Shoveling and Exercise, a Comparison

Last night I finished cleaning up the snow around the house. Front door steps, a couple walkways and the back deck. As I was shoveling the back deck, a thought came into my head that shoveling is just like working out in the gym. Everyone has written a “Proper Shoveling Technique Guide,” or “How to Warm Up Prior to Shoveling.” What I mean is different.

As I was moving snow from one side of the deck to the other, I thought, this is just like a workout in the gym. I’m moving weight, for no real reason other than to move it. The thought of completion is motivating and inspires me to keep going at the pace I’m holding. I’m working up a sweat under my layers and it feels good. Technique is important, just like the gym. We want to shovel efficiently to keep our energy, but also to stay safe.

If you go too fast, your shoveling will be sloppy and you won’t have a nice finished product afterwards. Too slow, you’ll never finish in a reasonable time. There’s a sweet spot for pacing, just like at the gym. Zip through everything too fast, it wasn’t difficult enough or you probably made some errors. Move too slow and you don’t accomplish much.

So the next time you have to shovel, shift your perspective. Treat it like a session at the gym. Move stuff around, get sweaty, watch your mechanics and feel accomplished.

Justin Miner

@portsmouthcoach