The strongest guy I know

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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reinhard
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The strongest guy I know

Post by reinhard » Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:55 pm

My wife's uncle doesn't do shovelglove, alas, but he doesn't go to the gym, either. All he does is pushups -- 500 of them, 4 days a week, with simple dumbell curls while he "rests" in between sets. He's professional dog walker, so he urban rangers all day long. He's in his 50s, but has arms like tree trunks.

I'm not a big pushup fan, but what I take away from this is that it doesn't require expensive equipment or specialized exercises to be far stronger than I have any desire to be.

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Post by Ariel King » Wed Aug 10, 2005 4:44 pm

2000 pushups a week. WOW. Now that's what I call some serious discipline. And it does have some valuable traits in common with SG (cheapness and simplicity).

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Wed Aug 10, 2005 8:16 pm

Reinhard, that's great!!!
I have to find this hilarious link to a guy who wrote an exercise manual while he was in solitary confinement in a UK prison...
Richard Spears, from the old Yahoo Shovelglove group sent it to me!
Charlie somebody....
It is a hilarious account! One of his exercises was to run around the outside yard carrying three men on his back....
I have to try and find that for you! :lol:
Love,
8) Deb

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The strongest guy I know...

Post by Big Phil » Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:00 am

How many pushups does he do in a set? 500 is a whole shitload of reps!
How much does he curl? Details man, I need details! :twisted:
Phil.

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:03 am

Hi Phil!
:wink: Deb

How many do you do? Hee hee...
I can't do more than one or two! Ha...

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Post by Big Phil » Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:11 am

Hi Deb,
Yeah, I'm about 500 away from this guy as well :(
Phil.

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:21 am

Oh well! Just do one every day for 500 days! :lol:
One of my friends does 500 crunches a day!
These guys are just endorphine junkies!!! :P
(Of course we secretly admire that! LOL...)
Have a nice "day"????
whatever time/day it is for you.... Hmmm
Must be around tea time on Thursday...
It's time for me to go to sleep now.. Ha ha...
See you later..
Love,
Deb

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Post by reinhard » Thu Aug 11, 2005 1:39 pm

I was too stunned by the number 500 (and too distracted by my daughter's birthday shenanigans) to press for (or at least remember) details. Will post them to this thread when I get them next time.

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Aug 21, 2005 3:30 pm

500 is quite an imprssive number indeed! Seems to be a magic number lately. I was just reading another forum where someone was talking about doing 500 pushups. I can't recall how many days a week they were doing, but I believe it was 3-4.
When I was in the Persian Gulf, a friend and I worked our way up to 200 pushups in a single set mostly out of sheer boredom. :lol:
We would then follow that with situps and a run of at least a couple miles, sometimes up to five.
These days I am only good for 50-60 in a single set. :oops:
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sun Aug 21, 2005 5:30 pm

Vanilla!!! We all have periods of more and less energy in our lives...
Why the :oops: face???
To me, 50 pushups sounds like you are cranking!!!!
You are my hero! :)

If your body feels like doing more, just go with it.. but you should feel proud of what you are doing since it's still not *nothing* which is what most people do!
Peace,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:48 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Vanilla!!! We all have periods of more and less energy in our lives...
Why the :oops: face???
To me, 50 pushups sounds like you are cranking!!!!
You are my hero! :)

If your body feels like doing more, just go with it.. but you should feel proud of what you are doing since it's still not *nothing* which is what most people do!
Peace,
8) Deb
I would hardly qualify as a hero of any kind, but I thank you just the same! :D
The :oops: face was because to go from 200 down to 50 or 60 sounds quite drastic. The days of the 200 pushup sets was about 14 years ago... :lol:

50-60 per set is my average these days, though. Some days it might be more or might be less. A lot of times it depends on how many hours I am working. My job is fairly physical and if I end up doing a 12-14 hour shift, I usually don't have much left in the tank when I get home in the morning.
Combine that with the fact that I am still recovering from about 3 months of illness and I have quite a ways to go.

Sometimes I will just put a weight plate on my back and do a couple sets of 30 combined with a few sets of pullups and hit the rack. A quick something after work just to say I did indeed do "something."
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:48 pm

Why don't you just get your girlfriend to sit on your back?
Wait that's probably a little more than thirty pounds, but less rigid than a plate! LOL....
Have a great day....
You are still my hero, I don't care what you say...
And you are a Sledge wielding Gorilla, so how can you lose????????
Hope you come back to full power when you are all better.. sorry you had such a long time feeling sick...

Peace and Glove,
8) Deb

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VanillaGorilla...

Post by Kevin » Sun Aug 21, 2005 10:52 pm

200 reps is awesome. I usually do four or five sets of fifty a day.

