I was checking out "calorie expenditures" for everyday activities this morning and discovered that a 200-220 lb. person can expend between 390-429 calories in a HALF HOUR as you shovel snow! Who knew?
I just finished a solid HOUR of shoveling a foot of snow from our driveway and sidewalk, so I just did a SNOWSHOVELING WORKOUT!
It was funny when a guy who was plowing my next door neighbor's driveway asked me if I would like him to do MY driveway. Honestly, I DID give that a thought, but instead answered him that I was doing my morning workout. He looked at me like I had LOST MY MIND! He then said, "OK, but if you change your mind, here's my card and number!"
So gals and guys in snow country...shovel that snow and burn those calories!!!
Cheryl - shoveling is totally a working! We used to have this crazy driveway, and had to shovel our driveway to get our car in, and if we parked the car on the road they wouldn't plow and we'd be stuck in. My arms were definitely pretty toned that year, even if I was missing all my gym workouts! It's also pretty peaceful out in the snow, eh?
Now I need to get to ONEderland. It is ten pounds away, and I WILL reach it! Maybe I should carry my two five-pound weights around with me all day long UNTIL I lose those ten pounds! THAT might really motivate me! Maybe I should carry my TEN POUND WEIGHT. That thing is REALLY a pain!
I think you should run with them on THAT would hurt like crazy!!
My next goal is to get UNDER 220! I cannot wait.. I am counting down the days until I get there! I am putting in some heavy work for it, so hopefully soon!
You and I have about the same amount of weight to lose to get to our next goal. WE will do this thing!
By the way, I did my shoveling workout again today thanks to the NEW 6 inches that blew in before 1PM! I can REALLY feel the muscles where my ribs are on the sides of me! I'm glad that I "practiced" getting them ready for shoveling without even knowing it! I do Turbo Jam, and one of the moves in the Cardio Mix #1 is the WHEEL. You pretend to start a cartwheel on one side, then you do the same on the other side. You think at the time that it is easy, but the muscles really feel it the next day! Woo Hoo!
Cheryl - I need exercises for my waist! I have a GREAT pair of pants, but they are about half an inch too small I love love love them, and while i'm losing weight all over.. that seems to be the last place it wants to come off of! Got any others? For the one you said, like, dumb question... BUT! Do you go all the way to the ground with your hands? Or just kinda bend at the waist?
Another pretty good workout? I took my friend to the pool on Thursday night and I was teaching her how to swim - mostly the breast stroke because she doesn't want to get her head wet (why swim then? ), anyhow, today I am aching all over! I am MORE sore than her! Infact, I am more sore than when I went swimming on my own and just did laps for 45 minutes.
I typed in "snow shovelling" and "physiotherapy" into the search browser because I remember reading an article written by a PT about shovelling snow, and these are two of the links that came up:
Snow shovelling is definitely a work-out, but it's also important to practice proper mechanics of snow shovelling given the strain it can place on our backs. Just a suggestion
In Turbo Jam the "WHEEL" is done by putting your arms to the side like you are getting ready to do a cartwheel with the top arm curved around your head and the other arm curved and down to your side making the shape of a wheel. You do a tilt to the side at your waist. You then move your "wheel" to the other side. You can start out small and not so bent then deepen the move as you get more flexible and stronger. So far it has been the one move that I do that I REALLY FEEL even a couple days later, so I KNOW that I am using muscles that I haven't been using doing other everyday movements and exercises. The snow shoveling uses those same "WHEEL" movements!
My waist has been stubborn, too, but in measuring myself the other day I discovered that I have lost eleven inches in my waist since I began my weight loss. Most of that I lost thanks to yoga (lots of stretching in ALL different directions!) I have about five more inches to go to be the right size in my waist. Dr. Oz said that a woman's waist should be 1/2 the amount of inches that she is tall. I'm 66 inches tall, so I should be 33 inches around my waist.
That's funny about being more sore TEACHING the swimming than when actually swimming yourself. It's true, though! For years my good friend and I chaperoned elementary school kids at the skating rink. We would each be out there with a kid on each side, supporting them as they tripped and fell and got back up and tripped and slipped and fell etc. over and over again for TWO HOURS! Both sides of my body ached for DAYS after that! We figured that over those EIGHTEEN YEARS we must have helped HUNDREDS of kids to learn how to skate. It was a pretty darn good workout over those two hours, too!
How's your snow? We only got a light dusting of the white stuff today.
Thanks for the links. I cheked them both to make sure I was doing everything right!
Yoga has helped my flexibility TREMENDOUSLY and has also helped me to be more coordinated and balanced. I wish I had started doing it many years ago! I am always surprised how much easier it is to do everyday activities when I have better balance, more flexibility and am more coordinated. Of course the biggest help to me has been losing these 66 pounds! I don't know why on earth I ever allowed myself to gain the weight in the first place. Gaining it never brought me anything but heartache, real physical aches, and feelings of being not good enough. Stupid me!
Cheryl - the snow in Vancouver is gone, we have a few spots here and there with a little pile, but we are pretty warm most of the time, 7Celcius or so degrees during the day.
Thanks for the move, I think I will try it out for the next couple of weeks! My scale moved quite a bit this last week, down 3 pounds yay! Only 5 pounds until I get to my next goal, and then next goal will be onederland!
That's SOOOO great to hear about those three pounds GONE!!!
Just think...that was 10,500 calories burned!!! Woo-Hoo!
Your snow is GONE? We got three more inches last night of sneaky, tiny- ball snow that piled up over the night. At least when it comes in BIG FLAKES you EXPECT some more inches! This was a surprise!
Won't ONEderland be joyous?!!! I haven't been there since 1980!!!!!! Were you even BORN in 1980?!!!
Anyway, keep up the amazing plan, and you will be flying to ONEderland very soon!
Snowshoveling workout!
I love love love them, and while i'm losing weight all over.. that seems to be the last place it wants to come off of! Got any others? For the one you said, like, dumb question... BUT! Do you go all the way to the ground with your hands? Or just kinda bend at the waist? 
