 160# on the pull down machine, but can only manage 1 pull up.

In December I am going to get back on a regular schedule, focus on strict shovelglove (little or no kettlebells), and try to work the 16# hammer back into the routine.

-ted

slothlike
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seven months so far

Post by slothlike » Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:36 pm

It's been seven months since I started working out. I haven't updated because I haven't been doing pure Shovelglove. I fell into the progress trap and tried to speed it up by lifting weights two or three times a week and kettlebells once or twice and shugging the rest of the time.

I found out that it is hard for me have varied workout times and plans. I found myself missing a lot of workouts because I had to think about it instead of working by habit. I also reinjured an old rotator cuff tear and can't press anymore.

Progress:
Weight: around 172#; I had start eating a lot more to stop it from falling farther. Belly has shrunk some more to 35 1/4 +/- 1/4". Bodyfat is down to around 18.5%. Bicep has shrunk a bit to 13 15/16". I can do around 20 push ups and 2 clean pull ups.

Also, my resting heart rate has dropped from 70 to 56 (what it was when I was bike racing) and my anaerobic threshhold has risen from around 165 to 170 (better than when I was bike racing). This is stupendous. I have done almost no cardio and credit swinging the hammer hard and fast with these improvements.

So, for the last three weeks I've had a new plan again.
- Every morning I work out as soon as I get up. Three times a week is Shovelglove. Once a week is kettlebells. Twice a week is calisthenics; I am following the Convict Conditioning progressions.
- I squat &/or deadlift, row, and farmer walk at the gym when I bring the toddler to her tumbling or dance classes. Usually twice a week.
- I take Sunday off.

This is working well for me. I have a workout habit plus enough variety to keep me fresh. The calisthenics progressions give me progress to track.

I'm too ADD to believe I'll follow this plan forever, but I'm pretty sure I'll stick with some sort of circuit training first thing in the morning.

-ted

guille
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Post by guille » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:44 pm

hi slothlike


actually im familiar with convict conditioning, its a very good book, i plan on use it but just to track my stright progress, that means, doing the upper body exercises, ones every 6 months, to see how strong i have becomed in that time, i guess i would never get to one armed pull ups or advances verisions of the handstant push ups with shovelglove work only, but who knows, im curious to see how strong one can become with shoveling alone

i dont know if you have the second book, convict conditioning 2
i recomend it a lot, maybe even more than the first one, there is one part called the "trifecta" and i must say its pure gold, it a series of holds that take only like 2 minutes to do, they are wonerful, i feel very lithe and strong the days i do it, i always use ut as a warm up before my shovelglove and as active rest the days i dont shovel(i shovel 3 times per week)

anyway congrats on your progress, the inprovment in heart rate is great, on the long run maybe more important than the muscles that one gets from this :D

slothlike
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Post by slothlike » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:16 am

Thanks Guille. I used to hate calisthenics, but Shovelglove got me strong enough that I could start to do them halfway decently and I stopped hating it.

I also got started with bodyweight work wanting a way to measure how strong I got, but then I got sucked into trying to improve that too and wanted see how far I could go with it.

I'll look into the second book, but I'm only only level 3 for most of the CC progressions, so I'll probably focus on those for a while.

-ted

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Post by slothlike » Sat May 19, 2012 3:23 pm

Pure Shovelglove

Life's been crazy, I won't go into details or whine too much, but I've felt like I've been on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I needed to simplify my life, but the only thing that could go was my crazy workout schedule. So I'm back to Shovelglove every morning and nothing else except for the occasional push up or chin up.

I've done this for a week now and it feels good, like going back home. I had to move back down to a 12# sledgehammer because I was so fatigued.

One thing I've noticed is that doing just Shovelglove really works my shoulders, they became the weak link after lifting/doing kettlebells/calisthenics.

I don't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but at the age of 43 I grew. I finally hit 6'. I credit Shovelglove and kettlebells working the back so much. I figure the strengthening straightened out my spine. I know it doesn't hurt anymore and I have less of a swayback.

I'll keep this up until at least June 15 when I am done with school.

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Post by reinhard » Mon May 21, 2012 5:43 pm

Welcome back to shovelglove purity!
I've been on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Been there myself. Hang in there. It gets better. One main thing I recommend is keep clawing your way forward and keep talking to people. Eventually something will click.
at the age of 43 I grew. I finally hit 6'. I credit Shovelglove and kettlebells working the back so much.
Wow, are you serious? That's awesome. I'll take full credit of course. :-)

slothlike
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Post by slothlike » Sat Apr 06, 2013 9:31 pm

"Don't call it a comeback!" But I am back.

