It’s winter again. And that means here in Rockland County, NY it’s also aching back season.
Besides the frigid temperatures and the gloomy days, the thing I hate most about this time of year is the ridiculous amount of people gimping around due to their aching backs from shoveling snow. I am going to change that. Today I’m going to give you my 5 tiny secrets to avoiding the back ache from shoveling that stupid snow. If you’re reading this and laughing at all of us that live in the Rockland County area (or any snowy region) this time of year and you’re sitting back in the tropical weather, you superior keep reading too.
Why?
Because these little back ache secrets don’t only apply to shoveling snow, but shoveling anything really. And if you are in the year round sunny parts of town, you are more than likely going to shovel something in your day (dirt, gravel, mulch), so pay attention.
Ok, so let’s get to it. Here are my 5 tiny secrets to prevent back ache when shoveling snow
1.) Perform a Proper 5-Minute Warm-up before Shoveling
I know it sounds ridiculous! Warm up before you go out and shovel? As crazy as it sounds, just as you need to warm up before intense exercise, it’s probably more important to do so in order to get your body ready for the rigors of shoveling snow. Think about it, with snow comes cold weather. So if you just get up and go outside to shovel without prepping for it, that’s like Brett Farve just waking up and stepping onto the football field to play a game. Remember the purpose of a warm up is to prepare your body for more rigorous (in this case shoveling heavy wet snow), as well as to loosen up your tight muscles.
So if you skip this critical step, you are dramatically increasing your chances of tweaking you back.
I’ve created a great shoveling specific five-minute warm-up to get your body ready to rock. There is a special emphasis on opening up the hips and chest to save your back and shoulders, the two most commonly hurt areas of gimping shovelers:
Perform each exercise in the following warm-up circuit at a slow, controlled tempo for 50 seconds with a 10 second rest and transition between exercises. Do this warm-up indoors to better increase core temperature and total body blood flow:
Exercise#1- Inch worms
Exercise#2- Jumping Claps (modified jumping jacks with arms moving across chest level, palms facing)
Exercise#3- Alternating Forward Lunges, Overhead Reach, and Twist
Exercise#4- Alternating Lateral Lunges with Opposite Hand to Toe Touch
Exercise#5- Prisoner Squats (hands behind head with finger interlocked)
2.) Stagger Your Stance When Shoveling
Since back pain is probably the biggest complaint for my aching shovelers, we must realize where achy backs come from. Back pain usually stems from restriction at the hips (see the warm-up above to best remedy this). More specifically, using a parallel stance puts your lower back at a greater risk of injury due to the greater likelihood of excessive flexion of the lumbar spine that often leads to back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run. So, just as secret number 2 advocates - use a staggered stance instead. This easy tiny switch won’t only help prevent over flexion in the spine while bending over and moving snow, but will also actively stretch and open up those tight hips at the same time.
Secret 2A - Be sure to keep things in balance by doing an even number of shovel strokes with both legs forward by alternating every 10 reps or even superior if you note that one side is tighter, do more on that side.
3.) Point Your Toes in Same Direction of Shoveling
This is a continuation of the last tip. Even when you split your stance, you can be susceptible to injury whenever you perform a rotating back extension (e.g. a shovel toss to your rear). So, to further bolster your body, be sure to always shovel snow in the direction that your toes point to minimize excessive spinal rotation that can literally wrench your back.
4.) It’s All About Leverage - Keep the Shovel Close to Your Body
By keeping the shovel close to your body and using your whole body, you will have better leverage when pushing and throwing the snow. In addition, bend your knees and hips. This will aid in putting less stress on your spine while bending and shoveling.
5.) Hire a Snow Removal Service
Need I state more? Play it safe and have a plow service do the work for you
About the Author
Jason Zaretzky is Rockland County’s go to fat loss expert in Rockland County NY. For a FREE 1-week trial to his Rockland County Bootcamps, to experience the ideal fat loss training in Rockland County please visit http://rocklandcountybootcamps.com
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