Everyday Systems: shovelglove: message 62 of 649

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Allan,

Welcome to the group! Sledgehammer or no, I'm happy
the site has inspired you to come up with a more
engaging workout. And I'm impressed at what you've
manage to come up with in what, maybe a day.

The shovelglove is to some degree just a prop for your
imagination. It's a very good prop, I think, but
others will do also. As you've clearly grasped, the
critical thing is to engage your imagination, to make
the movements interesting. 

As I previously posted, when I was on vacation a few
months ago, and without my shovelglove, I kept to my
14 minute daily routine, but had to resort to
ordinary, conventional exercises (pushups, situps,
etc.). I sometimes think I could have made better use
of available "props," moved the furniture around or
something. This is a bit of a moot point now, because
I've got a kid on the way and vacation is about to
become a thing of the past, but the ideal shovelglove
master should be able to find himself in any room,
with good props or no props, and imagine himself into
the work of his ancestors. Your resourcefulness in
using the materials at hand is impressive. The names
are great too. It seems like such a trifling detail,
but it's important.

Looking forward to hearing more from you,

Reinhard

--- "D." <allan2015@...> wrote:
> Alright, Reinhard!
> 
> Thanks for the great inspiration! Taking your cue
> from
> the shovelglove, I sat down and created a "working
> the
> mines" workout, using dumbbells and a curl bar. (I
> have the opportunity to workout three hours a week
> at
> work and no way I'm not taking advantage of it! So
> no
> sledgehammers but plenty of weights to make it
> work.) 
> 
> I picked the heaviest dumbbell to squat and carry
> down
> at my sides across the room. This was "carrying
> rocks."
> Another to squat, curl, and carry arms bent around
> the
> room. Then I pressed them overhead one at a time.
> This
> is "passing the bricks." Then I cleaned and pressed
> a
> curl bar to my back and carried this around the
> room.
> This was obviously another version of "carrying
> rocks." 
> 
> Took single 35 lb weight, held at arms length to the
> side, pulled it in, turned and pushed it the other
> way. Like a weightlifters version of "bucket
> brigade."
> 
> Finally added some swings and bent lat rows without
> a
> bench to simulate hoisting a counterbalance and
> lifting a rock from a worker below me on another
> ledge.
> 
> I gotta tell you it was one of the best whole body
> workouts I've had in a long time, and I was doing
> 45-55 minutes of body weight cals a day. My upper
> body
> is feeling it and climbing the stairs back to my
> office was a chore from the squats and lunges I
> incorporated into "hoisting my rocks." 
> 
> You have a great, great idea, Reinhard. The mental
> imagery to me is one of the greatest parts of these
> types of workouts, not to mention that it is
> FUNctional! 
> 
> For those who prefer more medieval imagery, instead
> of
> farming, think of digging a moat or trenches,
> chopping
> trees for spikes, or, as you say "smiting the orcs."
> 
> What a blast!
> Thanks again, Reinhard.
> 
> =====
> "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;
> He thinks too much: such men are dangerous."
> -- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene
> 2
> 
> 
> 
> 
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