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hope everyone had an incredible February! I thought I would do something completely different this month and think outside the box for a workout for you. I’m always seeing these great workouts that people down south get to do in the winter while in Michigan I am stuck going to the gym to get my exercise in. So I must apologize in advance to everyone who doesn’t get snow, this workout is not for you. The workout I have for you is completely different than anything you have ever seen published in any exercise journal or RX article, I can guarantee that!
This workout started last Sunday while I was looking out the window debating whether to drive on the slushy roads to the gym. It was then that I noticed it was the perfect weather to build a snowman. So I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be cool to build a 10’ snowman?” After a little thought I also realized it would be quite a workout and would definitely burn more calories than going to the gym anyway. I decided to phone a friend and see if he was up for the challenge. The following was what took place.
It turned out that my friend would not be available for about an hour and a half, so I decided to get my workout on. With some simple math I figured that the first of the 3 balls of the snowman would have to be 5’ round. I wouldn’t be strong enough to push a 5’ ball around, so I knew it would have to be done with a shovel. I went to the front yard and started pushing my shovel in straight lines of approximately 20’ into 1 big pile from all directions. Once the snow started to build up I took roughly 30 lb shovels full of snow and compacted into a round 5’ ball. This may sound easy, but the leg and core work it takes to push and lift that much snow is a serious workout. After 1 ½ hours my legs and core were on fire...that’s when my friend Rich showed up. After 30 minutes of building the second ball, he looked at the project and stated there was no way we would make a 10’ snowman. I laughed said, “I invited you over here to build a 10’ snowman…..we will build a 10’ snowman bahahahahahaha (evil laugh)”
Over the next hour Rich built piles of snow from my yard while I took 30 lb shovels full of snow and used my entire body to lift and place on top of the 5’ ball. This turned into a 7’ high set of 2 balls and then a 10’ high snowman. You won’t believe the burn you will get from squatting, lifting, and placing 30 lb shovels full, of snow as high 10’. It’s a complete body workout. We also had to break out a 3’ high step ladder and climb that while carrying the snow to get it on top of the snowman. As the snowman got bigger and we used more snow, we both had to start carrying 30 lb shovels full of snow from 40’ away in the yard. There was no snow left around the snowman and almost none left in my yard!
Now for those of you who are reading this and saying “that doesn’t sound too hard” let me tell you this, manual labor is no joke! I have done many things in my life that include manual labor and it incorporates more muscles and core strength than any weight lifting program can give you. You will ache for days! Muscles you didn’t know you even had will hurt. You will use your core for every movement. Here’s a list of the movements that will be done;
1.Pushing a shovel full of snow. Will work entire lower body, core, and arms.
2.Shoveling snow. Core, abs, and arms. Great for oblique’s.
3.Carrying shovels full of snow. Arms, core, and again lower body.
4.Placing shovels full of snow above head. Complete body workout. You will have to squat thrust while using core and upper body strength to catapult shovel with snow above head and place at 6’ to 10’ high points. May need to do half shovels full depending on strength.
Here’s the rewarding part. As we got about ¾ of the way done with the snowman, cars started to honk and kids started to scream “that’s an awesome snowman.” For the next few days 100’s of cars have stopped to take pictures of Frosty and many kids have gotten out to get pictures with him. Our local news stopped by to do an interview with Frosty and he was on the 6 PM news. Frosty has become an attraction in our city of Kalamazoo, about 100,000 people. Frosty now has his own Facebook page and people post their pictures with him on the page. If the workout wasn’t enough, it’s been rewarding to see kids faces light up as they see this now 11’ snowman, bigger than life to them. As each day goes by, I spend a little time building him bigger as he melts to continue the complete body workout that will have you sweating through your shirt in 20 and 30 degree weather. The whole point of this article is to show you guys you can change things up and you don’t have to lift weights day in and day out to build your physique. Get creative and have fun! Sometimes the little things like building a snowman can have big effects on your body and others! Like Frosty’s Facebook page and have a great day.
www.facebook.com/adventuresoffrosty
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