Pullups are something I'm still working up to. I can do five, but sets of five aren't very fulfilling. Any hints?
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Post by Prodigalsun » Mon Aug 22, 2005 5:19 pm

Sheesh, you guys are monsters! I think I'd be hard pressed to do 20 push ups.
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Pushups

Post by Kevin » Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:22 pm

Pushup reps go up very quicky from 20 a day. Do that for a week and you'll find you're ready for 35. You can see almost daily improvements in pushup ability.

Anyone want to race to 100? :0)
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Post by Jammin' Jan » Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:37 pm

I can do 20 push-ups in a row if I do them on my knees. Does that count? Especially for middle-age? If I did them each day, and added one per day, I wonder how far I could go?

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Re: VanillaGorilla...

Post by VanillaGorilla » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:30 pm

Kevin wrote:200 reps is awesome. I usually do four or five sets of fifty a day.

Pullups are something I'm still working up to. I can do five, but sets of five aren't very fulfilling. Any hints?
A drill instructor screaming at you will do wonders.... :lol:

On a more serious note, there are a few things you could try:

Use your legs and kip up a bit. When I was in the service, they told us use our whole body as part of the movement. A little swing in your legs is not a bad thing and will get you a decent amount more reps than just a dead hang.

There's also an old Navy SEAL technique I read about sometime back as well where you do ascending and descending sets, so to speak.
You do a "set" of one, stop and drop from the bar, do another set but this time with two reps, stop and drop, set of three, etc, up to your max and then do the same on the way down...i.e. one set of 5, stop and drop, set of 4, right down the line to one.

Or you could try doing your normal 5 reps with a bit of added weight (i.e. 5-10 pounds). This will help build a bit of strength and add more reps to your normal bodyweight rep number.
Yesterday I did a couple sets of 20 (three finger grip) with just a 10 pound plate held between my knees. You could also tie it around your waist or whatever you prefer.

Or finally, you could just do your normal 5 reps and on the descent of the last rep instead of dropping off the bar, just hold the midpoint for as long as you can before letting go or try doing partials from either the midpoint to top position or bottom to mid, etc...Wherever the sticking point is, try doing partial reps from that point.

Hope I was able to explain them clearly enough and some of them are helpful. If I can clarify in any way, please let me know!
Last edited by VanillaGorilla on Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:40 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Why don't you just get your girlfriend to sit on your back?
Wait that's probably a little more than thirty pounds, but less rigid than a plate! LOL....
Have a great day....
You are still my hero, I don't care what you say...
And you are a Sledge wielding Gorilla, so how can you lose????????
Hope you come back to full power when you are all better.. sorry you had such a long time feeling sick...

Peace and Glove,
8) Deb
I don't think I could get her to sit on my back without her cracking up completely...Thereby making me laugh and rendering me totally unable to exercise...haha
I'm feeling much better these days, thank you. It just amazes me how it can take so long to build a decent amount of strength and how quickly it can be lost!!
I can do 20 push-ups in a row if I do them on my knees. Does that count? Especially for middle-age? If I did them each day, and added one per day, I wonder how far I could go?
One of the first techniques I heard about for people who have any kind of trouble with pushups is do them from the knees, actually. It's still working the muscles...Just with a slight assist.
You'd be amazed what adding even one rep per session can do. That's the whole concept of progressive overload, after all.
My suggestion for whatever it might be worth would be to do them every other day for starters and add one or two reps at each session. Doing them everyday can become like a task too quickly and make you lose interest. Or it would me, at least....lol
Anyone want to race to 100? :0)
I'm game if anyone else is! :D
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Post by Jammin' Jan » Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:40 am

I am doing Shovelglove every other day, so maybe I will try the push-ups on alternate days. I will begin tomorrow with 20, and then add one each day that I do them. I will stop if my shoulder starts hurting -- old injury that I don't want to aggravate.

Middle-age is lots of fun! :D

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race to 100

Post by Kevin » Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:19 am

Given the number of pullups you can do, you could probably eek out 100 today...

But I'll give it a shot. I'll keep you posted...
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Re: race to 100

Post by VanillaGorilla » Tue Aug 23, 2005 11:50 am

Kevin wrote:Given the number of pullups you can do, you could probably eek out 100 today...

But I'll give it a shot. I'll keep you posted...
I'd have to work my way back into it, for sure. I'm not 100% sold I could bang out that many in one shot right now. Like I said, my "big" numbers were about 14 years ago....That's a darn long time ago! lol
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Post by Kevin » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:06 pm

Jan-Tz wrote:I am doing Shovelglove every other day, so maybe I will try the push-ups on alternate days. I will begin tomorrow with 20, and then add one each day that I do them. I will stop if my shoulder starts hurting -- old injury that I don't want to aggravate.

Middle-age is lots of fun! :D
I had a frozen left shoulder. I've had chronic pain in both shoulders for a year now.

Suprisingly, the more pushups I do, the less my shoulders hurt, both during the exercise, after, and in the morning when I get up. I'm doing four or five sets of 60ish during the day (I drop in my office and do a quick set every couple of hours).

