Shovelglove 101 - Getting Started

Pick up a sledgehammer. Feel its heft. This is one of mankind’s oldest tools. It should feel vaguely familiar: hominids have been swinging weighted sticks for at least twelve thousand generations.

Our earliest bipedal ancestors from 2 million years ago used tools with dexterity equivalent to modern man. Swinging heavy branches and throwing rocks were among the ways that hominids transitioned from a plant- to a meat-based diet, setting in motion the evolutionary trend toward encephalization and the proliferation of anthropoids around the globe. Heavy tool use became an essential, defining feature of the hominid phenotype. Heavy tool use is bred into our very genes.

The first spears were a bit more recent – 350,000 years ago or so. With the ability to fix weights to the end of sticks, the hammer was born. Over those many generations, the human muscular system became exquisitely adapted to swinging and thrusting spears, hammers and similar tools from our quirky bipedal stance.

Shovelglove is not about hitting things with your hammer. Shovelglove is a zero-impact exercise based on swinging and braking the hammer with muscles alone. This type of motion will build a flexible, sinewy, lean, and explosive physique – think boar hunter.

If you aspire more to bulk and raw strength – the body of a mastodon hunter – then you may want to look into traditional sledgehammer training, which consists of striking a large tire or something similar. The heavy impact favors bone density and muscle size over flexibility and control. Also effective for a mastodon-hunting physique are traditional high-weight, low-rep, full-body weightlifting exercises. Even in that context, you may still find shovelglove useful as part of a stretching routine.

I have never been very excited by free weights and resistance machines in gyms. I was searching for a more primal approach to weight training when I found out about shovelglove through a link on MarksDailyApple.com. I immediately recognized the opportunity to reconnect with my ancestors and build the body of a Paleolithic alpha hunter.

I realized that Reinhard had exactly the right idea with his scenario-based shovelglove. But rather than follow his videos, I decided to explore shovelglove on my own, just to see if I might come up with any new ideas by accident. After three months, I’m still learning new motions and perfecting old ones. Although I’ve reinvented the wheel in a number of cases, I did pick up a few new tricks.

Shovelglove is a journey I’ve barely begun. But even though I’m just a novice, I’ve found such joy in “shugging”, and such amazing results on my upper body, that I resolved to write this guide to motivate others to take the same journey. That’s you! Whether you are young or old, male or female, I want you to have a ripped torso and strong back. I want you to feel the raw, primal euphoria that comes from swinging a massive chunk of metal with total control. I am hoping you will rush right out when you’re done reading this and buy a sledgehammer. If there’s no sledgehammer on sale near you, why not pay homage to Reinhard and order one through his online sledgehammer store?

Throughout the ages, flying rocks and metal have maimed and claimed the lives of innumerable wisecracking hairless apes. Don’t be that guy…!

Swinging a weight on a stick is inherently dangerous. There is really no point to any of this if you end up injured. That said, I agree with Reinhard that, performed properly, shovelglove is not risky. But I’m just an amateur with no professional expertise, and you must use your own judgment. In case that wasn't clear enough --

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Here are some tips to consider for maximum safety:

1) PRIMAL DIET. Shovelglove is going to strain every single muscle on your body. You are going to need all the balanced nutrition you can get to control the damage and exploit the opportunity for muscle gain. Following the dietary guidelines of Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint is, in my opinion, the main prerequisite for shovelglove. If you’ve never eaten primally before, I strongly suggest you give yourself a couple of weeks on a pure primal diet before attempting any of this. It’s simply not worth it to risk injury and long recovery from an inappropriate diet. In particular, I recommend lots and lots of bacon (uncured, organic, humanely raised). Boar hunter body, remember?

