Shovelglove was created by Reinhard Engels. This is the same person who authored the NO-S eating plan for losing weight, as mentioned by Derek in his post.
Engels' website: http://www.everydaysystems.com/ mentions of both of these, as well as other "systems" to get into shape. On the site is a link to a more specific page about shovelglove.
Basically, shovelglove is a physical activity that involves swinging a sledgehammer around for 14 minutes (no more, no less) every weekday. Engels has a core list of "useful movements" you can mimic with your swings, and others have come up with their own. Here are some ideas:
- shovelling
- churning butter
- chopping wood
- canoeing
- hammering down fence posts
- sword fighting
- fireman chopping down a door
- and many others
"Which movements should you do? How many times? And in what order? Honestly, I don't think it's that important. Keep swinging that slege for 14 minutes every weekday, and you'll get a great workout. The one thing I would caution against is diving into very high rep count sets right away -- it's safer and more interesting to do smaller rep count sets, going through a variety of different moves. Try starting with just 7 reps of each movement, repeating sets when you get through them all until the timer goes off."
Shovelglove is all about keeping things fun and interesting. If you check out youtube you'll find many people have created their own movements, and that's perfectly fine.
Here are a couple safety tips for your newly purchased or found-in-the-basement sledgehammer.
- Engels suggests you wrap your sledgehammer in an old sweatshirt to keep it from scratching up your hardwood floors or killing the cat. Personally, I don't have hardwood, and my cats are smart enough to stay out of the way. Attaching an old, fuzzy sweatshirt is more attracting to cats than just bare metal. So I don't. But you could.
- The weight of a sledgehammer is different than the weight of dumbbell. The weight is not evenly distributed; it's all at the end of the handle. Just because you can curl a 30 lbs dumbbell doesn't mean you need a 30 lbs sledgehammer. Typical weights range from 8-16 lbs, increasing in 2 lbs increments. I suggest you start small with a 9 or 10 lbs sledge. Another difference between shovelglove and arm curls is that you curl 10 reps in under a minute. But could you keep curling for 14 minutes straight? Not likely! After 14 minutes of shovelglove, a 9 lbs sledge will feel like it weighs a ton.
- Like the cautions for your Wii, you'll want to ensure you have adequate space to swing your sledgehammer without damaging your kids (not as smart as cats at times), furniture, or heaven-forbid the big-screen television. Keep in mind the sledgehammer is quite a bit longer than the wiimote, and don't forget that at times you may want to fully extend your arms. On that note, remember how high your ceiling is.
- I strongly suggest using a countdown timer to time your sessions. You don't want to be constantly stopping to check the clock, and using a minute hand clock could result in you missing your end time, or straining your neck to ensure it has not stopped working. I use my iphone's timer feature, but you could set the microwave or oven timer as well.
- Not all sledgehammer handles are created equal. Some are smooth and nice to hold, while others are rough and can hurt the hands. The smooth ones are nicer to hold onto, but could result in the sledge flying from your sweaty grasp. The rough ones can scratch up your hands, but may be easier to maintain a grip when sweating. Or, you may consider some sort of glove for your own hands. It's something to think about. A $25 sledgehammer can do a lot of damage when flying through your large picture window.
Check out a couple videos here, and be sure to check out youtube for more.
So, now you know all about shovelglove. Go ahead and give it a try; it's a great workout!
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