Given we are both middle aged, you might get better results than you expect.
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Fri Aug 26, 2005 3:44 pm

Kevin wrote:Suprisingly, the more pushups I do, the less my shoulders hurt, both during the exercise, after, and in the morning when I get up.
Same here. I didn't do any pushups at all yesterday and my shoulders were killing me. When I do them on successive days, they usually feel fine.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Fri Aug 26, 2005 11:07 pm

I just got psyched up to try some pushups, since all you guys are the pushup kings!!!

Let's just say, it's easy when you are going down...
Coming up wasn't so good! LOL...
I made it to one!
At this rate I will be caught up to you guys by the time 2010 hits! :lol:

I have more respect for you guys than ever before!!!!!!!!
(and it was a lot already!)
Peace and Love,
8) Deb

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Deb

Post by Kevin » Sat Aug 27, 2005 1:16 am

A lot of it is getting used to the feeling. When you can do 10, a week later, you'll be able to do 25.
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:44 pm

I agree with Kevin. Once you get used to the different stress you're putting on your body, they become easier. Just like any other activity, really.
Does anyone experiment with different kinds of pushups? (i.e. incline, decline, "diamond", weighted or superslow)
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variation

Post by Kevin » Tue Aug 30, 2005 1:49 am

I mess around with Hindu pushups, which are the only pushup exercise that still really cause pain to my shoulders. That's a tough motion if you're really trying to get your nose on the ground. While I generally think that Furey is a bit over the top, I have to agree that this exercise feels special: back, shoulders (when you're done) and belly.

I do them with my arms at my side, at a 45, and all the way out. I do diamonds sometimes, but I'm kind of a wuss about them.
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Tue Aug 30, 2005 11:50 am

I like the diamonds for a good triceps exercise in conjunction with or as an alternative to dips. Depends on my mood, I guess. lol

I like to mess around with different types of pushups just for a change from the same old and have used the hindus quite a bit, as well. I also really like divebombers...Harkens back to my military days, I guess. I learned them in there and they kind of stuck with me.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Tue Aug 30, 2005 1:22 pm

What? Are those the kind that you do where you push up till you're off the ground and clap while still in the air? :D
I can't believe you guys!
LOL...
Cool!
8) Deb

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Fun Exercise

Post by Samurai » Tue Aug 30, 2005 3:29 pm

Why don't you just get your girlfriend to sit on your back?
Wait that's probably a little more than thirty pounds, but less rigid than a plate! LOL....
Less rigid but way more fun, I'm sure. :wink:

I like the Hindu pushups, too. Back when I was :ahem: a bit more fit, I'd do what's called a 'deck of cards' workout. I would assign each suit to a particular exercise. For example;

Spade - Hindu pushup
Club - Hindu squat
Heart - Bicep curl and overhead press with 20# dumbbells.
Diamond - Jumping jacks, or crunches, or lunges, depending on what I felt like that session.
Jokers - 10 burpees, or 10 grasshoppers, or a couple handstand pushups, again depending on what I was felt like working on.

Your objective is to get through the deck as quick as possible.

Draw a card, perform the number of reps of that exercise as dictated by the card face. Immediately draw the next card and perform that exercise with the appropriate amount of reps.

For example:

Draw 9 of Spades = perform 9 Hindu pushups.
Draw 5 of Diamonds = do 5 4-count jumping jacks.
Draw King of Hearts = do 10 bicep curl and press with each arm.
Draw 7 of Clubs = do 7 Hindu squats (when I was in really good shape, I had to do double the amount of squats to feel a good burn)

You will work up a great sweat, build muscle and work cardio all at the same time. Add different exercises for variety, like jumping rope for 10 reps x card face, incline sit ups, plyometric jump squats, whatever you want to work on.

It gets really tough when you draw the same suit 3-4 cards in a row, but just tough it out and do them the best you can.

This routine got me into the best shape of my life. :twisted:
One should not be envious of someone who has prospered by unjust deeds. Nor should he disdain someone who has fallen while adhering to the path of righteousness. - Imagawa Sadayo (1325-1420)

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Tue Aug 30, 2005 7:22 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:What? Are those the kind that you do where you push up till you're off the ground and clap while still in the air? :D
I can't believe you guys!
LOL...
Cool!
8) Deb
No. I can't really describe divebombers. Similar to a hindu pushup, but not quite the same....lol
The ones you're referring to are usually called a type of plyometric pushup....Used to help build explosiveness mainly.

Samurai - That's similar to one of the workouts Matt Furey used to describe. He learned it from Karl Gotch, I believe.
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The Gotch Bible

Post by Samurai » Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:20 pm

Gorilla,
I read about "The Gotch Bible" in one of Furey's books, although we were 'doing the deck' before I read about it. I can't remember exactly but I think Gotch's version is harder - red cards are Hindu pushups and black cards are Hindu squats. That comes out to 190 reps of each exercise, if you count Aces as 11. Unless they did both exercises for each and every card?

