Is shoveling snow a workout or not!?!?!?!?!
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If it's out of the ordinary it is definitely a workout! If you do it everyday, maybe not.0
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hell yeah it's a workout and a fine one at that. Unless you live in Florida...the we know your are cheating. LOL It's the only reason i like the snow actually, if I have to shovel to get out of my drive to go to work, I get an extra snack...yay!0
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Yes it's a workout; but try not to re-consume whatever calories you burned with too many rewards. It's probably fewer calories than you think.0
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400 - 600 calories per hour, according to Web MD.
webmd.com/parenting/fun-and-fit-family-11/calorie-burners
I wore my heart rate monitor the other day and didn't burn quite that much. 324 in almost an hour and a half. I went out for a follow-up shovel but didn't wear the HRM.
I wouldn't log it if it were only 30 minutes, but when I'm out there for 90 minutes to 2 hours I'd say that's legit. The stuff is heavy and I'm throwing it onto piles that now reach my shoulder. I didn't eat back the calories, though I usually eat back some on my regular workouts (when I burn 430-500+).
Yes, I imagine that the estimate was for an average size person but can vary according to effort/size/build/muscle composition. It does, however, burn calories and I, for one, am happy I live in a warm place now. I don't miss it at all!0 -
I live in Chicago too. Yes, shoveling snow is a workout!! Especially the stuff we had this week.0
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I shoveled for 2 hours on Monday by myself. My fitbit only recorded 250 cals burned???
I was drenched in sweat, my lungs on fire and aching all day.
The sad part of all this was while I was shoveling, not one of the many men who were plowing their driveways offered to help!
The old lady across from me came over to help!!
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Get a Subaru and you will never get stuck. Especially with a good set of snow tires too!! You'll be pulling people out!
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lauraripson wrote: »
Get a Subaru and you will never get stuck. Especially with a good set of snow tires too!! You'll be pulling people out!
I have an xterra with 4 wheel and extremely aggressive snow tires. If I get stuck, I deserve to lose a digit or two to frostbite.
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There are cautions with counting activities like shoveling snow: one is that there is no consistent definition for the activity, so activity calculators will be all over the map and not very reliable; HRMs will overestimate because of the excessive arm work and frequent breath holding. Some people will shovel more continuously, others more intermittently. Secondly, the high level of muscular effort/fatigue can make it seem more intense than it actually is. And finally, doing something fatiguing like snow shoveling can result in a sharp reduction in casual activity (or exercise) afterwards, offsetting some or even most of the calorie burn.
So while the effort/calorie burn during snow shoveling is not negligible, you have to look at the big picture.0 -
There are cautions with counting activities like shoveling snow: one is that there is no consistent definition for the activity, so activity calculators will be all over the map and not very reliable; HRMs will overestimate because of the excessive arm work and frequent breath holding. Some people will shovel more continuously, others more intermittently. Secondly, the high level of muscular effort/fatigue can make it seem more intense than it actually is. And finally, doing something fatiguing like snow shoveling can result in a sharp reduction in casual activity (or exercise) afterwards, offsetting some or even most of the calorie burn.
So while the effort/calorie burn during snow shoveling is not negligible, you have to look at the big picture.
This!!! ^^^^
That's why I only count real workouts.0 -
BEERRUNNER wrote: »My routine is shovel, wine, break and then shovel......
Since you're already eating....err, drinking...back your calories, I wouldn't worry about it.
:drinker:0 -
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I would log it (although I'm praying we don't get any heavy snow this year). Last year, I dug my car and my 2 sisters' cars out of the parking lot and cleaned all 3 cars off. I was out there for like 90 minutes, and by the time I was done, I felt like I had run a marathon. At the time I wasn't on MFP (it happened right before I got serious about losing weight), but that was a serious workout for me. I'm surprised I didn't keel over.0
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I shoveled for 2 hours on Monday by myself. My fitbit only recorded 250 cals burned???
I was drenched in sweat, my lungs on fire and aching all day.
The sad part of all this was while I was shoveling, not one of the many men who were plowing their driveways offered to help!
The old lady across from me came over to help!!
That is a shame........No worries I would have shoveled it all for you in exchange for sharing a bottle of wine with yours truly 0 -
There are cautions with counting activities like shoveling snow: one is that there is no consistent definition for the activity, so activity calculators will be all over the map and not very reliable; HRMs will overestimate because of the excessive arm work and frequent breath holding. Some people will shovel more continuously, others more intermittently. Secondly, the high level of muscular effort/fatigue can make it seem more intense than it actually is. And finally, doing something fatiguing like snow shoveling can result in a sharp reduction in casual activity (or exercise) afterwards, offsetting some or even most of the calorie burn.
So while the effort/calorie burn during snow shoveling is not negligible, you have to look at the big picture.
If I am outside shoveling 2+ feet of snow consistently for 2 hours you bet I'm going to count those calories as being burned.
Perhaps if the snow was made out of Fairy Dust and it weighed nothing then I could see not counting it but when it feels like I am shoveling bricks and I'm sore the next day then yeah. I'm pretty sure I exerted myself.
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It depends on what we are talking about for shoveling. I have visited friends in southern PA that will spend so much time "shoveling" a few inches off their driveway/walks. Really they are pushing a shovel. In upstate NY I know I'm not alone in that if I shoveled every time it snowed I wouldn't get much else done...so I don't shovel until I can't move my car...in that case (snow tires) I am shoveling accumulation of 6-24+" as fast as I can because I'm going to be late for work and no one will accept "the roads were bad" as an excuse around here. Its enough shoveling that my whole body will ache for a couple days and despite below zero temps I am sweating my butt off. I would say that definitely counts as a really good workout.0
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I logged shoveling snow when i was in Boston 2 weeks ago because it was the only exercise I got that day.0
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