I mean, hey… it needs to be done right? It’s also hard work that gets the heart rate up, challenges your muscles, and your mobility/coordination – with the added bonus of being done outdoors – so why not make it into a fun workout!
Shovelling snow is both a great aerobic workout and strength training. If you’re shovelling efficiently, you will involve your glutes, hamstrings, quads, core (including your upper and lower back), and shoulders.
In fact, in a study done in 1995 the researchers concluded that heavy snow shovelling elicits myocardial and aerobic demands that rival maximal treadmill and arm-ergometer testing in sedentary men.
And as I demonstrate in this video, you can turn it into a fun workout.
Shovelling snow is an activity that will have to get done at some point each winter (unless you are one of the lucky ones who lives where there is little to no snow) so embrace the fact that it is a vigorous activity and a great way to stay active and fit in the winter months.