At least with the version I use, you get a little variety. :lol:

There is another way to 'do the deck' that is harder than both. Pick four exercises. Draw a card, and complete that number of reps of EACH of the four exercises you've chosen for this session.

For example, I pick squats, pushups, crunches, and lunges.

I draw a 10 of hearts:
I do 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 crunches, and 10 lunges.

I draw a Jack of spades:
I do 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 crunches, and 10 lunges.

And so on. If you manage to complete an entire deck, you will have done 380 reps of each exercise.

When I used to teach PT, we would complete about 2/3 of the deck in about 40 minutes, before we'd head out for the run portion of the training. Its a great workout!

I've heard of other versions where all you do is draw a card and do that number of reps of pushups, one card after the other. IMO thats kinda redundant, but if you're one of those who can do 500 pushups that should be a piece of cake with a few seconds rest between reps to draw another card. :lol:
One should not be envious of someone who has prospered by unjust deeds. Nor should he disdain someone who has fallen while adhering to the path of righteousness. - Imagawa Sadayo (1325-1420)

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me, questioning your mental health

Post by Kevin » Tue Aug 30, 2005 9:46 pm

Gentlemen:

You're truly insane. Or, you're discussing a time when you were in your late teens or early 20s.

I might give the four suit/four exercise variation a go, though.
Kevin
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Age

Post by Samurai » Tue Aug 30, 2005 10:42 pm

Hey Kevin
I was teaching PT about 2-3 years ago at age 36-37. :shock:

I was still doing the deck with the 4-suit/4-exercise variation last summer, when I was a much younger 38. 8)

Its amazing how low you can go in just one year, isn't it? :cry: :?
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Re: me, questioning your mental health

Post by VanillaGorilla » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:55 am

Kevin wrote:Gentlemen:

You're truly insane. Or, you're discussing a time when you were in your late teens or early 20s.
I'm actually getting back somewhat close to the shape I was in when I was in the service. I turned 34 in May and I can still hang pretty good on the exercise front. I think...lol
My big thing from about age 25-30 was strictly weights. I was walking around weighing 201 lbs. at a height of 5'8". I was mostly into eating lots and lifting lots and not much more...lol
Once I hit 30-31, I started adding different exercises instead of just weight training out of boredom mostly and stayed at a weight of about 190. Now, since I have been ill and lost about 30 pounds, I am rebounding back and currently weigh 170 or so. I'd like to put back on about another 10 quality pounds and stay there if I can.

Nowadays my routines consist of a variety of weightlifting, BWE and sledgehammer work.

My routines have been pretty intense since I am trying to make up all the ground I lost when I was sick. I'll have to ease off the throttle a bit at some point to avoid burning out since I am *ahem* a bit older now, I suppose.... :lol:
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180 at 5'8"

Post by Kevin » Wed Aug 31, 2005 7:56 pm

That's quality weight. I'm at 176, at 5'8", and I'd like to lose 10 more pounds. But I'm not built that heavily...
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Re: 180 at 5'8"

Post by VanillaGorilla » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:11 pm

Kevin wrote:That's quality weight. I'm at 176, at 5'8", and I'd like to lose 10 more pounds. But I'm not built that heavily...
My father was fairly stocky and built, but the rest of my family really isn't. I actually fall a bit between the two.
Right now, I am having a lot of trouble putting weight back on and keeping it on which is the reverse of how it usually goes when one gets older...Or so I have always been led to believe.
Part of that is probably due to the fact that I still haven't gotten back to the heavier weights I was used to handling combined with the fact that I don't really have a desire to eat like I used to anymore. I'd rather put it on slower if that's the case. I can't handle all the extra calories anymore.

All I know is it ticks my girlfriend off that I have trouble keeping weight on....She curses me and tells me she wishes she had that problem. lol
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:29 pm

Vanilla,
I wanted you to know that I like your signature!
Did you make it up?

Tell your GF, that it's always something.. If she indeed, couldn't gain weight and wanted to, she might not like that either...
The grass is always greener...
Or is it?
As long as your health is back, that's what counts...I think it's great that you no longer want to eat huge amounts of calories...

Peace,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:52 am

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Vanilla,
I wanted you to know that I like your signature!
Did you make it up?
No, I unfortunately cannot take credit for it. I believe it is an old Japanese proverb. I read it in one of Matt Furey's email newsletters and it kind of stuck with me.
Tell your GF, that it's always something.. If she indeed, couldn't gain weight and wanted to, she might not like that either...
The grass is always greener...
Or is it?
As long as your health is back, that's what counts...I think it's great that you no longer want to eat huge amounts of calories...

