Shoveling Your Way to Health & Happiness

Snow shoveling is hard work. Each winter I hear reports of people dropping in their driveways due to cardiac failure. Less mentioned but more common is the strained back and/or shoulder. I like shoveling. I have to. I do it every winter. Usually my husband helps me, but his boss told him they were going to a meeting in Boston today so he left pretty early this morning. I scoffed, Boston's going to get hit harder than us. Once my husband got to his Connecticut office, Boston cancelled due to snow. Well, duh.

I've never even owned a snow-blower (I'm probably too light and too short to properly direct one anyway). I know there are a lot of time and labor-saving devices available, but part of my luddite-nature refuses to allow me to become so dependent. If I can do it myself, I will, especially if I feel that the action isn't harming me, but making me stronger. (I'm reminded of the Earthlings in the animated flick Wall-E who have lost their ability to walk.) This probably explains why we drag hand-trucks and wheelbarrows of firewood up to the house for our wood-burning stove. And why my husband plans to go to a 2-day bow-making course.

I don't wear headphones (sunglasses are a good idea though, to protect from snow blindness, but they get very steamed up from the exertion), preferring to hear the birds at the feeder, and the sound of wind, vehicles straining to make it up our 30° hill, snow blowers in the distance. The Verizon tech didn't make it up the hill today either and has rescheduled for next Friday (sigh), which means I'll plan another combo workout for Thursday, my birthday. Oh hell, what better way to celebrate? I'm dreaming of a mouth-watering prime-rib or porterhouse for two, rare and bloody. Hmmmm. Next week starts "Restaurant Week" in the Hudson Valley... Yum...

Cleared Walkway!

Snow shoveling is exercise. It raises your heart rate, gets you hot and sweaty, makes your back, shoulders, legs and arms tired (if you're doing it right). It's also immensely satisfying because the end result is something you can see: a cleared walkway and driveway.

Websites have suggested that for a 150 lb person, approximately 450 calories are burned per hour. I certainly hope nobody's shoveling for more than an hour straight. I'm on my 2nd break right now, resting before tackling unburying my car, and shoveling a path out to it from the walkway. I'll shovel for about 30-45 minutes before resting. Sometimes I'll just stop and watch the chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmouses, finches and sparrows. I like to see their tiny feathery footprints in the snow.

The Popular Mechanics website offers tips for snow shoveling, but I find item #6 to be the most useful:

6. Maintain proper posture:

A. Use your leg muscles as much as possible - push snow when you can and use your legs to lift when you can't push it.
B. Keep your back straight as you move from the squat position to the upright position.
C. Use your shoulder muscles as much as possible.
D. Hold the snow shovel as close to your upper body as possible.
E. Keep one hand close to the shovel blade for better leverage.
F. Don't twist your upper body as you throw snow.

Read more: 16 Cardinal Rules for Snow Shovelling - Popular Mechanics

Be healthy and be safe, but don't be lazy. Back to the gym on Monday! Next week promises weather in the 50s so Spring is definitely in the air! That means summer, and bare arms and legs (and ugh! mosquitoes) will be here sooner than you think.