Shoveling SNOW

RowingBill
RowingBill Posts: 36 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm glad to see snow shoveling is in the exercise data base. I used minimal time because the snow was rather light but deep.

Replies

  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    Don't worry about it. Household chores like shoveling, mowing the lawn, etc. are exercise, but not enough logging to adjust calories. You can write a note to remind yourself that you did it, but I wouldn't adjust the calories. Trying to log exercises to manipulate calorie intake isn't realistic because daily activity changes.
  • Kyrenora
    Kyrenora Posts: 133 Member
    Warchortle wrote: »
    Don't worry about it. Household chores like shoveling, mowing the lawn, etc. are exercise, but not enough logging to adjust calories. You can write a note to remind yourself that you did it, but I wouldn't adjust the calories. Trying to log exercises to manipulate calorie intake isn't realistic because daily activity changes.

    With the size of my lawn and driveway, it's definitely worth logging it as exercise. I'll be pouring sweat before I'm even 1/10th of the way done. Do I log every time I put a dish in the washer? No, but if I spend a couple hours cleaning, carrying toys and laundry baskets up and down stairs, that's absolutely going in my log. My Fitbit takes care of the changes in my daily activity levels.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Kyrenora wrote: »
    Warchortle wrote: »
    Don't worry about it. Household chores like shoveling, mowing the lawn, etc. are exercise, but not enough logging to adjust calories. You can write a note to remind yourself that you did it, but I wouldn't adjust the calories. Trying to log exercises to manipulate calorie intake isn't realistic because daily activity changes.

    With the size of my lawn and driveway, it's definitely worth logging it as exercise. I'll be pouring sweat before I'm even 1/10th of the way done. Do I log every time I put a dish in the washer? No, but if I spend a couple hours cleaning, carrying toys and laundry baskets up and down stairs, that's absolutely going in my log. My Fitbit takes care of the changes in my daily activity levels.

    This^^^^ I've actually used shoveling in place of going to the gym some days if it's too early in the AM to run the snow blower. It can take me upwards of an hour, hour and a half to do the driveway and sidewalk, especially if it's a wet heavy snow. I can be dripping sweat by the time I get done. Ya, if I just go out an sweep the steps off it's not exercise, but a full blown shovel the driveway definitely can be plenty enough exercise to shovel.
  • lindsayh87
    lindsayh87 Posts: 167 Member
    I logged my snow shoveling yesterday. If it's super light snow then I either don't log it or only log 1/2 the time I'm out there. Yesterday I was sweating and definitely had my heart rate up a bit for the 45 minutes I was out there! I still only put in 30 minutes worth. I don't have to shovel every day so I think it can be counted as above and beyond my daily household chores! :) Happy winter, where you get your work out in clearing the driveway!
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Anyone who says shoveling snow doesn't count as exercise obviously hasn't done a lot of it!
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    Anyone who says shoveling snow doesn't count as exercise obviously hasn't done a lot of it!

    No kidding! I was visiting my folks in Texas a few weeks ago and they had the most snow to fall in the past ~30 years. I spent about 10 hours total over three days, shoveling and breaking ice to clear it out enough.

    Hard on the hands and back, for sure.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    between the ice and the snow plow snow, it's totally exercise
  • RowingBill
    RowingBill Posts: 36 Member
    Yeah, I thought it was a good workout to include in my diary. Lifting and pushing the frozen stuff gets my heart pumping.
  • Last_mango_in_paradise
    Last_mango_in_paradise Posts: 48 Member
    Warchortle wrote: »
    Don't worry about it. Household chores like shoveling, mowing the lawn, etc. are exercise, but not enough logging to adjust calories. You can write a note to remind yourself that you did it, but I wouldn't adjust the calories. Trying to log exercises to manipulate calorie intake isn't realistic because daily activity changes.

    Sorry but I have to disagree with you on this one. It's not as though you're outside shoveling every day. Depending on the storm and how much snow I get I can conceivably be outside shoveling for close to or even over two hours at a time.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    all My neighbors are 80-95 years old I did 5 houses yesturday then my own so 6 but with a snow blower so it was like 7000 steps..lol..
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I've never considered logging it, my driveway is only about 10 metres long and usually only takes a few minutes to do (unless we have a big dump of wet snow), for me it's bonus calories that help offset other logging inaccuracies .....the mess left by the plow at the end of the driveway is more of a pain (but I cheat and pay a neighbour with a snowblower....)
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    Having to shovel snow is why I moved to Arizona.
  • Bella0531
    Bella0531 Posts: 309 Member
    moyer566 wrote: »
    between the ice and the snow plow snow, it's totally exercise

    Ugh, the snow plow snow at the end of the driveway is the WORST! Just when you think you're done...nope...here comes the plow again!
  • xxghost
    xxghost Posts: 4,697 Member
    We received over a foot of snow in only a matter of hours yesterday morning, and it snowed for the rest of the day. You'd be crazy not to log that as exercise!
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    Warchortle wrote: »
    Don't worry about it. Household chores like shoveling, mowing the lawn, etc. are exercise, but not enough logging to adjust calories. You can write a note to remind yourself that you did it, but I wouldn't adjust the calories. Trying to log exercises to manipulate calorie intake isn't realistic because daily activity changes.

