So, I got my shovelglove . . .
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- Posts: 83
- Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:35 pm
So, I got my shovelglove . . .
and man, oh, man, is that thing heavy! It still counts if it takes the whole 14 minutes to get it up off the floor, right?
Seriously, I didn't get many reps or anything but I did start collecting materials to build my castle and got them back across the lake.
I feel certain I'm going to feel this tomorrow!
Seriously, I didn't get many reps or anything but I did start collecting materials to build my castle and got them back across the lake.
I feel certain I'm going to feel this tomorrow!
Mounted Ranger!
No S-ing, Ranging, and Shovelgloving since 7/7/09
No S-ing, Ranging, and Shovelgloving since 7/7/09
Congratulations on taking the plunge and getting a hammer!
It is certainly wise to take it easy until your body is used to shugging. I think that building the 14 minute habit right from the start is a good idea, even if that means you spend half the time swinging a broom stick or pantomiming the movements with no props at all.
It is certainly wise to take it easy until your body is used to shugging. I think that building the 14 minute habit right from the start is a good idea, even if that means you spend half the time swinging a broom stick or pantomiming the movements with no props at all.
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- Posts: 88
- Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:20 am
Absolutely!It still counts if it takes the whole 14 minutes to get it up off the floor, right?
Don't worry if it takes a week or two for you to get much beyond this. There's no rush -- on the contrary, rush is your enemy. Take it as slow as you can force yourself to be. Think "tai chi" with a sledgehammer. Just dangle the thing in your hands and concentrate on building the "temporal" habit of 14 minutes every N-day to start. That's the hardest, most important thing. Get that down and the mere musclework is easy and inevitable.
Welcome and good luck!
Reinhard
Re: So, I got my shovelglove . . .
Just out of curiosity, what weight did you start with?Rebeccca wrote:and man, oh, man, is that thing heavy!
I started with an 8 lb hammer. My upper body strength isn't too terrific, despite my free weight routine, so I started out really, really, really, really slowly with SG as I was very afraid of injury. I would say it took a month or so to build up to the number of reps I thought I wanted to do for each move.
I felt good about being so sensible (I tend to dive in head first before checking out how deep the pond is), but because even at slower/lower levels SG is such fun, I didn't mind it. Plus, I saw and felt results in my arms after the first week, which was a big motivator.
After a year, I am still on the 8-pounder and don't have any plans to move up to a heavier one. By playing with the leverage, reps, speed, and number of moves in a workout, I find I can get more than enough variation without adding weight.
But my main message is: don't get discouraged about getting off to a slower start! Concentrate on the fun and the habit-building -- the rest will come. (I also found it useful when starting out to really focus on form, so that when I built up to faster/more reps I would be doing each move correctly. I still go back maybe once a month to the videos to make sure I haven't strayed from proper form).
Enjoy! Winnie