Anyone who’s ever shoveled it know it’s hard work. If you shovel snow, consider that your workout for the day. It takes as much energy to shovel snow as it does to swim laps for 20 minutes. Just 15 minutes of vigorous shoveling constitutes a moderate workout of aerobic and weight lifting exercises.
High Risk Factors
Although many people don’t think about it, shoveling snow can harm or even kill someone. Besides slipping on the snow (or ice) snow shoveling is dangerous because of the demand upon the back, heart and blood pressure. What’s more, the strain of shoveling makes the body constrict arteries and blood vessels because of the cold temperature. Add all this together and you double or even triple the odds of a heart attack.
People who should not shovel include people with a history of heart disease or heart attack, as well as smokers. Also, if you’re overweight or have a sedentary lifestyle, don’t try it. Anyone with high cholesterol or high blood pressure is also at high risk.
Rather than risk your health or even worse, your life, hire the job done. Call for a service or look in your yellow pages or newspaper classifieds for people who shovel snow.
Dress Appropriately
It’s important to dress warmly because you can get hypothermia, a disease in body temperature, if you get over chilled.
Dress in layers. This way you can peel off a layer as your body temperature warms up.
Protect hands, ears and face. By wearing gloves, a woolen scarf and a warm hat, you protect skin from frostbite.
Wear skid proof boots. Snow can be slippery. Make sure your boots or shoes have exceptional traction so you won’t fall.
Before Shoveling
Don’t drink caffeinated drinks. Caffeine can dehydrate you, as well as constrict blood vessels and increase your heart rate.
Don’t smoke. The cold air restricts blood vessels, as well as smoking, making a dangerous mix.
Drink plenty of fluids. You don’t want to get dehydrated as the energy from shoveling results in a loss of body fluids.
Warm Up First
Don’t wait until just before shovel. Start warming up with exercises inside when the first snow begins to fall.
Walk indoors. Take a short walk in the safety of your home, as well as a few minutes of calisthenics before going outside.
Stretch muscles. Do a few stretching exercises for the arm muscles and lower back.
Condition muscles. Do exercises such as bicep curls and pushups.
How to Shovel
Make sure your shovel has open ends so you can push the snow to the side. Push into the snow, using your legs and not your back. From the center of the snow, walk the snow to each edge. After moving each load to an edge, swing the bare shovel in the reverse direction.
Additional Tips
Don’t overextend yourself as shoveling places a toll on your body. Take short breaks. Go indoors for a juice break. Just don’t drink caffeine or smoke. Also, be careful not to step on black ice.
Sprinkle Salt after Shoveling
When the work is done, it’s tempting to call it quits. However, check your weather forecast. If the weather predicts freezing temperatures and precipitation, sprinkle rock salt on your driveway, sidewalks and steps to remove any remaining snow. This will melt the snow and give peace of mind as you won’t have to worry about slipping on ice when it freezes.
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