Snow Shoveling - Exercise or Health Risk

wiigelec
wiigelec Posts: 503 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Shoveling snow can result in fatal heart attacks, back injuries and aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.

I have a hard time considering this nefarious activity to be "healthy."

What say you?
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Replies

  • wiigelec
    wiigelec Posts: 503 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    Snow shoveling should be done with joyful abandon. You should stop part way through to make snow angels or build a snowman. ❄❄❄
    Haha good one!

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    @geraldaltman This retiree will be thinking of you when I'm making my snow angels with my bionic knees and hip.
  • wiigelec
    wiigelec Posts: 503 Member
    When I was a kid we took the opportunity to make some money going door to door in the neighborhood. I’d be glad to pay a teenager shovel. Don’t kids these days do that kind of stuff anymore?
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    @geraldaltman This retiree will be thinking of you when I'm making my snow angels with my bionic knees and hip.

    😁😊
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,739 Member
    wiigelec wrote: »
    When I was a kid we took the opportunity to make some money going door to door in the neighborhood. I’d be glad to pay a teenager shovel. Don’t kids these days do that kind of stuff anymore?

    They were non-existent when I really needed them. I put posts up and got nothing. I would have paid well too.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    nytrifisoul wrote: »
    Snow shoveling 101.....
    Never let the snow compact and turn to partial ice. Shovel it while its still light and fluffy.

    This is, sadly, not always possible.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,493 Member
    edited October 2019
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    wiigelec wrote: »
    Shoveling snow can result in fatal heart attacks, back injuries and aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.

    I have a hard time considering this nefarious activity to be "healthy."

    What say you?

    I wouldn't personally consider it exercise, more like just a background part of life in a snowy place.

    People get back injuries from shoveling snow, moving furniture, even coughing. These are almost always people who don't get any exercise. The main job of your core muscles is to protect your spine. When people have very little core strength from a sedentary lifestyle, they're at more risk of a spinal injury (hernia) when they stress their backs. The solution isn't being more sedentary, it's being active and getting exercise - but not going from 0 to 100 all at once. Seriously, I knew somebody who smoked some marijuana, coughed really hard, felt a pop in her back, and spent the next six months in severe pain (herniated disc impinging her sciatic nerve). I don't smoke, but I also don't like pain, so I do a lot of core exercises.

    Heart attacks can be caused all sorts of ways, but one of them is pretty similar, suddenly causing more stress than the cardiovascular system is able to handle.

    People should be fit enough to handle the tasks they're going to face in life, because that way life is easier and less painful or worrisome. It's not about being moral or whatever, it's about being good to future you.

    So much to the bolded. Considering 80% of US adults don't meet the minimal requirement for movement recommended by the CDC pretty likely most are not fit for the task which, depending on the amount of snow and intensity of shoveling, could be strenuous movement.

    CDC Recommendations Summary

    Adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. Some physical activity is better
    than none. Adults who sit less and do any amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity
    gain some health benefts.

    For substantial health benefts, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30
    minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and
    15 minutes) to 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic
    physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic
    activity. Preferably, aerobic activity should be spread throughout the week.

    Additional health benefts are gained by engaging in physical activity beyond the equivalent
    of 300 minutes (5 hours) of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.

    Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity and
    that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these activities provide
    additional health benefts.

    https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/pdf/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf#page=55
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    wiigelec wrote: »
    When I was a kid we took the opportunity to make some money going door to door in the neighborhood. I’d be glad to pay a teenager shovel. Don’t kids these days do that kind of stuff anymore?

    we have crackheads doing it now. less kids. if i have the cash, i'll let them do it

    if it's a smaller amount i don't mind. but when we get foots at a time and it's heavy...not my favorite.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    "I think we're going to need a smaller shovel." (If the snow is heavy, use a smaller shovel.)

    Also, there are starting to be battery-powered snow blowers that will likely be sufficient for smaller amounts of snow. This greatly simplifies the work of owning a snow blower! Whereas I need a big gas powered unit where I live, the battery units may be sufficient for people who have less to clear or who live in areas with less snow. I am tempted to get one to supplement my gas powered unit!
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    All exercise is a risk if your fitness level is knocking up against the rocks. That includes getting on the treadmill at the doctor's office. You can have a heart attack right then and there on the dreadmill. You're closer to the operating table but fitness level rules the day no matter what you're doing.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    psychod787 wrote: »
    I live in Florida... so unnecessary... is that an option.. lol

    you still have to mow though. :-P
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    So it seems to be snowing. Probably won't stick (not cold enough) but I am going to blame this thread.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    nighthawk584 wrote: »
    Considering last year at this time I was around 80 lbs heavier, snow shoveling should be a breeze and my ticker shouldn't be in so much stress this year! Now watch, I slip and fall and break my neck! Living is a risk.

    Sometimes I think it would be easier with more weight to throw into it.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    nighthawk584 wrote: »
    Considering last year at this time I was around 80 lbs heavier, snow shoveling should be a breeze and my ticker shouldn't be in so much stress this year! Now watch, I slip and fall and break my neck! Living is a risk.

    Sometimes I think it would be easier with more weight to throw into it.

    haha! I am not gaining back the 80 to test that theory again! besides, I have a snow blower if it gets too bad! ;)
  • patrickaa5
    patrickaa5 Posts: 70 Member
    If you have heart disease, you should probably just let someone else shovel the snow. Cold weather, in general, puts more pressure on the heart. Adding strenuous snow shoveling on top is a disaster waiting to happen. My latest edition of the Harvard Heart Letter just had a pretty convicing case for avoiding it.

    If you're young and healthy - go for it!

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