I am writing this entry a week before Christmas and we have already had several snow events. This does not portend well for what is ahead of us in January and February (unless you are a snow lover). It appears as if this will be quite the snowy winter.
The fun part of snow: Seeing the majestic beauty of the snow falling, the look of the trees and the memories of snow events in the past, playing with our children, etc. The not-so fun part of snow: Incurring the inconvenience of unsafe driving, keeping the children away from school and having to clean it up.
Let’s focus on snow shoveling: Is there any danger to this exertional activity, and if so, why? We have always been told that ”exercise” is “good” for us, so, should it not be the case that snow shoveling is something we should all embrace? Here is why for “at risk” people, snow shoveling is NOT a healthy exercise:
- Cold Air Exposure: Breathing in cold air causes blood vessels to constrict, which increases blood pressure and reduces blood supply to the heart.
- Strenuous Exertion: Shoveling is a vigorous, high-intensity activity that can raise the heart rate to near-maximal levels, similar to an intense stress test. This is particularly risky for sedentary people.
- Arm Work vs. Leg Work: Using the arms for heavy lifting is more taxing on the heart than using the legs.
- Improper Technique: Holding your breath while straining to lift heavy snow (the Valsalva maneuver) can cause sudden increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
- Sudden Activity: Many people who rarely exercise intensely throughout the year suddenly engage in a strenuous activity like shoveling, putting immense, unexpected strain on their cardiovascular system.
Now, for young, healthy people with no medical history of significance, there is probably little-no risk of getting out there are shoveling a bunch of snow in frigid temperatures. However, for those people 50 and older, as well as people with a previous history of cardiovascular disease or risk factors for developing blockage of coronary vessels (diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cigarette smoking, strong family history of heart disease) snow shoveling is NOT a recommended exercise. Pay the kid down the street $20 bucks to do the work…stay inside and get on that treadmill or elliptical machine instead.
One of my favorite comedy movies of all time is “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. In one scene, Paul Rudd, playing a stoner surfing instructor starts singing the classic Christmas song “Let It Snow”, but instead of signing the correct line “The Weather outside is FRIGHTFUL”, he instead mistakenly sings “The Weather Outside is WEATHER”…for some reason this scene really cracked me up….but here is the real song from Michael Buble.
