I hate the cold!

I didn’t mind it at all when I was a kid because I loved playing in the snow, having snowball fights, building forts and giant snowmen, and of course the cold meant HOCKEY!!!  Now that we’re in 2011 and I’m almost 30, I hate winter.  I’ve come to realize we don’t need it to be cold to play hockey (just look at the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes) and this winter when I threw a snowball at Gina, it accidentally hit her in the face and she got a black eye.

When I was in London it was -5C, cold and snowy while back home in Canada it was +12C and now that I’m back home it’s -30C here and +12C in London.  I can’t win!  Not only is it cold as hell here, the East Coast has just been getting pummelled by snow this past month.  This week alone we got 50+cm of snow.

Son of a… … …  Sorry…

With this much snow falling, it means LOTS of shovelling needs to be done.  I spent 4 hours shovelling in less than 30 hours.  The problem with shovelling is that it can lead to many injuries, especially soft tissue injuries in the back, knees and hip and for some older folks, it can also mean strain on your heart.

People over 55 years of age are 4 times more likely than those younger to have a heart problem when shovelling snow. Studies found only 7% of the injuries seen shovelling were heart related, but for those with a heart condition, all deaths associated with shovelling were due to heart attacks.

I don’t think many people like shovelling snow, but there are ways to deal with the hassle and pain of doing it.  Personally, my hours in a day are limited as it is, so taking an hour to shovel usually eats up my gym time and I don’t make it to the gym because I’m cold and sore and tired by the time it’s done.  Because of this what I’ve started to do is make my shovelling my workout for the day.  I throw on my iPod, crank the tunes and get ‘er done.

Here are a few tips to make shovelling snow a good and SAFE workout.

• Make shovelling a PUSH workout.
  If you’re prone to injury especially back, shoulder or knee injury, pushing the snow around instead of lifting and twisting and throwing it will help prevent injuring yourself.
• Lift with your knees not your back.
  This is something you’ve heard your entire life and it’s true.  When lifting and throwing snow (if you have to) bend at the knees, keep your back straight, engage your core and use your full body in one movement to move the snow.  Using momentum from your legs in to your arms and shoulders will help you move the snow easier, and takes the strain off of your back.
• Workout your arms, shoulders, legs and core.
  If you’re confident in your body and are pretty sure you aren’t going to injure yourself you can try this one.  I know I just said push the snow if you can and don’t lift and twist, but personally the lifting and twisting is how I got my workout.  Again, bend at the knees, keep your back straight, engage your core, lift the snow and throw using the momentum from your full body.  What I would do is reps of 5 on each side, switch sides and repeat.  I did this using several different methods of moving the snow as well;  In front of me, side to side, over the shoulder… Use your imagination to hit different parts of the body for a full body workout.

The key is to do all of this safely and to not cause injury.  Listen to your body and pace yourself.  If you have a 2 or 3 car driveway there’s a chance you’ll be out there between 30 minutes and 90 minutes so stop if you get short of breath, start sweating profusely, or have chest pain or pain anywhere else.  Stretching is also very important.  Also, make sure to dress appropriately.  You may be a bit warm, but keep those hats, gloves and sweaters on to keep the heat from escaping your body.

I’ve only been to the gym once this week but I’ve got sore muscles (the good kind of sore) in my arms, shoulders and core from all of the shovelling I did Tuesday and Wednesday.