I had to take a few months off on doctor's orders (enforced by my wife).

About a month after my last post I started weight lifting again and I was benching much more than I should have been and I re-tore my rotator cuff. The PT said no to Shovelglove, but okayed Kettlebells as long as I kept them below shoulder height.

About a month after that I was mountain biking and since my right arm was fairly useless for controlling the bike I crashed. It was a simple, silly crash, but I dislocated my left ring finger. The hand surgeon said no weighlifting or biking.

I was kind of freaked out that I would gain all my weight back, so I started doing 20 minutes (or more) of one handed kettlebell swings. That is too much off-center load on my back and after a couple of weeks it locked up so bad my wife had to dress me for a few days. And it kept relocking up every few weeks. So, no kettlebells either said the chiropractor.

So for a few months my only workouts were the various PTs I had to do and walking.

But I'm back now. I start my workouts with 15-20 minutes of rehab and prehab and then kettlebell swings, goblet squats, and Shovelglove.

I spent a few weeks on the 10# hammer and am now slowly working my way down the 12# hammer at the rate of 1/2" per week. It feels like I'm ready to move back up to the 16# hammer, but I'm taking it slowly this time around.

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Post by No BS » Sat Apr 06, 2013 10:15 pm

slothlike wrote: "........The PT said no to Shovelglove, but okayed Kettlebells as long as I kept them below shoulder height.............
.........The hand surgeon said no weighlifting or biking...............
.........So, no kettlebells either said the chiropractor..................
OMG! Good luck ..... and take care.
If you are not living life on the edge you are taking up too much room!!

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Post by reinhard » Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:38 pm

Reduced to urban ranger.... well, at least that's something!

Welcome back to shovelglove! Hope your reentry has been smooth and satisfactory so far.

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Post by slothlike » Mon Oct 21, 2013 11:18 pm

Thanks.

My training was kind of erratic until July 1, then everything fell in place and I don't think I've missed a workout since then. I know I haven't missed one since Sep. 1. Some of the Shovelgloving was traded for mountain biking.

My body feels really strong and stable right now. I'm impressed with how much meat I have on the sides of my spine. I really think that is helping to keep my back healthy.

I'm back on the 16# hammer. I'm moving my hands down 1/4" for each full week. At that rate I'll move up to the 20# after a year if I stay consistent.

Stats:
I put on about 10# and at least a couple of inches on my belly when I was on the DL list, but a lot of it has come back off.
Weight 176#
Belly 36 1/2"
Body Fat 18.7%
Bicep 13 3/4"
Pull Ups 2 in a row.

I tried No S. in an attempt to shrink my belly even faster, but my wife made me quit. I was eating liking a ravenous teenager at meals and she said it was too expensive for her.

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Post by slothlike » Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:55 am

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I posted here.

I took a few months off starting in February when my mom and my father in law went into hospice care. Somewhere in there I hurt my back, I blame the lack of Shovelglove's magical back protection properties, and am just now starting to feel normal again.

I started training consistently again in August. I'm still mixing up kettlebells and Shovelglove with the occasional sandbag workout. Right now I'm working out M/T and Th/Fr, but that's likely to change with my whims.

Stats:
Weight 166#
Belly 34 3/4"
Body Fat 17.1%
Bicep 13 1/2" I took out Levers and they shrank.
Pull Ups 3, I was up to 8 in January, but lost them quickly when I stopped training and they aren't coming back quickly.

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Post by reinhard » Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:32 am

Thanks for checking in!

Sorry about the lack of magical back protection properties...

And about the tough time with your family.

But it sounds like you're coming back strong on the shovelglove & friends front.

Best of luck and keep us posted,

Reinhard

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Post by slothlike » Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:41 pm

Thanks Reinhard. I worded that funny. I think Shovelglove is the best thing that I've done for my seemingly fragile back, far better then anything the PTs have suggested, just so long as I keep doing it. I hurt it during that long spell of not working out. I really do think Shovelglove keeps my back safe and strong.

Yes, I've come back strong, I'm working the 16# hammer. Hopefully nothing will get in the way again.

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