Get Ready, Get Set, Shovel Snow

How to prepare to shovel snow. Woke up this morning to another 4" of the white stuff. It looks real pretty, except on my driveway and car. That'll be a lot of work to clear off. It will probably take me an hour to shovel it. So...I should get ready.

Shovelling snow is a lot of physical exercise in cold temperatures. That means you will want to bundle up to keep those tootsies and pinkies warm. Did you know your body will sacrifice your extremities to keep your head warm. This means you should wear a hat, when it's cold out. Ironic, keep your fingers warm by wearing a hat and gloves.

You have probably heard that for cold weather you should layer your clothing to stay warm. The concept is that your body warmth will be captured in between the layers. If you get too hot, you can cool off some just removing a layer or too. If you get too cold just add a layer.

What I like to do is wear 3 or 4 layers, with the last one a zip up jacket. When I'm shovelling snow, I tend to build up a little sweat. Which is not good, because the sweat will freeze and continue to sap heat away from your body. So I use the zipper on my last layer to regulate how much heat I disipate. And I never take my hat off.

If you are sweating, removing your hat will allow your head to cool too rapidly and give better opportunity for the sweat to freeze. This can cause a cascade effect in your core body temperature. If your head gets too cold your body will increase the blood flow to your head to warm it back up. Thereby reducing blood flow to your extremities. Reduced blood flow to your extremities will cause them to loose body temp fast and freeze. This is the first step toward frostbite.

Frostbite happens when the your cells freeze. If too many cells freeze your body will shut off blood flow to that area all together. This leads hypothermia. Hypothermia happens when your core body temperature becomes too cold. At this stage blood flow to your arms and legs are reduced further to keep your organs and brain warm.

Keeping warm in the cold weather comes down to regulating your core body temperature. When you are nice and toasty all the fingers, toes, head and organs are happy. Keep everything at the right temperature and you won't have any problems. This means try not to sweat too much. Exercising in cold weather can be exillerating but can also be catastrophic if you lose control of your core body temp. You should always get set for exercising in cold weather.

To stay warm in cold temps you should:

Layer your clothing - to control heat disipation and trap your body heat inside.
Always wear a hat - especially if you are sweating.
If you become overheated, slowly release heat from your body by removing a layer (or opening a zipper on your top layer), not by removing clothing from your extremities.
Protect your tootsies and pinkies (extremities) - always wear gloves, extra socks, scarf or whatever it takes to keep these areas warm.
Try not to sweat - this means your core temp is to high.
Keep your metabolism up - give your body a boost to get the blood flowing. Have an energy drink or a metabolism booster to give your cells the nutrition they need to burn energy.

When your shovelling snow try not to move too much at one time. Take it easy and only lift what you are comfortable with. Remember that you are trying not to sweat. If you start to feel numb or tingly anywhere you should seek shelter immediately. Keep in mind that your body will sacrifice your extremities to keep your organs and brain warm.

So when it snows all over your driveway, get set, get ready, shovel snow.

By: Timothy Koen Herbal Nutrition Solutions

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