Shoveling Snow page

[Grannysmith]

We had our first Snow this morning; about three inches of the heavy stuff. I always try to remove snow from my 100 foot drive by hand with a shovel when ever possible (still use a push mower on 2 acres, all my neighbors think I’m crazy while their driving their John Deer’s, gut’s down past their waist, beer in hand, cigars in mouths). As I was moving this cement like material this morning, I was wondering.........

Is shoveling snow;
Lifting Heavy-things?
Moving slowly?
Cardio?
Sprinting?
or
All of the above, while being out in nature?

Thoughts?

[primalrob]

Is shoveling snow;
Lifting Heavy-things?
Moving slowly?
Cardio?
Sprinting?
or
All of the above, while being out in nature?

Thoughts?

this depends a lot on your fitness level. i can spend all day shoveling snow and just call it moving slowly because i'm just not working that hard compared to my workouts. sometimes i'll just go nuts digging out a trail for my dog to pee, and i'll call that a sprint workout, but mostly it's just moderate exercise outside for me.
it could easily be all of the above for you, but i think that's something you need to determine, and something you need to choose to do.

[Grannysmith]

Shoveling the snow by hand eats into (replaces) my normal workout time. Today happen to be a Sprint day for me, so I guess from what your saving I could have turned that into a sprint workout by how I attacked it. Meaning if I had shoveled in short spurts but very quickly, then rest, repeat, you could consider that sprinting even though the snow weighed about 75lbs a shovel load.

I just don’t hear to much about yard work and how it compares to static exercises. I wore a Body bugg for a while and was amazed at how many calories you burn raking the yard or painting your house. I tiled the kitchen last year and I purposely put the tile saw in the garage so I had to climb the stairs twice for each tiled laid. According to the bugg (I’m not obsessed with calories was just trying to get a better idea of what my actual calories needs are on any given day) I was burning 5,000 calories a day (thats a lot of Plants and animals). To me there is no better exercise then yard/house work. Not only do you get a great workout, you get shit done on top of it.

BTW I know its says I’m a newbie but I have been on the Primal Blue Print for two years. Lost 70lbs, and all the good stuff that goes with it (off 6 medications, energy). Had a riding mower, but thought why not “kill to birds with one stone”. I have also added chickens and a greenhouse to grow the best Nutritional food I possible can year round. I raise Tilapia and grow vegetables hydrophonicly with the fish water. Great setup and keeps me moving. Just wondering how you add these activities into your workout and then augment appropriately at the gym. Just doing some fine tuning.

[primalrob]

you could definitely call that sprint workout. it really all has to do with heart rate and intensity. there's also a case to be made for 75lb shovel loads. i--personally--wouldn't let that replace a lifting workout, but only because my workouts are training toward specific goals (pistols, muscle up, etc.), but in general i would say it's a good replacement. i used to count moving rocks as a great workout, but ran out of rocks. mark actually has some great posts from a year or two ago about things you can do in replace of working out in a gym; do a search for 'workout of the week'.

it is amazing how much movement and effort can go into yard work. i sort of miss having a hard now that i'm in a city. i used to actually mow the lawn (not 2 acres worth) with a reel mower just for the extra workout. i think a lot of people here do yard work as a way to get some exercise, but count it mostly as moving slowly rather than a dedicated workout.

congrats on your success, and all the stuff that you are growing/raising. are you anywhere near manchester? i'd love to get buy some decent local eggs.

[Dirlot]

30cm of wet snow cleared off paths yesterday....great core and upper body workout.

[Grannysmith]

I'm in Rochester, so a little long of a drive for eggs, but you should be able to find a good source of free rang eggs close by. Look on craigs list or a good health food store nearby, farmers market. I ride a lot of the dirt roads around Manchester and see farms selling eggs all the time. I'll jot down a Lat and Long for ya the next time I see one and you can do some egg hunting with your GPS. If your going to be in area and would like to check out my setup just drop me a note. Work from home so.....

[arthurb999]

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