Keep your feet wide apart while shovelling and turn your feet and body in the direction you’re throwing or pushing the snow, recommends the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). Pushing the snow rather than lifting it is better for safety, the City of Toronto advises. It’s also worth doing a short warm-up to loosen and prepare muscles for the job ahead.

As the adage goes, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. In the case of heavy snowfall, shove only small amounts of snow at a time, the city recommends.

Don’t bend at the waist while shovelling snow and never throw snow over your shoulder, since it requires “a twisting motion that stresses your back,” the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons advises.

When should you start shovelling?

Whenever possible, it’s better to shovel earlier in the day, since new snow is lighter than partially melted snow or snow that has settled and been packed or patted down.

When you do get started, the most efficient rate of shovelling is between 18 and 21 scoops per minute, per CCOHS, but if you’re shovelling continuously, the “recommended rate” is around 15 scoops per minute.