Peace,
8) Deb
She wouldn't hear it even if I did tell her that....lol. She'd just bemoan the fact that she doesn't have my "problem". :lol:

I'm not sure if it's that I don't want to consume the extra calories anymore or that I just plain can't. I said "want" previously for lack of a better term.
Unfortunately, to gain any appreciable mass, one has to eat and I just don't have the desire to do that anymore. I'd like to get to a point where my caloric intake is sufficent to gain and maintain a weight of 180-185 pounds. With that, I could be fairly satisfied. I'm not interested in being as big as I can be anymore. My main goal these days is a defined look and increased overall fitness while hopefully regaining and maintaining my old level of strength. And yes, I do believe that can be done without eating mass quantities of food. There are "smaller guys" out there that are unbelievably strong, imo.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Thu Sep 01, 2005 1:18 pm

Ah those Zen masters! I love Japanese and Chinese proverbs....

One I recently learned and love love love, is :

"Practice like your hair is on fire"......

Yeah!!!!!!!

Well as far as the weight... Trust that your body knows best...
If it doesn't feel the need for all that eating, then respect it, don't insult it...
You're not still losing are you?.....
I have some other ideas but not so sure whether they are appropriate for the SG forum... If you feel like ever writing me on my regular address maybe we can come up with some healthy ways to enhance your digestion and appetite...
Otherwise, if not interested, no biggie :)
It is deborahfederlmt@hotmail.com

Peace and Glove,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Thu Sep 01, 2005 5:05 pm

Deb,

Thank you very much for the email address. I will contact you ASAP. I actually think most of my ideas are not appropriate for the SG forum. I'm not strictly a shugger....I like to mix it up too much, I guess. lol

My email is TAZ63271@aol.com just in case you see a strange addy you don't recognize. :lol:
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sat Sep 03, 2005 11:23 am

Try these on for size... :lol: :

http://www.bronzebowpublishing.com/TigerBend.gif

Some of you might be familiar with them...Also known as atomic pushups. They're new to me...Read about them on another forum. Good stuff. Pretty brutal....lol
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Sep 03, 2005 1:59 pm

Is that you Vanilla??? You look old! But good bod!
LOL.....

Yeah coming up from your forearms with your hands so high must really change the leverage aspect witht the change in angle and all...

Drop and give us 100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:lol: Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sat Sep 03, 2005 3:28 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Is that you Vanilla??? You look old! But good bod!
LOL.....

Yeah coming up from your forearms with your hands so high must really change the leverage aspect witht the change in angle and all...

Drop and give us 100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:lol: Deb
Nope that is not me....lol. Although I wish my hair was that thick! :lol:

I tried a quick ten of those before I went to work last night and they are a real butt-kicker, for sure. I stopped at ten, but probably could have done a few more...Not sure what "a few" would constitute. Not many, I am sure. :lol:
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500 pushups

Post by Kevin » Mon Sep 05, 2005 1:33 pm

Just to see what this would feel like, I did 500 yesterday (10 sets of 50), scattered throughout the day.

I'm going to take a day off today. Even though I spaced the sets out, the last 15 reps of the last three sets were really difficult. I'm not sore today, though.

I'll give those Atomics a try tomorrow. I'll bet I can't do 10. :0)
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:14 pm

Wow Kevin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Re: 500 pushups

Post by VanillaGorilla » Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:18 pm

Kevin wrote:Just to see what this would feel like, I did 500 yesterday (10 sets of 50), scattered throughout the day.

I'm going to take a day off today. Even though I spaced the sets out, the last 15 reps of the last three sets were really difficult. I'm not sore today, though.

I'll give those Atomics a try tomorrow. I'll bet I can't do 10. :0)
Well, you beat my most recent workout....By quite a bit to say the least!! lol

I did a fast blast workout Sunday night. Consisted of diamond pushups (3X25), dips (50, 40, 30), crunches (1 big set to failure) and some calf work (4X30). I had just gotten home from a day spent in the ER (girlfriend quite sick), so I was beat...But I felt the need to do something while I was just sitting around. I basically tried to just bang everything out as fast as possible and burn myself out for a bit...I was a little stressed. lol

I took Monday off and will probably do something later today. Some regular pushups and possibly the Atomics.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:55 pm

Wow Vanilla, I hope your girlfriend gets well soon....
Sorry for her!
My prayers are with you....
Love,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Tue Sep 06, 2005 7:54 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Wow Vanilla, I hope your girlfriend gets well soon....
Sorry for her!
My prayers are with you....
Love,
8) Deb
Thanks, Deb...I appreciate that. She's coming off two 103+ degree fevers in under a week.
I have received your emails and will reply ASAP. Just had a ton going on lately.

Kevin - Let me know if you get sore two days after the fact or not. I'll be curious since that has happened to me on occasssion. I get sore two days after the fact instead of the next day.
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Soreness

Post by Kevin » Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:19 am

Nope, no soreness. I'm actually repeating today - I'll probably only get to 400 as I'm running out of day. My right shoulder has been aching, but it seems related to sitting at the computer at an armed chair. If I get up and do a set of pushups, the pain goes away.

