While gardening is usually thought of as a productive way to
grow beautiful plants and obtain tasty fruits and vegetables,
few gardeners have ever considered the immense amounts of
exercise one can get in the process of gardening. While you can
get almost as much muscle (if not more) exercise as you do
working out, it is very productive at the same time.
You may wonder how gardening could possibly give as much
exercise as working out. Just think about all the various facets
of preparing a garden. There are holes to be dug, bags and pots
to be carried, and weeds to be pulled. Doing all of these things
help to work out almost every group of muscles in your body.
My brother is a fanatic about working out. Almost every time I
call his house, I end up interrupting some muscle toning
activity. I’ve never really enjoyed working out, though, as it
seems that the constant lifting of heavy things just puts a
strain on my body with no immediate positive results. But while
he is into working out, I am almost equally enthusiastic about
gardening. I work outside improving my garden almost every day.
I think I definitely surprised my brother when he realized that
I am almost as muscular as he is; but I have never lifted a
single dumbbell!
Before you go out into your garden, you should always stretch
out. Even if your goal isn’t to work out and get exercise, it’s
still a good idea. Often gardeners spend long periods of time
hunched over or bent over. This can be bad for your back. So not
only should you stretch out before hand, but you should always
take frequent breaks if you’re spending long amounts of time in
these positions.
Weeding and pruning are some of the best workouts a gardener can
get. With the constant crouching and standing, the legs get a
great workout. If your weeds are particularly resistant, your
arms will become particularly toned just from the effort
required to remove them from the ground. If you plan on taking
the whole workout think very seriously, you should always be
switching arms and positions to spread out the work between
different areas of your body.
One of the most obvious ways to get exercise is in the
transporting and lifting of bags and pots. Between the nursery
and your house, you will have to move the bags multiple times
(to the checkout, to your car, to your garden, and then
spreading them out accordingly). As long as you remember to lift
with your legs and not your back, transporting bags and pots can
give you a fairly big workout, even though you probably don’t
make those purchases very often.
Mowing your grass can also be a great exercise. If you’ve got an
older mower that isn’t self propelled, just the act of pushing
it through the grass will give you more of a workout than going
to the gym for a few hours. During the course of mowing the
grass, you use your chest, arms, back, and shoulder to keep the
mower ahead of you. Your thighs and butt also get worked a lot
to propel the mower. Not only do you get an all around muscle
work out, but it can improve your heart’s health. It’s good for
you as a cardiovascular activity, as well as a great way to lose
weight due to the increased heart rate and heavy breathing.
If you plan on using gardening as a way to get in shape or lose
some weight, you can hardly go wrong. Just be sure to stretch
out, drink plenty of water, and apply sunscreen. As long as you
take steps to prevent the few negative effects such as pulled
muscles, dehydration and sunburn, I think you’ll have a great
time and end up being a healthier person because of it.