    Come shovel the snow from my driveway along with the 2ft pile at the bottom from the plow then.

    It took me 40 minutes this morning to clear 6" and then we got another 6" by noon and I cleared that when I got home. I did it fast too and threw the snow 4ft into my yard because if I don't it'll be over 6ft high next to my driveway and I'll start losing driveway space as the year goes on.

    So, I either log it as exercise or try to adjust my base activity level up for 3.5 months out of the year or else I'll be losing weight much faster than planned. Logging makes more sense for shoveling as it is sporadic and not consistent between weeks, months, or years.
  • d_thomas02
    d_thomas02 Posts: 9,055 Member
    That's the reason I got a FitBit Charge HR. I get a good estimate of my entire day's activity without logging anything. I can track exercise and record what I did if I want to, but the burn is added to MFP exercise adjustment regardless.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I logged snow shoveling yesterday as well. And will do so going forward. Cleaning house, doing laundry etc, those are daily chores and step based. (mowing grass is never a part of my routine) My Fitbit will handle them. But shoveling snow uses every muscle in the body and takes a considerable effort and happens at irregular intervals.

    Now what I want to know is, how many people shovel snow, while wearing lots of makeup and wearing matching boots, gloves and hats. Because.. ya know if you look cute shoveling snow you must be either trying to catch a husband or make someone vomit. :open_mouth:
  • uconnwinsnc1
    uconnwinsnc1 Posts: 902 Member
    ITT people who live in places where it doesn't snow saying that shoveling doesn't burn a lot of calories.
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Shoveling snow is cardio, for sure! I log it. It's not every day activity and burns more than normal daily activity.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    edited January 2016
    I'm pretty sure the DC/VA/MD area gets snow. I don't find it healthy to try to micro-manage your daily activity. Sweating just like DOMS is not an indication of expenditure of calories.

    I'm not saying that shoveling ISN'T exercise, but are you going to log everything for the rest of your life? Are you going to log sex, walking to the metro, cleaning the leaves out of the roof gutter? I've been on MFP long enough to see multiple threads of users asking if vacuuming is considered exercise.

    I've had my share of waking up at during the night to shovel snow otherwise it would get too high to get out of the door. I think people are so "gung-ho" about logging when they're still motivated, but it's been proven that motivation/willpower is a resource that actually depletes throughout the day. I just don't think logging every little life event is worth the mental resources that someone could be spending elsewhere. I mean if it's effortless like you're wearing a watch or band that syncs it for you, but trying to constantly guess calories burned seems like a waste of time.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited January 2016
    Sweating and DOMS my not be an indicator of calorie expenditure, but that doesn't mean that shoveling isn't/can't be an extremely strenuous activity. I have replaced my daily run to the gym in place of shoveling as the workout and subsequent burn can be quite similar, if not more in some cases.

    Does this mean I shouldn't log shoveling, but should log the gym for similar burns?

    Logging every life event....man, how much do you shovel? I though we got a lot of snow in MN, guess not.....thank goodness it only takes about 30 seconds to add....kind of like going logging a gym workout.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited January 2016
    i mean seriously, people die shoveling because their hearts give out.
    shoveling is exercise and to do it you should have proper form to minimize injury
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    Warchortle wrote: »
    I'm pretty sure the DC/VA/MD area gets snow. I don't find it healthy to try to micro-manage your daily activity. Sweating just like DOMS is not an indication of expenditure of calories.

    I'm not saying that shoveling ISN'T exercise, but are you going to log everything for the rest of your life? Are you going to log sex, walking to the metro, cleaning the leaves out of the roof gutter? I've been on MFP long enough to see multiple threads of users asking if vacuuming is considered exercise.

    I've had my share of waking up at during the night to shovel snow otherwise it would get too high to get out of the door. I think people are so "gung-ho" about logging when they're still motivated, but it's been proven that motivation/willpower is a resource that actually depletes throughout the day. I just don't think logging every little life event is worth the mental resources that someone could be spending elsewhere. I mean if it's effortless like you're wearing a watch or band that syncs it for you, but trying to constantly guess calories burned seems like a waste of time.

    Not by any standards from further north. If I lived down there I would never shovel. We get 9x as much on average, and DC's twice a decade storms are at least once a year around here. 12" isn't enough to shovel for if its going to melt a few days later, but it is if its not going to melt and we're going to get another couple inches of lake effect the next day.

    Also, stop making this an all or nothing argument. It is a fallacy. I can log shoveling snow without having to log everything else I do. Just like I can log running without logging everything else I do.

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