When one of the lead stories on the news is gyms being packed because people are desperate for exercise, you know it's been a bad Winter.

Time to stop feeling like a slug. This story is a bit of a silver lining beneath our brutal weather recently and a reason to feel OK about skipping the gym.

My justification has been that "shoveling snow seems like a better workout than I get at the gym" and according to a new article, I'm (mostly) right.

Livestrong started with a "baseline" of a 155-lb. person to find that at that weight, shoveling for a half-hour can burn 223 calories! Weigh 125 lbs.? You'll burn 180 calories. At 185? 266 calories.

You're still not even close to my weight, and I'm not good at math (which is why I got into radio), but if my calculations are correct, let's just say I'm burning over 300 cals per 30-minute shoveling session. Lately, we've been out there more than once a day, so yes, I've been getting a workout on-par with that at the gym, where I tend to burn almost 300 calories in a half-hour on the elliptical, without feeling the same upper-body benefits I get with shoveling.

So if you're looking for a bright side to all the snow you've had to battle this Winter? Embrace the shovel and shed those calories and pounds.

On the other hand, if you think this is all bull, here's a video you might relate to.

 

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