In honour (and trepidation!) of the first flakes of snow that I've seen this season, I decided that it might be time for some simple shoveling tips. Check them out.
Tips for the inexperienced shoveler:
- Stretch before you start!
- Always bend at the knees when shoveling. This will save you weeks of back pain!
- Do not overload your shovel.
- Pace yourself…shoveling snow is not a race.
- Use an ergonomic shovel to protect your back from injury as they help to take pressure off of your back.
- Do not leave all of the snow shoveling to when the snowing has stopped (especially if it is wet or heavy snow). Trust me, this can be devastating for your body! If you can, shovel a few times throughout the snowfall.
- Use more sand and less salt, it's much more eco-friendly. Or look for a more environmentally friendly ice melt. Typically these will have magnesium chloride as one of the main active ingredients, which is a safer and less corrosive salt than the more common sodium chloride.
- Wear layers so that you do not over-heat.
- Clean snow off of cars before you start shoveling.
- Do not forget to drink water at regular intervals (especially if you have a large area to shovel) think of shoveling snow as your daily workout!
- Stretch out when you're done.