Fire Coal: Sledgehammer Exercise

Fire Coal: Sledgehammer exercise

This exercise is meant to imitate the movement of a locomotive 'Fireman' shoveling coal on the footplate of a steam engine. Having heard an interesting anecdote attesting to the impressive abdominal strength of coal shoveling 'Firemen' on steam trains, I became interested in researching HOW this movement was done. There are a few photographs of men 'firing coal' to be found online. They help us understand the basic position of the Fireman: stooped over with a short shovel. But WATCHING a Fireman at work would be much better... So not only is the Fireman stooped over as he shovels, but he is also rotating back and forth between the coal chute behind him and the steam boiler at the front of the locomotive. This works the Abs by creating a perpetual 'crunch' position while the body rotation works other parts of the core muscles.
Admittedly, you can also hurt your lower back this way if you are not careful. So how do we approximate a safe version of this movement with our sledgehammer / shovelglove? Start by holding the hammer with one hand near the head. Place the palm of the other hand on the end of the handle. Position the head horizontally and parallel to the ground. Now imagine you are sliding the coal shovel along the bed of the coal chute at waist level. Then rotate your waist and put the coal into the furnace near your legs. Twist the hammer head vertically to 'dump' the coal out. Remember to engage your Abs. Some trains did dump the coal directly on the floor of the footplate and had a very low furnace mouth. You can take a deeper stance when 'firing coal' if you wish, but be careful not to harm yourself.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• exercise
• workout
• sledgehammer
• shovelglove
• steam train
• steam engine
• coal
• shovel

[ProzacPreacher]

Nice vid :) People need to learn the difference between backpain and a tired back. Nothing wrong with a tired back, it just needs rest. Once people know this, they can start doing bent-over exercises and start doing some light lifts/workouts with a rounded back

[Djemps]

@ProzacPreacher Well I agree that there's nothing wrong with a sore back, just like biceps and other muscles get sore after a workout. But unfortunately many people have never done enough daily chores to truly have a healthy and strong back, so it is a lot easier to mess things up.

[mrobinsonca]

Excellent video! It was great to see footage of coal shovelers in action. Nice song too!

[Djemps]

@mrobinsonca Thanks!

[TheAmericanCreep]

Sledgehammering anything is just a kick ass way to build a solid core/shoulder girdle/ back...keep it up bro !

[Djemps]

@TheAmericanCreep Thanks for the encouragement. This exercise is on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to sledge workouts. But its meant as a supplement to add to other exercises. When I want to go crazy with the hammer I've found that a pile of dirt or gravel is a great target to strike if you don't have a tire around.

[fuzzylogic57]

Great video, good research. Thank you for putting it together.

[guiltybystander77]

Yeah, I suppose.

[Djemps]

I wouldn't disagree at all. This is a supplemental exercise aimed for urban people who don't have much room outside to 'work'. Now that the spring is here I have plenty of jobs lined up for myself. But some folks don't even have enough space for a rooftop garden. There are a lot of complex 'work' motions you can do with a sledge inside your kitchen if you can't get outside.

[guiltybystander77]

I can't understand why anyone would bother 'miming' work when you could do real work. You could start a garden and use a shovel to spread mulch. You could also split actual wood with a real maul or wedge and hammer to get a serious complex-movement workout.