Hoeka now shugging, too!

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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Hoeka
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Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:00 pm
Location: Botswana

Hoeka now shugging, too!

Post by Hoeka » Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:42 am

Feeling quite out of breath, thank you, and discovered some long-dormant muscles, too!

Bought my sledgehammer yesterday :D :D :D . The hardware shop only had a 6 pounder and a 12 pounder. The 6 pounder felt very light, so I decided on the 12 pounder. I know, I know, it was a tad over-ambitious for somebody 1,58 m (that's about 5'2"). But, I was a gymnast at school, so the muscles are there, they just have to be put to work.

For my first session this morning, I did the original 3 canonical moves, 10 times to a side. Obviously, the movements were very jerky, but time should smooth them out. Will add on as I grow stronger, and then expand my repertoire. What I'm doing now is adeqaute for laying the groundwork, while I bond with the new toy. And for obvious reasons, I didn't even bother with a timer.

I was thinking of shugging every second day, but if I'm not too stiff & sore tomorrow, I may do it daily.

About the hammer: I was looking for something with a wooden shaft: was thinking of painting the shaft (green, of course :wink: ), but they were ridiculously expensive. The rubber shaft is not too bad, though, and I like the grip: it feels a lot safer than the wooden one.

Oh, and there's a big warning on the shaft that the user should wear safety goggles. Me, I was thinking along the lines of steel-capped boots. :lol:
Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners - Shakespeare

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:54 pm

Welcome to shovelglove!

12 pounds is heavy, but keep your top hand close to the hammer head and you should be all right. And force yourself to go slow, because there will be a delayed reaction till your body feels just how hard your workout was and what hitherto underutilized muscles it hit.

I currently use a plastic handle too and find it fine. I've used both, depending on what was cheaper, and although I prefer the aesthetics of hickory, I don't notice the difference otherwise (especially since I wear gloves).

Reinhard

Hoeka
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Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:00 pm
Location: Botswana

Post by Hoeka » Fri Jun 24, 2011 6:19 am

Thanks for popping in, Reinhard.

I'm taking it veeeerrrrrryyy slow, don't worry. Good news: I expected a sore muscle or two today, but everything feels fine. Still sticking to my original plan of shugging on alternate days, though.
Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners - Shakespeare

koopa
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Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:01 pm

Post by koopa » Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:40 pm

reinhard wrote:Welcome to shovelglove!

12 pounds is heavy, but keep your top hand close to the hammer head and you should be all right. And force yourself to go slow, because there will be a delayed reaction till your body feels just how hard your workout was and what hitherto underutilized muscles it hit.

I currently use a plastic handle too and find it fine. I've used both, depending on what was cheaper, and although I prefer the aesthetics of hickory, I don't notice the difference otherwise (especially since I wear gloves).

Reinhard
What kind of gloves do you use? I currently don't and my hands have been hurting more and more over time. I have calluses but I think the bottoms of them are bruised, which is why it hurts. I hate to rip out several layers of skin just to check to see if I am right or wrong....

Hoeka
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:00 pm
Location: Botswana

Post by Hoeka » Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:54 pm

Koopa, I'm not sure what Reinhard uses, but I just use my cycling gloves. Gymnasts' grips should also work, or talk to weightlifters and find out what works for them.
Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners - Shakespeare

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