The first thing you need is a good size shovel with a Steel square blade for lifting the chunks of snow and ice

The shovel I like is steel You may have seen pics of it The one in my video POLARMAN HD on my facebook is actually too small for me to use properly and this forces me to bend my back at times You want the shaft on the shovel to be at least shoulder or neck height The blade and the handle must be made of steel not the crappy aluminum that will bend and get dented the first time you use it or the plastic which shatters like glass when it freezes up on you

For lifting snow ice or anything else its like lifting a heavy package You bend at the knees and let your legs take on the weight instead of your back This will greatly reduce the risk of injury or something worse later in life

For smashing ice I have a heavy weight hammer that is not designed for puny little nails but is designed for driving bolts through other objects I use it for smashing big chunks of ice that my shovel cant get through(Ill get Flora or someone to post pics of shovel and hammer on here Icepicks are completly useless to me as well as they only drive small holes into the ice where as the hammer will actually shatter the ice by every blow I make It even causes the steps to vibrate a bit and that loosens the ice so I can get my shovel blade underneath and lift it up enough that I can carry it over and throw it over the railing of the deck

Aside from being able to remove large chunks of ice and snow My shovel is also my fav mode of transportaion

Hey Id rather sit down on my shovel and slide down the ice covered hill then to try to walk down fall on my ass and get hurt

Hard labor (shoveling, chopping, etc) is great excercise that builds functional strength. Try shoveling dirt or snow into a wheelbarrow, running it a distance to dump it out whenever it gets full. Then smash rocks/bricks with a sledgehammer (up and over swings work the arms and shoulders, side-to-side works abs).

Having served as an Infantryman I can say with certitude that digging is a full body workout of epic proportions. When we would entrench a defensive position it was nothing short of exhausting. Keep in mind that we were all pretty young and in fantastic shape.

So yeah, I am betting that you Polarman, have a core strength that is through the roof.

Not only do I have core strenth that may be Through The Roof as you call it but You can really give youself time to adapt to colder weather you could work longer hours without always becoming so tired all the time from the heavy workout
You want a really heavy workout try building an igloo sometime That alone requires a single person to be able to lift large blocks of ice that is almost as big as himself while the other person while inside the igloo shapes the blocks so that they fit together

Awesome information Polarman and everyone else, I am looking forward to eventually going way out there in Nunavut to team up with Polarman where we are sure to get some shovelling done.

The igloo sounds dangerous unless you know what you're doing.
Hitting a large tire with a sledge (up and over when its laying flat, then sideways as it rests against something) is a popular MMA workout.

YAY FOR SHOVELING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EPIC!!!!!!!!

PS. Polarman, a storm is headed up to you...about three days away

Vomit That storm that you said was headed up here Flora Not only never came but it turned into rain that melted most of if not all the snow away then it got cold so the rain became rivers and lakes of ice that is extremly dangerous to walk on The other day a woman fell down She almost crushed her baby's head into a rock that was sticking up out of the ice It was just sheer luck that neither the woman or her child were hurt

yah, I saw the storm move.

ppl should wear cleats

I was at the store and I noticed that the Northmart is runniong their biggest scam yet with the snow shovels


They were not only selling plastic snow shovels for 67.99 but half the shovels had their shafts bent and twisted Everybody is complaining that they refuse to sell any real shovels We are getting tired of seeing plastic shovels that shatter like glass when its cold outside in winter Also How the hell is a person suposed to lift the snow if the shaft is bent or twisted in the middle

and the plastic handle is dangerous too Have you ever seen plastic explode when it freezes then comes in contact with another surface? It hurts when it explodes in your hand

(SH!!!!!T!)

Im not sure which would be worse Having an exploding shovel in your hand or the plastic sled explode while your sitting on it

If we had enough RLSHs up here and everyone brought their own Steel shovels We could not only do quite abit of snow clearing but play a game of Arctic Quidditch


HARRY POTTER EAT YOUR HEAR OUT

YASSSSS!!!!!!!