Everyday Systems: shovelglove: message 528 of 649

Note: This is an archived message from our old discussion software. Join the current discussion here.

    


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