2) LOW WEIGHT. Start off with a very light sledgehammer. Don’t think that because you’re comfortable with 20 lb. bicep curls that you should be swinging a 20 lb. hammer. Far from it! I’m about 5’10” and 155 pounds, and a 12 lb. hammer is plenty for me. It was almost too heavy for me at first, and my back was quite sore and tingly after my first few sessions. As another example, my wife, who is 5’6” and 125 pounds, swings a 6 lb. hammer (in a very gentle and feminine manner). Heavier weights are not necessary because the physics of levers enable you to get more torque just by swinging harder and faster or adjusting your grip.

3) GENTLE AT FIRST. The average urban dweller has puny upper body muscles. I thought I was decently strong, but I tweaked my back when I started shovelglove (the discomfort went away in a couple of days). One person to whom I recommended shovelglove pulled a muscle simply carrying the hammer from her car. (Perhaps I should have emphasized point 2 a bit more!) Hammers feel so natural in our arms that we are all tempted to overdo it at first. Stick to low reps – about six – for any motion you’ve never done before. And don’t feel like you have to fill up all 14 minutes on your first try. Five minutes is plenty for a first-timer. If you ever feel tingly in your back, call it a day.

4) COLD SHOWER AFTERWARDS. There is simply nothing better for freshly shredded muscles. Blasting cold water will strengthen your circulatory system and rush nutrients to your muscles, leaving you fully refreshed and ready for bacon. (Your body will think you just killed a boar and washed it in the lake.)

5) FULL RECOVERY. Shovelglove satisfies the Primal Blueprint recommendation of heavy lifting for 15-30 minutes, 2-3 times a week. This should give you plenty of time for full recovery between sessions. If your back tingles, or your shoulders or arms are sore, give the hammer and your body a rest that day. Wait until you are fully recovered and can perform with full intensity.

The tape is for improved grip strength. Make sure you wrap the tape from the bottom of the handle towards the head. This ensures that your hands travel with, rather than against, the grain of the tape as they slide away from the head.

Your default standing position is a low, strong stance with torso erect. This will help you brake the hammer and retain your balance. Each of your toes is essential to a strong stance, so be sure to perform barefoot or wearing Vibram Five Fingers.

Control is of the utmost importance and is the main criterion for judging your own technique. Before you swing the hammer, visualize the arcs and lines that represent the ideal motions. Aim for perfect rectilinear and parabolic precision, with the head of the hammer finely aligned in the direction of travel. Strive to deviate as little as possible from this optimum path. Not only will this help you avoid accidents and kill boars more efficiently, but you will develop all sorts of tiny little muscles that you may never have seen before.

Every motion should be done symmetrically, with an equal number of reps on both sides. You should strive for a minimum of six reps with proper form. If you find yourself doing more than 24 reps of a particular motion, try increasing the intensity.

I break with the purists on the subject of MP3 players. Some people prefer the calming sounds of nature and the gentle whispers of the breeze. Personally, I’m at my best with bass-heavy dance tracks on shuffle. For shugging in particular, I recommend electronic body music (Depeche Mode, Assemblage 23, Covenant), happy hardcore techno (Scooter, Aquagen), brooding jungle, drum and bass (Jack Dangers, LTJ Bukem), nerdcore hip-hop (MC Frontalot, MC Hawking), and of course the soaring motifs of the greatest composers of the Romantic period (Wagner, Berlioz).

This week’s article focuses on warm-up exercises designed to get your muscles stretched and joints lubricated. The objective is not to swing hard, but simply to use the momentum of the hammer for assisted stretching. Go for a high number of gentle reps.

I begin every workout with a set of Torso Twists. With the hammer held pointing straight outward and parallel to the ground, swing first in one direction, then the other. Let your spine twist to its full extension in both directions. 16-24 is a good number of reps before switching hands and twisting in the other direction.

Now it’s time to work the Y-axis one-handed with a set of Hail Reinhards. (I get to name the exercises, so stop snickering.) Start with the hammer head down, holding High Grip at full extension. Then curl the head up using your bicep. Then thrust the hammer directly overhead. Back to curl position, and then back down to full extension. These are tougher than the two other motions and you probably won’t manage more than 8-12 per set.