Volume 14, Number 2: April 2006
Gardening Get-Down Be Healthy, Eat Healthy
Sunshine, cool days, pale green buds...raggedy shrubs. Ah, spring & gardening! Ah, exercise for earth lovers!
If you like gardening-America's number one leisure activity-you know it feels good. But did you know it is exercise as good for you as walking (sometimes better)? Welcome to Gardening Get-Down 101: why, how-to, and how much gardening equals exercise.
You don't like gardening? Well, don't stop reading, even though enjoyment is important in exercising. Almost everyone must do a little yard work now and then. Why not choose to approach it as benefiting you?
The big gardening bonuses, of course, are beauty and bounty. Whether you're growing roses or radishes, this exercise enriches life. A vegetable garden, or even a few plants, rewards you with delicious, fresh, low-calorie, fiber-rich food; and you'll know exactly how it was grown.
A Whole-Body Workout. Any gardening activity, even riding a mower, is exercise (100 calories burned per 30 minutes for a 180-pound man). As little as a half-hour of daily exercise helps your health tremendously. If you can't dig holes to plant trees, don't worry. Watering and raking are great, too (61 and 162 calories). Gardening offers a whole scope of exercise. Think about it. Raking, weeding, mowing, pruning, digging, planting, hoeing, bagging leaves, turning compost, laying sod: these translate into helping your muscles, flexibility, bone density, and endurance (aerobic exercise).
Get Ready and Don't Overdo. Ease into spring gardening, though, even if you're in shape. Doctors see too many over-eager, back-aching gardeners who try to undo winter in one Saturday. Here are tips.
Start walking, stretching, and strengthening (some squats, for example) at least a week before getting into the garden. Find a neighborhood you like, and walk along gathering ideas for vegetable and flower gardens, plants, and trees.
Loosen up as you would before a workout. Do some head rolls, side bends, knee bends, arm warm-ups, etc.
When lifting, use your legs and abdominal muscles. Don't take the weight in your back.
For work on the ground, kneel or sit using a cushion or stool. Don't repeatedly bend from a standing position.
Use the 20/30 rule, and also vary your activities. For repetitive actions like raking, do 20 repetitions and then rest for 30 seconds. Change hands. Weed a little and then prune branches.
If you start to ache, stop and rest, or stop for the day. You should feel tired (and messy) after gardening; you should not be in pain.
Prudence and Patience. Gardeners know that growth takes time and care and water. Remember that for yourself as well. Keep hydrated, wear a hat and sunscreen, and schedule manageable 'workouts.' Gardening is ongoing and always changing. Even modest, regular effects will be rewarded-with delicious food and delights for the eye. So get growing!