You can do 50 dips? Holy crap. I'm lucky if I can do 20...

Oh, I did one of your deck of cards workouts - pushups, situps, rows in pike position, and squats.

Kicked my butt.

Sorry to hear about your other half. I hope she's better.
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Re: Soreness

Post by VanillaGorilla » Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:51 pm

Kevin wrote:Nope, no soreness. I'm actually repeating today - I'll probably only get to 400 as I'm running out of day. My right shoulder has been aching, but it seems related to sitting at the computer at an armed chair. If I get up and do a set of pushups, the pain goes away.
I get that in my shoulder and arm as well if i hang out too long on the comp. Just stiffens up a bit and gets sore. Glad to hear you suffered no soreness from your 500 day, though!
You can do 50 dips? Holy crap. I'm lucky if I can do 20...
I can do 50-60 with bodyweight only and 20-30 weighted depending on the weight. A while back I was doing sets of 5-8 with a 100 lb. Db on my dipping belt. Right now I can only manage sets of 5-8 with 65 lbs. Lost a lot of strength when I got sick, so I'm mostly sticking with bw at the moment trying to build back up. I think the reason for the relatively high numbers on dips is due to that fact that they are just one of my favorite exercises and I do them A LOT. lol
Oh, I did one of your deck of cards workouts - pushups, situps, rows in pike position, and squats.

Kicked my butt.
Ain't it fun? haha
Sorry to hear about your other half. I hope she's better.
Thank you. She's doing a bit better, but I fear she passed her virus on to me. I left work early last night because I did not feel well at all.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:00 pm

Oooh... Yuck...
Vanilla, if you can handle it, try to eat some raw garlic and drink tons of water and soup...
Richard got a really bad virus last Spring and I thought I'd be next in line, as I usually get all his stuff secondhand...
But I ate a clove of raw garlic each day for about three or four days and had loads of water and vitamin C...
I didn't really get sick but I could feel the virus in me, trying to make me sick.... I sliced the cloves of garlic up and just put them on a Ritz cracker with some butter to soften the edge of the spicy raw garlic..
Garlic is a known anti viral food....
Nothing can survive around it!!!!!
Hope you stay well!
*Moderate* exercise will also help keep you safe, so I encourage you to rest but don't totally stop moving..... (not atomic pushups to 500, but a little bit of moving within your comfort levels... just enough to stimulate the T-Cell production in our immune system...)
Good luck!
Peace and Love,
8) Deb
(I am such a Jewish mother!!!! LOL...)

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Wed Sep 07, 2005 5:59 pm

I've actually heard of the raw garlic remedy before...Another Matt Furey tip, actually. lol
I tried it before. Not sure if it helped or not, but it certainly didn't hurt anything. The only thing is I think it's already gotten ahold of me a bit and right now I really don't want to eat anything at all.
As for moderate activity....Getting out of bed is a victory right now. haha

Perhaps later I will feel like eating and will try ingesting some garlic at that time.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:10 pm

Yah! That's rough...
If you do try the garlic, expect some minor garlic burps and a general feeling of your blood being infused with heat!!!
It's powerful stuff... Maybe not the most pleasant sensation, but if it helps, then I say it's worth it...

Feel better soon and drink loads of fluids till your bursting.....
Peace and Love,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Thu Sep 08, 2005 4:18 am

I'm feeling a bit better. I stayed home again tonight because I'm not feeling great, though.
Spent most of the day sleeping and dosing up on Tylenol to try and avoid the fever that seemed t accompany my lady's virus. Obviously it helped with the back and neck aches too. Hopefully by the weekend I'll be feeling 100% and pushup ready...lol
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My favorite remedy

Post by Kevin » Thu Sep 08, 2005 9:47 pm

My favorite remedy for when I feel like I'm getting something is to go to bed and not get up until morning. :0)
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:28 am

I'll see your go to bed and raise it one "Not get up 'til the next afternoon." lol
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500 pushup days

Post by Kevin » Mon Sep 12, 2005 7:56 pm

Okay, I'm doing these every other day now (on non SG days).

Pretty soon I'm going to go to sets of 75 (or at least try to). I can bang through 60 pretty easily.

I may not have great form, though. On off days, I do slow diamonds, Hindus, close arms, wide arms, etc. to improve my form and add variety.

Maybe in six months my arms will be bigger, but I think I need more weight, so maybe I'll elevate my feet.
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Post by hlidskjalf » Thu Sep 22, 2005 8:34 am

A pushup only workout stolen from a forum:

Routine A
Atlas or Hindu Pushups 2-3xRM
Feet Elevatated Wide grip pushups 2-3xRM
Feet Elevatated Regular pushups 2-3xRM
Regular Pushups 2-3xRM

Routine B
Feet Elevatated Regular pushups 2-3xRM

Train daily alternating the A & B routines. Take a day off when fatigue begins to set in, usually after about 4-5 days. "RM" means repetition maximum. Do not do any more reps than you can complete with perfection. RM does not mean squirming to complete failure. Also, don't become a slave to numbers. Some days you will be able to do more (or less). Listen to your body.

http://p214.ezboard.com/fpushupsfrm1.sh ... =273.topic

These people advocate various push ups plus brisk walks as your conditioning program.
Burn all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean.

