Safe Shoveling Tips to Save Your Back

We’re officially in the midst of another winter season here in New Jersey. I must admit, if there’s one thing that bothers me the most about the winter (besides the biting cold and lack of sunlight), it’s the number of people who hurt themselves shoveling snow. I can’t tell you how many clients of mine have tweaked their backs in their zealous attempts to keep a clear driveway.

Today I am going to reveal my top safe shoveling secrets. You really never know when snow is coming your way, so read up and be ready for the next winter storm.

So, without further adieu, here are my top four safe shoveling tips:

1.) Perform a Proper 5-Minute Warm-up Before Shoveling

Just as very few people properly warm-up before intense exercise, so do many people fail to get their bodies ready for the rigors of shoveling snow. Let’s face it, snow, especially when it’s wet, is difficult to move around. And if your body is tight and cold, you will dramatically increase your chances of short or even long-term injury.

I have created a quick, shoveling-specific warm-up to get your body ready to face the snow. There is a special emphasis on opening up the hips and chest to save your back and shoulders, the two most commonly injured areas.

Perform each exercise in the following warm-up circuit at a slow, controlled pace 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- Stationary High Knee Run
Exercise 2- Jumping Claps (modified jumping jacks with arms moving across chest level, palms facing)
Exercise 3- Alternating Forward Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist
Exercise 4- Alternating Lateral Lunge with Opposite Hand to Toe Touch
Exercise 5- Prisoner Squats (hands behind head with finger interlocked)

2.) Split Your Stance When Shoveling

Back pain is probably the biggest complaint for shovelers. In most cases, a sore or tight back stems from restriction at the hips. 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. However, the simple switch to shoveling with a split stance, where one leg is forward and the other leg is back, will not only help prevent this hyper flexion while bending over and moving snow, but will also actively stretch and open up those tight hips at the same time. 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 so.

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 wrench your back.



4.) Shovel EQUALLY to BOTH Sides

Another big mistake people make is that they always shovel to their strong sides causing further strength and flexibility imbalances that can put your body at greater risk for injury. You now know that you should spilt your stance and point your toes in the direction that you’re shoveling, but you should also do an equal number of shovel tosses to each side. Do 10 shovel tosses to your left with your left leg forward and then do 10 shovel tosses to your right with your right leg forward. Repeat until your shoveling is complete.

The tips above will go a long way in keeping your body as safe as possible during the next blizzard. Happy shoveling!


Joshua Mandel

Cranford New Jersey Personal Trainer

www.NewJerseyBootCamps.com

Important...Please Read

I know this is a fitness based blog but there is something I need to share with you. As many of you know, I am a distributor of a company called Advocare. Besides the world class nutritional products, scientific and medical board and sports advisory council, there is a tremendous income opportunity as well.

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Go to https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/413100687 and register. It's free. Do it as soon as possible because the call is tonight at 9:38 est. It will only be about twenty minutes. Advocare may or may not be for you but at least you'll be able to make an educated decision.

If you have any disgust in your life financially or health wise, do you and your family a favor. Watch the live presentation. Here's the web address again:

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Feel free to contact me as soon as the call is over.

Have a great start to the week!

Joshua Mandel

Cranford New Jersey Personal Trainer
Cranford New Jersey Boot Camps

Biggest Loser

I don't watch a lot of television. I like it just as much as the next person but feel that it is a big time waster. That being said, let me tell you how I got sucked in to watching over an hour of the "Biggest Loser." Rachael and I were hanging out after eating dinner and we flipped on the tv. They show a clip of Bob from the "Biggest Loser" just going off on a participant of the show. They kept building it up until finally they showed the clip an hour later. I have to admit: It was totally worth the wait. Here's why: This woman Joelle and her 5 or so teammates were doing interval sprints on the treadmill. They had to sprint for 30 seconds. Every time they did a sprint she would stop at 20 seconds because she said she was tired. Bob had enough of it and just went off on her. I mean dropping "f" bombs left and right. To some this may have seemed a bit harsh. I thought he was dead on accurate. There are probably over 100,000 people that would trade spots with her in a second. She was taking it for granted and not working as hard as she could. Very disappointing from a trainer's perspective.

Okay, enough about the "Biggest Loser." My point is that if you are going to do something, and you are paying money for it, why not give it everything you've got? Nothing makes me happier than to see an individual push themselves and succeed. The formula is quite simple. You eat right, train hard, take the right supplements and succeed. That's it. Don't overcomplicate things.

And trust me: I know who pushes themselves and who does not.

Have a great weekend!

Joshua Mandel

Cranford New Jersey Personal Trainer

Cranford New Jersey Boot Camps

New Jersey Personal Training Challenge Workout

Check out the last 2 rounds of my workout yesterday. I supersetted 155 lb. Power Cleans and Ring Dips.

Here's the rep count starting with Power Cleans:
15 Power Cleans, 30 Rings Dips, 12 and 24, 9 and 18, 6 and 12, 3 and 6.

The goal was to finish as fast as possible. I was happy with my time of 13:30. There's room for improvement but it was my first time doing ring dips for speed and high reps.

Think you are up for a challenge like this? Email me at josh@newjerseybootcamps.com and we'll arrange a challenge workout for you!

There is no tomorrow, Train Today!

Joshua Mandel

Cranford New Jersey Personal Trainer
New Jersey Boot Camps


Here are my final 2 rounds of the workout