Everyday Systems: shovelglove: message 528 of 649

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Subject: Re: OUCH - and other body signals
From: Ariel King
Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 16:15:54 -0000
    


Hi Reinhard,

Thanks so much for the informative reply. You were wise to start 
gradually. In hindsight, it seems obvious how foolish I was to start 
with a full 14 minutes, knowing how little muscle tone I have in my 
arms. Even though nothing particularly hurt at the time (other than 
the usual aching of muscles being used), it's kind of like getting a 
sunburn: feels ok at the time, but if you have any sense you know 
you will pay for it later if you don't get out of the sun. So what I 
did was dumb, and believe me, the next time I'm able to try this, I 
will do MUCH less. Maybe start with 5 minutes or so. And I'm going 
to wait till my arms are back to normal. I'll try the epsom salts 
tonight (suggested by Richard) - wish me luck. My right arm and back 
are not too bad any more, it's just the left arm with the swelling 
and stiffness. ugh!

Your website does a good job of encouraging a gradual and careful 
start, but maybe a big red note would be helpful for clueless people 
like me, saying IF YOU ARE NOT USED TO WORKING YOUR ARMS, DON'T 
START WITH 14 MINUTES. ;) Anyway, I do not in any way blame you or 
your site for this. Common sense would have told me to start with 
less, but I've never had much of that. Live & learn!

thanks again,
Ariel

--- In , Reinhard Engels 
<beautiful_idiot@y...> wrote:
> 
> Hi Ariel,
> 
> I was inventing the thing as I started, so it was a
> gradual, erratic process. I hadn't thought of the 14
> minute part on day 1. I hadn't thought of the every N
> day part on day one. I hadn't thought of three
> quarters of my moves on day one. It took a few weeks
> before shovelglove became recognizably what it is.
> Since I had no idea that this, unlike every other
> exercise routine I'd ever done, would be something I'd
> stick with for years, I didn't keep very precise
> notes. So unfortunately I can't really answer your
> question, except to say "I started very gradually"
> (though that wasn't completely intentional, and I
> can't give a precise pattern for others to repeat).
> 
> Whenever I introduce a new move (it's been a while
> now) I do feel it the next day. But I don't think
> I've even had quite the soreness you describe. I'm
> sorry to hear it! One important step I took that may
> have helped avoid this: if anything ever hurt, I
> stopped immediately, and took the next day off. This
> didn't happen a lot, and it hasn't for ages now, but
> it did occassionally towards the beginning and it's a
> policy that I suspect may have spared me a lot of
> grief. I strongly encourage you to consider it, too.
> This is described on the home page, but maybe I'll
> emphasize it a bit more. Please do take it easy until
> you're feeling completely well, and then maybe go less
> intensely until you're really comfortable doing the
> movements (and the day after). I think every N day is
> good habit wise, but by all means give yourself more
> space if you need it. Also keep in mind that every day
> doesn't have to be equally intense. The habit part is
> satisfied even if you just stand there sort of holding
> the thing for 14 minutes on a particularly lazy/sore
> day. Keep us posted.
> 
> Best wishes for a speedy recovery,
> 
> Reinhard

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