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Post by Prodigalsun » Thu Sep 29, 2005 10:15 pm

Well, Kevin, I bought Furrey's book, and have been doing the Royal Court 3 days a week, giving the weights a rest. (other three days I SG and run)

I'm up to 50 Hindu squats
only about 5 perfect form Hindu pushups
Bridging...I'm using a stability ball.
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Current: 269
Goal: 190


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Post by reinhard » Fri Sep 30, 2005 2:56 pm

Sweet avatar, prodigal. Long time no post. Hope everything's going well (sounds like it from all the exercise you're doing!)

Kevin: sorry for the massively delayed reaction on this, but I was confused about what you did 500 of, kept looking, forgot what I was looking for, got distracted by something else. 500 pushups, like my uncle? Wow. Actually 500 anything is wow. But that would be a particularly relevant wow.

VanillaGorilla: I haven't done a dip in years, but I remember feeling like a badass when I could do 10. It's a good thing moderation privileges for this group are not based on trial by ordeal, or I'd quickly be ousted, I think!
Last edited by reinhard on Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Prodigalsun » Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:35 pm

Thanks, Reinhard, exercisings going great, it's the No S'ing I'm struggling with right now.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:27 pm

You can do it Prod!!!!
It's just a phase~
Love,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:50 am

Greetings to all. It looks as if everyone is coming along splendidly in their training pursuits!
I have been "away" on a bit of a personal journey, so to speak.

Recently I have been focusing on said dips and am only managing 3-4 sets of 10 reps with the 65 lb. Db. And the last set tends to be mostly partials towrds the end right now.
I have also become enamored with a present my lady got me called the Holle-It-Up Dumbbell. Basically, it's a dumbbell with a 2 & 3/4" offset handle. Let me assure you, this thing is a brute....Killer for grip development! lol

Currently my training is a mix of dips, one handed exercises with my new Db (One-handed deadlifts, rows, curls, presses, etc) , one-legged squats and of course...last but certainly not least, shovelglove! :D

As I have said before, I have never been able to totally eschew the iron or my other miscellaneous training interests....The lure is just too great! lol
For me, shovelglove has been an excellent supplement to the other things I like to do. Great cardio benefits and an excellent help in building functional, everyday strength (What it's all about, right? lol).

As far as pushups, I admit I have been a bit lax in performing those....My training is very cyclical, and I have ommitted them from this current cycle in favor of other exercises. I am constantly switching things for the sake of variety. Translation: Kevin would wipe the floor with me! :lol:

I am sorry to ramble...Just been some time since I posted....haha!!

Reinhard - I may be able to do a decent amount of dips (Mostly due to sheer volume and repetition more than anything else), but I am more than willing to bet that in the area of shovelglove you and many others would leave me in the dust!
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training variation

Post by Kevin » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:04 pm

What could be better than lots of variation in your training?

I'm still doing big numbers of pushups every other day - 10 sets of 50, at least. It's not building a lot of muscle, though. I think I need more weight. Lots of endurance built, not much more strength.

But I'm certain I could now pull off a single set of 80.

Anyway, I'm going to probably reduce reps to say 35 and do 10 sets of harder stuff - maybe Hindus, diamonds, feet more elevated, knuckles, whatever.

I'm not SGing so much, but I'll get back to it.

One thing I've definitely noticed is my fingers are getting skinnier as I lose weight (my wedding ring is sliding off!). I have to do something to put some muscle on my hands. Maybe some grip exercises or something.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:45 pm

Yeah but then people would have to call you muscle fingers Kev... LOL..
You have to go to a jewelers and get one of those little band adjusters...

Great job Kevin!!
That is a great feeling!!!!

(ps.. Gripping exercises will work the flexors in the arm, and in the hand, so your palms might "bulk up" LOL...)

We are proud of you dude!!!!
Love,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:35 pm

Kevin - If you are looking for some good tools to work your grip, I'd suggest www.ironmind.com. They have grippers called "Captains Of Crush" that are awesome. I own three of them (Trainer, 1 and 2). In addition to the grippers, they have a ton of other awesome toys. That's where my newest dumbbell came from, actually. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I get a catalog from them.....lol
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Post by Gman » Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:30 pm

Hi Vanilla where are you at Grip wise?
I can shut the #2 but not the #3.

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:41 pm

This sounds good!!!
I usually like to wring out towels to keep my grip good..
Then I use people for the fine tuning part... LOL...
(Massage kneading... get it! LOL...)

Squeezing tennis balls is good too....

