How to Shovel Snow Without Hurting Your Back
When nature throws a pile of snow into your driveway, it’s a free workout in disguise, but maybe not one you’re really in shape for. If you always feel pain (or worse, injury) after the first big storm of the season, read these tips on how to make shoveling easier.
Recognize what you are asking your body to do
Look, just because shoveling is a normal chore doesn’t mean the whole body is automatically ready for it. Be honest about whether you are trained in this. You wouldn’t ask, “How can I run a marathon without my legs hurting the next day?” if you didn’t run at all last year. Jumping into something you’re not ready for is going to suck.
If you know you’ll be digging a lot, plan ahead. Deadlifts in the gym will help you develop the strength you need, for example, in your back, core, and legs. If you’re not up to it, any full-body fitness regimen will prepare you better than doing nothing.
While we’re mostly talking about muscle and joint pain, it’s important to understand if your cardiovascular system is up to the task. If you’re not used to exercise, if you’re older, or have heart problems, you may want to check with your doctor about whether shoveling poses a risk to your heart .
Spade early and often
If I could only give the world one snow removal hack, it would be this: a shovel when there is little snow, even if you know there will be more. It is much, much easier for your body to shovel three inches of snow four times a day than it is to handle 12 inches of snow in one go.
If you missed your opportunity, you can still shovel the layers. Cut the slice at the top, then the slice that goes deeper, and so on. Each shovel will be much lighter and easier to deal with, even if you take more shovels in total.
Push instead of lift
We tend to think of a shovel as a repetitive bending and lifting motion, but remember that you can also use a shovel as a snow blower to push the snow in front of you. You can even buy shovels designed for this use , so consider upgrading.
Pushing snow works best when it is in a thin layer, so this works well with the shovel tip when there is only a small amount of snow on the ground. But even if you have deep snow, pushing can save you some effort. Press until you have a stack, then cut into layers.
Keep your back straight
You’ve heard the advice to lift heavy boxes “with your feet, not your back.” What this actually means is that your back is best protected from injury when you can keep it straight. If your back is rounding with fatigue, take a break or find a technique that allows you to keep your back straight even when it’s tired.
For example, deadlift-style shoveling is most effective: your back is more or less straight, and you bend from your hips like a drunken bird . This requires a lot of work from the muscles of the lower back, so you are technically lifting the weight “backward”, but it is safe to do so if the back muscles are strong enough to keep the torso straight and stable.
When your back muscles get tired, it may be easier for you to keep your back straight if you keep it more upright. This is where the squat comes in – the notorious leg lift. Squeeze the shovel so that the weight is as close to your body as possible, and bend your knees more so that you don’t have to bend too much at the hips.
Warm up, take breaks and take it easy on yourself
Don’t be fooled: it’s a workout. And, as with any workout, the first 10-15 minutes will be the hardest. So keep the lights on at work at first – for example, take smaller shovels. Don’t forget to take breaks too. You are not cheating if you stop for a few minutes to let your body rest before returning to it.
Switching techniques (as above) and positions can help spread the load throughout the body, rather than just hitting the same muscles over and over again. Do half the work with the shovel on the right side and half on the left.