Shovelglove moves for legs?

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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Maskedlioness
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Shovelglove moves for legs?

Post by Maskedlioness » Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:51 pm

Hey all,

I thought I posted this late last night, but I can't seem to find the thread... So, does anyone have any moves they do for their legs with the hammer? I've been doing the regular moves for my arms and I do walk some, but I feel like my lower body is being a little neglected

Thanks in advance! 8)

Kevin
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Pick up the pieces...

Post by Kevin » Thu Mar 09, 2006 9:54 pm

Hindu squats. I draw the analog to picking up the pieces of stuff you just busted up. since a picture is worth a thousand words...

http://www.mattfurey.com/hindu_squats.html

These will leave you huffing and puffing very quickly, and they are great for your knees (at least, they are great for my knees, even though they are middle-aged) contrary to what many people think about squats. The foot position is important (on your toes in the down position).
Kevin
1/13/2011-189# :: 4/21/2011-177# :: Goal-165#
"Respecting the 4th S: sometimes."

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Jammin' Jan
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Post by Jammin' Jan » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:26 pm

Shovelglove is very good for the legs. Paddling the Canoo, Stirring the Cauldron, and Churning Butter can all be done from a squat position. Tuck the Bales can be done in plie. Stoke the Engine can be done in a deep stationary lunge. I usually feel my SG workout more in my legs and glutes than I do in my arms!

A word of caution, however: whenever you bend your knees, DON'T LET THE BENT KNEE GO PAST YOUR TOES. If you look down in front of your knee and you can't see your toes, shift your body and the knee back a bit. This is to protect the knee joint.

Kevin
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Knees and toes...

Post by Kevin » Sat Mar 11, 2006 6:02 pm

Jan, I've heard this, too, many times. But I find if I squat that way, as opposed to the position in a Hindu squat, my knees hurt in no time.
Kevin
1/13/2011-189# :: 4/21/2011-177# :: Goal-165#
"Respecting the 4th S: sometimes."

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gratefuldeb67
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:31 pm

Hi Kevin :wink:

Glad Hindu Squats are working for you!
My guess is that you may have really tight quads or something...
Or weak ones..

Two more great poses to consider trying out to help strengthen your quads and knee joint are:

Chair pose
Warrior I and II

They are very safe, as well as very strengthening..
Have a great weekend guy!

Peace and Love,
8) Deb
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

Maskedlioness
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Post by Maskedlioness » Sat Mar 11, 2006 8:52 pm

So I feel kinda silly trying to Churn Butter from a sqaut position. Maybe I'm not doing it right. :?

Could you give me an example of what Chair Pose & Warrior I and II poses look like? I'm not familiar with them.

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gratefuldeb67
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Post by gratefuldeb67 » Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:59 pm

Heh heh.. Hi Lioness!
I probably shouldn't have put this on the Shoveglove section..
Don't worry about churning butter while squatting up and down..
Only the non spastic highly coordinated people can do that without feeling like you are patting your head while rubbing your belly...
Shovelglove is potentially very dangerous if spazzing out...
Jammin Jan, does these lunges etc.. but her hammer is like four or five pounds..
I don't know if your's is bigger, but if it's more than 5 lbs or so, I say why invite an injury while multitasking... Even Reinhard, our beloved founder, finds Churning Butter with the SG, very awkward and unnatural..
If it feels silly to you, that's probably a good enough reason to not do it! :wink:
If you want to work your legs more, try to incorporate a few squats done without the SG...
Chair is a classic Yoga asana... Here's the steps in doing it and I'll look for an online pic for you some time later...

Stand with your legs together, knees touching... They are supporting each other... Crouch down and touch your fingers to the ground, then stay in that crouched position and lift your arms and extend them in allignment with your ears... It will feel as if you are sitting on an imaginary chair...
You will feel this in your quads and just pull in your abs and breathe in and out through your nose to energize you... Hold for 30 secs to a minute... This kind of squat is a static squat... There's not a lot of room for injury here as it's very stable, especially since your knees are getting reciprocal support...

Warrior poses can be found here:
www.yogajournal.com
Look in the pose finder link/section...
The 14 minute practice of Shovelglove doesn't have to be all with the SG...
As long as you do *something* every day!
Good luck!

Have fun!
Peace and Love,
8) Deb
There is no Wisdom greater than Kindness

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Jammin' Jan
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Post by Jammin' Jan » Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:55 pm

Yes, as Deb said, I have a lite hammer with a short handle, so I can get away with some movements that others couldn't do with a heavier SG.

Maskedlioness: I don't squat up and down in Churning Butter. I go down to a squat and stay there for the full count...only the arms move up and down.

Kevin: the kind of squat you are doing in Hindu Squats is different than the squat you see in usual weight movements or martial arts. If Hindu Squats are working well for you, then just stick with that and ignore my caveat. They both get the job done.

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