Shovelglove works the abs! Official Annecdotal Evidence!

[library_guy]

I strained an abdominal muscle trying a trick with my dance partner. It's a really mild strain, but I can feel it. I took Monday off, but I decided to shug today. (What can I say? I'm addicted to my 14 minutes!) I tried everything out with my walking stick first and I used the eight pound hammer after that.
Most things were fine, but "pop the lock" and "chopping wood" were out of the question. Also, the normal shoveling made the sore muscle very unhappy. I had to to do a modified shovel where the hammer head didn't reach lower than my waist. I really do believe that shoveglove works the abs.

[fungus]

I strained an abdominal muscle ... "pop the lock" and "chopping wood" were out of the question.

Shovelglove definitely works the abs, like Reinhard says.

If you want to increase the effect on the abs, do things with the hammer head as far away from your body as possible.

Try chop the wood but keep the handle of the hammer in front of your body instead of letting it pass behind you.

e.g. If your right hand is near the head of the hammer and the left hand on the handle. Raise the hammer as normal (high over the shoulder if you want to work your pecs) but keep the left hand just in front of the left hip as the hammer comes down. Don't let the left hand actually touch the hip, keep it just in front (very important!)

Fifty of those on either side should leave your abs burning (not to mention your shoulders).

I'm an experimenter and one of the things I like most about SG is that you can get completely different effects just by varying the movements a little like this.

[library_guy]

Good tips, fungus. I will try that when I'm feeling 100%. . . . I guess my evidence can't be that official if I don't have the correct spelling of anecdotal.

[reinhard]

Until someone funds me to build a lab, anecdotal evidence is the best I can hope for -- thanks!

I fished up an article in men's fitness that sounds like almost as if it was written with shovelglove in mind:

From:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... _n13667727

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, NOBODY HAD EVER heard of six-pack abs, but plenty of guys had them--even though they didn't have access to 24-hour health clubs or "scientifically" designed exercise machines. Instead they built their abs in the gym of everyday life, usually doing outdoor work such as chopping wood, tilling fields, and stacking hay--movements that built stronger, more powerful, and better-looking midsection muscles than those of some of the most fit men today, We're not suggesting you give up your cubicle, your office, or your indoor job, but we do say forget nearly everything you've been told about how to build your abs: Most of it was a lie.

Lie 1 Targeting your six-pack is the best way to work your abs

The truth: Your abs are designed to work with other muscles as much as they're designed to work with each other. For instance, the rectus abdominis--the official name for the six-pack muscle--shares connective tissue with the lower chest. In other words, your lower pecs are honorary abdominal muscles. So by exclusively doing exercises such as crunches that target only your rectus abdominis--a trend that started in the 1980's--you're actually underworking your abs. And that means you won't achieve optimal development. Keep in mind that most "ab" exercises don't truly isolate your rectus abdominis anyway. In fact, the six-pack provides just 20% of the pulling power in a situp, says Stuart McGill, Ph.D., author of Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance.

Reinhard

[fungus]

" ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, NOBODY HAD EVER heard of six-pack abs, but plenty of guys had them"

The best abs I know are on some Brazilian friends who do Capoeira. They don't do any 'crunches', or sit ups. They just wave their legs around a lot.

Lie 1 Targeting your six-pack is the best way to work your abs

I'm pretty sure it must do *something* to increase abdominal strength but it's probably not the best way to get yourself a pretty belly.

All those abdominal machines on TV are a total waste of money. The belly may be where the fat reserves are nut working the belly isn't the way to use them up. You'll do a lot more for abdominal definition by eating one less Oreo per day than doing 100 crunches.