How Many Calories Do you Burn Shoveling Snow?
Well, if you weigh 200 pounds you can burn over 400 calories if you shovel heavy snow for 30 minutes. Although shoveling snow can be good exercise if done right, there are health concerns and risks of injury.
A high-intensity exercise, snow shoveling is quite demanding on the cardiovascular system. For some people, it is more demanding than running on a treadmill at maximum speed.
Some smart shoveling techniques and safety precautions to keep in mind:
• Stay away from caffeine or smoking if you know you will soon be going outside to shovel snow. Stimulants may cause blood vessels to contract and pulse to increase.
• Layer up and drink plenty of water beforehand.
• Make sure to stretch out your back, arm, and leg muscles before clearing snow from driveways and sidewalks. March in place for a little while or do some kind of warm up exercise to loosen your muscles.
• It is important to stand with your feet spaced shoulder width apart and facing the direction in which you are shoveling.
• Lift and bend at the knees. If you feel any pain, stop shoveling immediately.
• Don’t twist at the waist or try to bend when moving snow. Instead, move and turn towards the place where the snow is supposed to go, and drop it there.
• Shovel in small sections and don’t overload your shovel.
