This $2 app lets you record snow shoveling as a workout on your Garmin (plus how to track it as a workout on your watch)

Forget running a PR or lifting weights in the gym; snow shoveling is a serious, full-body workout. You’ll be working your core as you hinge forward and twist; your glutes and hamstrings as you push the shovel through the snow and stand with a heavy load; and your shoulders and upper back.

Forget going to the gym this weekend — on average, a 155lb person burns around 223 calories for 30 minutes of shoveling. This number increases when the snow is heavy and wet, compared to fluffy powder, and if you’re lifting and tossing the snow, rather than just pushing it.

Yet did you actually do a workout if it’s not recorded on your fitness tracker and synced to Strava? Most of the best watches on the market don’t have a snow shoveling workout mode, but this doesn’t mean you can’t record it. Garmin has a third-party app, but there’s also a simple workaround if you’re wearing an Apple Watch to move snow this weekend.

It’s important to remember that, while like a chore, snow shoveling can be extremely strenuous. It can increase your heart rate dramatically in just a few minutes, as it combines cold air with heavy lifting. Remember to shovel snow safely, with good form, and take breaks.

This $2 app lets you record snow shoveling as a workout on your Garmin

Garmin users have, for years, been asking Garmin to add snow shoveling as a workout mode, and it seems developers have been listening. You can download the Snow Shovel Counter app for $2.49 in the Garmin ConnectIQ store. Like all Garmin apps, once you’ve downloaded it once, you can sync it to other Garmin watches in the future if you upgrade.

The app counts how many scoops you’ve completed per minute, as well as your heart rate, calorie burn, rest time and work time. It’s compatible with most of the best Garmin watches on the market, and you can easily pause the activity and resume it when you need to take a break.

Other free ways to record snow shoveling as a workout on Garmin

Of course, if you don’t fancy spending money on a workout app you’ll (hopefully) only use for a few months of the year, there’s a simple fix. You can record your snow shoveling as a strength workout on your Garmin, and tag it once you’ve finished.

Of course, you won’t be able to see how many scoops you’ve made or how heavy the snow you’ve lifted, but you’ll be able to keep track of your heart rate and see how many calories you’ve burned.

To tag a workout on Garmin, record your workout and sync your device to Garmin Connect. Using the Garmin Connect app, open the activity you want to tag. Edit the activity and add a tag using the title or notes field, #snowshoveling. In the future, you can use the search bar on the Activities page to find and group related workouts.

How to record snow shoveling as a workout on Apple Watch

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t let you add custom tags or labels to workouts. The best thing to do for Apple Watch wearers seems to be record the snow shoveling as Other, Functional Strength Training, or Core Training.

You’ll be able to see your heart rate, calorie expenditure and how long you’ve spent shoveling. Make sure your watch is sitting snuggly on your wrist, even if you are wearing thick gloves, so that the heart rate sensor takes an accurate reading.

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