Everywhere you look there are flowers and trees blooming, it looks so beautiful, which is a reminder that your garden could use some work. If you’ve ever done gardening in the past, you know that gardening can make you break a sweat. In fact, if you spend more than hour gardening, chances are you’re burning off lots of calories and you might even get a pass at skipping the gym for that day.
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Depending on the activity you’re doing, you can benefit from three types of exercise: endurance, flexibility, and strength. On average you can burn between 400-800 calories an hour doing gardening. Plus, it’s fun and it’s an activity you can do to spend more time with your family. Just think about the muscles in your body that you move as you workout in the garden.
Gardening Burns Calories
Raking leaves: When you rake leaves you are extending your arms then bringing them close. Raking leaves can exercise your arms, shoulders and torso, making it a great upper body workout. Picking up leaves, you can strengthen your arms as you do with weights and even add some squats as you pick them up.
Digging holes: Digging holes and breaking through hard soil can be tough, but it can make you break a sweat as you’re pushing through the ground. It can really get your heart pumping as you pick up the soil and throw it to the other side.
Weeds: Pulling out weeds can be hard work, especially if you have dandelions or other pesky weeds with thick roots. It can help you work your arms as you pull and you can also work your legs as you bend down and pick them out.
Pruning: This may not seem like a tough workout, but you can burn a lot of calories when you’re up a ladder reaching hard to reach branches. It helps exercise your flexibility and strengthen your joints while your at it.
Mowing the lawn: While many of us might have an electric lawnmower, you can probably get a stronger workout from a manual lawnmower, but if you don’t have one, it’s o.k. Concentrate on the movement of your arms and on how you take strides because it can help you build your upper body strength and you can also get your cardio as well.
One of the things we recommend while you’re doing these activities is to pace yourself. Gardening can be a great workout alternative, so make sure you take your time, concentrate on your breathing and use both arms. Many of us are right-handed, but to get the most out of your workout, make sure you change hands/arms. Go the extra mile and do multiple trips if you’re planting plants. Carrying bags of soil and moving things around in the garden can also add to your workout.
Many people find gardening therapeutic, especially because you know your hard work will pay off in a couple of weeks or months. If you don’t have a garden, volunteer at your local botanical gardens or conservatory since those places are always looking for volunteers and it’s a great way to socialize and learn more about gardening from experienced gardeners.