I think it's important to keep your grip strong incase you need to strangle someone!
Wish I could try out these toys.. I'll check them out!
Still I think Shovelglove really does the trick..
Peace and Love,
8) Deb

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Post by Gman » Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:06 pm

Wringing out towels is good and shovelglove is good too.

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:44 pm

Gman wrote:Hi Vanilla where are you at Grip wise?
I can shut the #2 but not the #3.
I can close the #2 also, but only for a few reps at this time. I need to order a #3 to give me something to shoot for again. I lost a ton of strength when I was ill, including my grip. Before that, I could close it (The #2) for about 10 reps with my right hand and about 8 with my left.
The Holle-It-Up has done wonders for my grip already. I can definitely feel a difference.

Shovelglove is great for grip also as you said. Anything invloving a slegdehammer works wonders, imo.

My other favorite grip/forearm exercises would probably be:

The grippers
Holle-It-Up Db
Pinch gripping plates
Wrist roller
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:53 pm

gratefuldeb67 wrote:I think it's important to keep your grip strong incase you need to strangle someone!
I don't know if I would say "strangle", lol, but good grip/hand/forearm strength is definitely beneficial in the area of self-defense, among many other areas.

And as far as grippers, if anyone were to buy them, I would without a doubt recommend the Ironmind ones over sporting goods store stuff. They might cost a little more, but they are durable and more than worth it.

And no....I DO NOT work for Ironmind!! :lol:
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Post by Gman » Sun Oct 02, 2005 10:37 am

Yeah I like a thick handle db I have one that I made similar to the Holle it up.Which is good but expensive but then again if it was a present that is awesome.
Ironmind stuff is really good and they have excellent customer service.

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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sun Oct 02, 2005 2:32 pm

You guys are cool!!!!
I bet you can crack a handful of walnuts with ease! LOL... :lol:
Peace and Love,
8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:07 pm

Gman wrote:Yeah I like a thick handle db I have one that I made similar to the Holle it up.Which is good but expensive but then again if it was a present that is awesome.
Ironmind stuff is really good and they have excellent customer service.
It was actually a Valentine's Day gift (certificate) from my lady. It only took me about 6 months or so to decide what I wanted to get....lol
I also have the Apollon's Axle which I LOVE. I bought that years ago after reading Dinosaur Training. Ironmind is definitely a bit on the pricey side, but the quality is high and for those of us (ME! LOL) who are no good at making things, they are a lifesaver...haha

On the subject of pushups for just a second...I actually had my first successful attempt at handstand pushups last night. I've been trying them forever, and could never quite get them. I don't think it was an issue of strength (not toatlly, at least) as much as finding the right groove and form. I got some tips from someone earlier this week and was able to crack out a set of 10 and a set of 7. Not huge numbers yet, but a start, for sure.
At the end of the second set, I just held the lockout position and lowered myself back down in a slow, negative fashion.
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:32 pm

Wow Vanilla!!!
Is a handstand pushup like a full handstand in Yoga?
If so,,, whoa baby... You must have some strong ass arms!!!!
You have a nice girlfriend for giving you such a thoughtful gift! Just what you like right? LOL...

Peace and Love,
:wink: Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:46 pm

I'm not sure how a full handstand in yoga goes, but I use the wall for a bit of balance. I'm not coordinated enough to do a full handstand unsupported...lol
Basically, I just kick up into a handstand against the wall, bring my head down so it touches the floor, push up until my arms are fully extended and repeat. It might sound like I am cheating by using a wall for balance, but believe me, it's still a lot of work! :lol:
My body is only basically brushing against the wall as I push up and come back down...It's basically my safety net, I guess.
I don't have a ton of strength in this move yet, but I think the balance issue was what was giving me the biggest problem. And you will definitely feel it in your shoulders when you are finished!
Fall down seven times, get up eight.

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Oct 02, 2005 3:48 pm

And yes....My lady knows the way to my heart is through my weights....lol
She claims she is lousy at shopping for me, so she basically tells me pick whatever I want and she'll just get it for me...haha
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sun Oct 02, 2005 4:01 pm

Using a wall for that bit of balance and support is common in Yoga...
Yes that's the same, but without the pushups part!
Wow!!! You must be monster strong!!!!!
Rock on Gorilla!

8) Deb

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Post by VanillaGorilla » Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:49 pm

For a fellow my size I guess I am, but there are plenty out there who are stronger, for sure. I just try to improve in small increments in different areas whenever I can. I guess "strong" is sometimes relative to the individual.
As I said, for the longest time I couldn't do a handstand pushup to save my life, so to be able to do even a couple sets is quite an improvement for me....lol
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Post by VanillaGorilla » Wed Oct 05, 2005 11:56 am

Managed 2 sets of 10 on the HSPU's yesterday. Coming along fairly well, I think. :D
Followed that with some work with my new dumbbell, abdominal work and bridging.

It was a blitz type workout due to time constraints. Had to blast it out and get it done. lol
Fall down seven times, get up eight.

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