When Winter Becomes The Workout

I had a bunch of fun last Thursday when Nathan and I went outside to clean up the snow that had fallen the previous day. We had a heavy snowfall, which resulted in a few inches settling nicely on my driveway, vehicle and sidewalk. Homeowners are responsible for clearing and cleaning the stretch of sidewalk in front of their property or risk being civilly liable, should someone not understand that snow and ice on concrete is fuckin’ slippery. Go figure…

The point is, I started by using my newly-purchased snowblower to eliminate the two inches of loose, powdered top snow. But I still had to get in there and scrap away all the nice, packed stuff that sat underneath. My sidewalk was an absolute disaster, since people have been walking on it for days and a lot of the snow got packed down. I spent the better part of an hour, scraping, lifting and tossing heavy chunks of packed snow.

In light of the fact that I had been at it for an hour, I counted it as a workout. Why not? I had been stretching, twisting and lifting heavy weight for an hour. I’m inclined to think that this is pretty close to the definition of a workout. I wouldn’t want it to be my usual, of course. But it makes me feel better about not having time to log a traditional workout.

There are a lot of “chores” a homeowner can perform that can be intensive enough to constitute a workout. So if the winter blahs are starting to get you down and you just can’t quite seem to find the energy to do a traditional workout, turn that frown upside down by using the chores you’re forced to perform as a means of maintaining your fitness. Just be sure to keep an eye on your blood sugar levels and remember that despite the colder weather, hydration is still important. ☯