shovel-pack! pack-bell?

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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RedBaron
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Location: Bellingham, Wash.

shovel-pack! pack-bell?

Post by RedBaron » Fri Mar 08, 2013 4:11 pm

Hi, all.

I've been a forum member for years, ever since my first abortive attempt at building the No S and shovelglove habits. My enthusiam has, in the past, rarely lasted more than a few days, but I'm happy to know that Reinhard's computer system remembers me :-)

I'm back into it (for good this time! Gonna rely on HABIT instead of enthusiasm), but I've moved since I last shugged and my sledgehammer didn't make the move with me. Until I get my paws on another, I thought I would rely on necessity to mother some invention:

The Shovel-Pack!

I have some cheap weight plates in a closet (they were there when I moved in), so I put 13kg (~= 30lbs) into an old but sturdy green backpack. Rocks, books (I have lots of these), cans of food, etc, would work just as well.

Then I cinched up the straps, turned up the Van Halen and set the timer.

What a workout! The shovel-pack (or packbell) is great for kettlebell swings and probably other kettlebell moves that I'm not a hip enough exerciser to know. I did a sequence of canonical shovelglove moves, and it's tough! The bag is heavier than any hammer I've used, for one thing, and it's not rigid like a hammer. When swinging it up, I always had to swing it fast enough that centrifugal force* would keep it from falling down on me.

I worked out good shovel-pack approximations for stoke the oven, the fireman, and other classics. I may indulge my narcissism on Monday and set up a webcam. I'll post links if I do!

And of course the shovel-pack is perfect for hoist the sack.

Many of the canon moves, actually, feel like natural ways to toss a heavy sack. I guess that speaks to the "useful movements" design ethic: apparently useful movements translate well!

Anyhow, it's nice to be back. I really like the character of the discussions I read here. It's a very thoughtful, cozy, and encouraging corner of the internet.

* Technically, inertia resisted by centripetal force from my hand. But then again, see http://xkcd.com/123/
"Why is this thus?
What is the reason for this thusness?"
-- Artemus Ward

filipe
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Post by filipe » Mon Mar 11, 2013 11:54 am

Just an opinion: may it's a good idea to replace the weights with sand (sandbag).
If you choose to, use a tire inner tube to keep the sand enclosed in.

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:19 pm

Nice! Very resourceful.

Hope it's a strong pack and doesn't send projectiles flying in all directions!

You could easily adapt it to get some leg workout as well (put the weighted pack on!).

Reinhard

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RedBaron
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Location: Bellingham, Wash.

Post by RedBaron » Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:43 am

Thanks, Reinhard!

I've thought about using sand, or padding the weights with blankets. The backpack seems to be holding up fine, but I do worry about hitting myself.

I was watching some Bulgarian Bag videos and a lot of those moves are adaptable to my packbell. The around-the-world swing is particularly fun.

I found a sledge in a garage sale over the weekend, so that'll be the majority of my 14 minutes most days. I'll mix it up as the mood strikes, holding fast only to the 14 minute rule.

The packbell, though, has the distinct advantage of portability. You can take the bag on an airplane (I think they frown on sledgehammers) and then buy a couple of gallon jugs of water at your destination. For well under $5 you've got 16lbs to swing around.
"Why is this thus?
What is the reason for this thusness?"
-- Artemus Ward

Crafty
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Post by Crafty » Sat Mar 16, 2013 4:38 am

+1 for the XKCD link
Sometimes anti-social, always anti-fascist.

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