shovelling snow

A lot. I'm pretty sure it's listed in the exercise area. I always just count it as bonus calories burned that day, and don't log it.

Search for "snow" under Cardiovascular and choose "Shoveling snow." The estimated Calories burned per minute added to the Exercise Diary is a function of a user's current weight.

The MFP number seems high so I usually log only half my actual shoveling time.

peter56765 wrote: »

The MFP number seems high so I usually log only half my actual shoveling time.

That's typically what I do too.

I was curious about this myself, a few weeks ago, in wanting to compare what my heart rate monitor indicated, versus what any guideline estimate might happen to be.

One problem I have, conceptually, with any such estimate, is that there should not be only one number conveyed for estimated calorie burn rates associated with the activity in question -- the type (and subsequent weight) of snow involved will make quite a bit of difference in the strength and cardio aspects associated with shovelling said snow, and thus can result in quite a range of calories being burned...


When I scoured about online, to find some sort of as-a-function-of-the-type-of-snow estimation, I ran into the following:

http://www.lisamerrill.com/Exercise/ShovelingSnow Feb11.shtml


I found it interesting that the < Brutal midwest and east coast “poundings” of wet snow OR the plow just came though and blocked your driveway (“I’m going to die” effort)
Kilo weight X 12.0 = calories per hour > estimation was close to what my as-determined-by-a-heart-rate-monitor calorie burn rate ended up being, when shovelling a nearly 17" dump of wet snow (along with the plow-came-through-and-blocked-the-driveway, packed icy snow aspect).


Additionally, because we had received many inches of snow over the previous few weeks, had sustained frigid temps for days on end, and had existing snow 'mounds' on top of which shovelled snow needed to be placed/'flung' -- and after several hours of 20+mph winds sculpting some of the most recent 'dumpage' -- the effort involved in having to exert enough oomph in order to lift and/or fling the snow on the quasi-mountainous 'borders', as well as the 'stabbing' actions needed to cut through some of the iced sections (associated with packed-icy-snow consequences in the wake of snowplows carving into and shoving aside the mess on the street, and leaving it for residents to hack-shovel somewhere else), required non-trivial physical exertion (to say the least! ), when shovelling it.

My calorie burn for those many minutes (a series of hours, actually), as a 150lb, cardiovascularly fit female who somehow managed to parse, lift, and fling a felt-like-neverending amount of snow, and cut through what seemed like low-lying glaciers at the end of the driveway, was -- per my heart rate monitor -- just over 14 calories per minute. And it was very wet snow... I had to action partial shovelfuls, and 'remove' only ~1.5-2 inch -high sections/slabs of the blown-flat snow, due to how ridiculously heavy anywhere near a full shovel ended up being (as I learned, any such thing was essentially unliftable by me, and would put me at risk of pulling a muscle, etc., if I tried to 'force it', and so I 'backed off' when any shovelful was accidentally dangerously heavy (otherwise, I gutted it out, and got one heck of a workout)).

A subsequent snow-not-as-heavy bit of shovelling (and which felt like a cakewalk compared to the previous 'marathon' test of strength), a few days later, involved a calorie burn rate of (and again, per my hrm) approximately 10 calories per minute.

I found it interesting that despite the dramatically different 'perceived exertion level' between those two shovelling events, it was still possible to burn approximately 10 calories per minute during what felt like a comparably 'easy' session.

tomatoey wrote: »

People have heart attacks doing this, guys

Yes... the only reasons I continued in doing what I did, and for as long as I did it, was due to my cardiovascular fitness, strength, and stamina being what they were/are, and given that I didn't end up having any cramp, muscle strain, or 'issue' in engaging in the action until a few hours into the activity -- when an I-recognize-it sensation of electrolyte-loss-based-whisper-of-a-telltale-cramp 'tapped me on the shoulder', and I knew it was time to stop (and did). I had run out of the electrolyte replacement liquid I'd brought out (what with my not anticipating a shovelling episode that would last as long as it did).

Had I not engaged in the kind of sustained cardio and strength activity/workouts that I had, over the course of many months preceding that shovelling episode, there is no way I would have been able to do what I did (not even close).