December 16, 2016

Digging Out? Save Your Back and Your Life. There's a Reason They Call the First Big Snowfall "The Widow Maker"

How to shovel snow the easiest & safest way! Aching back NO MORE

No bending your back. No aching back. No chiropractor.

This is how I shovel, when I need to.

No special shovels, no money to waste on half baked contraptions.

All you need is a piece of rope, or chain, or anything flexible that you attach to the lowest point of your snow shovel, or other type of shovel, or pitchfork.

Stand with your back straight and arms straight down. Load the shovel. Lift by curling your arm that is holding the rope while the other arm shoots the snow, or the sand etc., away. When shoveling upwards on steps, just shorten up your rope grip..... something you cannot do with the bent shovels.You can also shovel going downwards on steps, just lengthen your rope grip. At all times KEEP YOUR BACK STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN.
This is how I save my back, save money, and my shoveling is actually fun.

Posted by gerardvanderleun at December 16, 2016 10:39 AM
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Is that the worst piece of rope he could come up with? That rope would get on my nerve pretty quick, as it impedes speed.

That video should be named, "How to make a 15 minute job last all day".

For the decks I use the short standard shovel. For the drive I use the lawn tractor with chains and wheel weights. git r dun

If it's less than a foot deep our 4x4 vehicles go right over it anyway.

Posted by: ghostsniper at December 16, 2016 1:13 PM

I shoveled IN snow until I was 22. Then took the cure by moving to south TX, then coastal SC, then Panama, then southern CA, then south AL. I did land between banks of plowed snow and saw some really snowed in places during a lot of RONs.

Posted by: BillH at December 16, 2016 1:15 PM

Eh, buy a snowblower. I used to shovel long, long dirt driveways, it seemed easy then. When I hit 65 it was time to adapt.

Posted by: chuck at December 16, 2016 4:09 PM

My East Coast winter illumination came during one January when, after an ice storm followed by a snow storm, I had to free my car's four tires using an icepick.

Posted by: Vanderleun at December 16, 2016 6:01 PM

When I was stationed in South Korea in the 1970s, I saw many Korean farmers use a crew-served shovel. The shovel wielder stood in the middle with a guy on either side. They were each holding a rope that was tied off just above the shovel's head. Middle guy jammed the shovel into the rice paddy's muck and the two flankers fulled it out with the ropes and threw the gunk to one side or the other.

Those guys could fly. Incredibly fast work. But then, they'd had years and years of practice.

Posted by: Donald Sensing at December 16, 2016 7:33 PM

Did Sippican put you up to this?

Posted by: itor at December 16, 2016 7:44 PM

At my last visit to my cardiologist I told him that at age 76 I had taken up crossfit four days a week. His only comment was: "Well, it's a lot better than shoveling snow."

Posted by: Chuck at December 17, 2016 5:15 AM

As an alternative, you could try moving to west-central Florida. That's what I did. Haven't had to shovel snow yet.

Posted by: waltj at December 17, 2016 1:37 PM

That guy's driveway bears the unmistakable marks of a snowblower passing.

Posted by: Arty at December 18, 2016 6:57 PM

I have the fancier version of this. It's a flexible handle that attaches about halfway down the handle. It works the same way as the rope does, and the motions are the same. I have one on a snow shovel and one on my compost fork.

This guy's method is less expensive.

Posted by: Gordon at December 20, 2016 8:28 AM

If Peter Griffin has taught us anything, it's that the proper way to lift heavy things is with a jerking & twisting motion. Save your legs.

Posted by: Scott M at December 20, 2016 9:26 PM