Everyday Systems: shovelglove: message 67 of 649

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I wanted to share my first attempt at a shovelglove
workout with everyone. The post may run long, hope you
don't mind. 

First let me say I bought a 10 lb and an 8 lb sledge.
I have a 17 and an 11 year old son who want to do this
with me. They had no 12 lb at Home Depot. The 10 is
right for me and my teenager, I need to get a smaller,
4 lb for my 11 year old. Just in case you are going to
get your kids involved, too. 

And a quick note - I did my workout outside, neighbors
be damned. It was 95* outside and the sun was high, I
figure they had to work in the heat in the old days, I
will try it, too!

To the workout: 
_____________________________________

I decided to base the workout on a scenario. I called
it "preparing the defenses."

First, I had to "clear the land," better known as
mowing the lawn for you mundanes. You can skip this
part if your castle or village does not have a
prairie.

Next was to "dig the moat." This consisted of
shoveling over each shoulder 10x, to each side 10x,
and to the front 10x. I finished the motion because I
liked what one poster wrote here, that he couldn't
imagine shoveling without putting the dirt somewhere.

Then, we had to "row across the river" to get to the
forest. This consisted of kneeling on one knee and
rowing x20, switching sides and rowing another 20x.

Next, we chopped down trees to use in the palisade.
This was "chopping trees" for 20x each side. 

Then you "load the lumber" onto the boat. This was
done by squatting with the shovelglove held at arms
length downward at a 45* in front of you, rising and
then, with a shift of body weight to that side,
thrusting the shovelglove sideways while still 
holding it horizontally in front of you. Think of
actually loading a board onto the back of a pick up
truck, this is the motion I used. This was done 10x
each side.

Then we "rowed back across the river," using the rows
used earlier.

Then we had to "drive the poles," as described on the
site, 20x each side. This was to set up the village
defenses <grin>. 

Afterwards, we "packed the dirt," which is basically
churn butter except the shovelglove was held lower
with the head almost on the ground, 20x. 

Once we completed the days work, we "celebrated" by
hoisting the shovelglove overhead with two hands 3x,
shifting grip and hoisting another 3x. 

And finally, we "saluted" the king and his entourage
as they reviewed our handiwork. This was done by
holding the sloglo down at the side, and using only
forearms if you can, raise it so it is straight in
front of you, elbow at your side and forearm parallel
to the ground. This was done 3x each arm (there were a
lot of officials in the parade. ;-) 

AND FINALLY - WE HAD A BLAST! My teenager loves
swinging the sloglo and the imagery of it all,as do I.
I need to get a 4 lb for my 11 year old but we will
all be doing this soon. We are both a little sore
across the upper back, shoulders, and traps, but this
is a good sore, I assure you. One caveat - I didnt'
get his done in 14 minutes. It took 20. (I don't know
if you could workout like this much longer than that
anyway. Makes one wonder how they actually built
castles and pyramids with manual labor!)

In our next workout, we are going to "fight off the
invaders," since we just "prepared the defenses." This
will be mostly swinging, chopping, and thrusting
movements. If anyone wants to read about it, let me
know, as I do not want to take up a lot of bandwidth
with these kind of posts if others are not interested.


Sorry its so long. I enjoyed it so much though that I
wanted to share it with the other enthusiasts. 

Happy shovelgloving!
-- Allan 

=====
"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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