Gardeners Club The Gardeners Club is a free to join online club for everyone with an interest in gardening and gardens.
Related Articles
For all of you avid gardeners, you have properly wondered if all those hours of hard work and sweat equated to a vigorous spout of exercise. Perhaps you aren’t engaging in a strenuous hour of non-stop running, but a whole afternoon of gardening? That’s enough to knock you out for an early night!
The truth is that, in several circumstances, gardening can count as exercise. It is important to note that exercise comes in several different forms. From a relaxing yoga session to an hour-long HIIT session, gardening may not offer the aerodynamic effects of some workouts. Still, it certainly has several features that benefit health and well-being. In this blog, we will cover all of the justifications for gardening being a form of exercise, including all its benefits, and how to level up your garden-workout.
Both physical and mental benefits
Gardening is more than just a hobby. In addition to the physical benefits gardening can provide, it has also offered several mental benefits. We will delve into the physical benefits later, but the mental benefits include reduced stress, reduced symptoms of depression, and increased life satisfaction. There aren’t many hobbies that provide such rich benefits, but having a green thumb is certainly an all-rounder. Now, for the physical benefits, take a look at the following:
Calorie burning
If you are looking to drop some excess pounds, gardening is a great way to burn calories. It is estimated that just an hour of exercise can burn anywhere around 300-500 calories. Of course, you can expect more calories burnt with more strenuous garden work such as mowing the lawn, hauling excess dirt and rocks, and perhaps building a mini greenhouse if you are doing the entire re-design. For those low-maintenance days, it does provide peace of mind knowing that simply watering the lawn and plants burns 130 calories, how cool is that!
Maintaining flexibility and muscle
If you think gardening is for older folk looking for something to fill their days with, think again! They might be one step ahead of us. Gardening has also been proven to improve muscle strength and flexibility, two things that tend to deplete as we get older. By engaging in gardening weekly, if not daily, you are helping your muscles to maintain their mass, and also get those joints moving so you can age more gracefully and reduce the risk of permanent injury should you have an accident.
Vitamin D
If you are someone who spends most of their time sitting at a desk or inside, you might be suffering from a vitamin D deficiency. Being outside with nature under the sun’s gaze is just what you need to get those vitamin D levels up. If you are wondering what’s so great about vitamin D, it helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body, keeping your bones, teeth and muscles healthy. In short, while you are shovelling soil, and pulling weeds under the sun, you are exercising your muscles, and joints, burning calories, and also absorbing nutrients from the sun’s gaze. Remember to always wear SPF in the sun however, you still reap the benefits of Vitamin D with a high factor sun cream on!
How to level up your gardening exercise
Wondering how to get the most out of your gardening work? Here are just a few ways you can add that extra push to your usual gardening routines to burn more calories, and reap the physical rewards more in the long term.
Consider a tracking watch
Everyone’s body will respond differently to physical exercise. What one person might burn during potting and planting, another person might just use half of the energy. A watch that tracks exercise and time elapsed is great for monitoring the work you are putting in and measuring more effectively what pushes your body the hardest.
Stretch before you garden
Treat your gardening prep as you would treat any other workout. Be sure to stretch to avoid any muscle fatigue or pulled muscles that stop you from carrying out the work. A simple dynamic stretching routine works, or, start a ritual of taking out a yoga mat, putting on some gym leggings and doing a deep stretch before your garden work. Stretching on a mat under the sunshine will make you feel that much more invigorated and ready for a great gardening session.
Opt for a push mower
If you have the luxury of a riding mower, you might be missing out on the benefits a push mower can provide. Yes, they certainly require much more energy, but that also means you trim down the grass, and also the extra pounds you are holding onto! If you are considering a new lawn mower purchase, stick to your guns, and keep your push mower. Your physical health will thank you for it!
Bottom line
Overall, gardening can define key equates to any other exercise form depending on the complexity of work you have to do. If you are looking for an extra burst of physical work to be done during your gardening, consider putting on a timer and doing some jumping jacks or burpees for 10 minutes to get an extra sweat on. The increased heart rate will also help you burn extra calories when you resume your normal garden work. A hobby that also supports physical and mental health is a valuable one, and gardening is just the thing for that!
