GARDENING KEEPS YOU FIT

Want to stay in shape? Forget the gym. Head to the garden. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gardening qualifies as exercise. Besides keeping you physically fit, gardening promotes relaxation, reduces stress and improves mental health.

Gardening provides all 3 types of exercise: endurance, flexibility, and strength. It maintains mobility and encourages use of all motor skills through walking, reaching, bending, digging, planting seeds and taking cuttings.

Whether you weed, dig holes, prune, rake, turn the soil over or cut the grass, gardening can be a great workout.

* Watering plants with a heavy watering gives a moderate workout for the arms.
* Weeding your lawn works the legs, core, arms and shoulder muscles.
* Raking leaves and soil works your entire upper body, including your core, biceps and triceps, and shoulders.
* Bagging leaves gives a good workout for your upper and lower body.
* Mowing the lawn with a manual lawn mower works all your major leg muscles, including the calves and thighs, plus your arms too.

How many calories burned per hour?
* Mowing lawn with a push mower: 250-350 calories
* Digging, planting, weeding: 200-400 calories
* Raking and bagging leaves: 350-450 calories
* Tilling and pushing a wheelbarrow: 450-550 calories
* Landscaping, moving rocks, hauling branches: 400-600 calories

USEFUL TIPS
1) Use manual clippers, shears and mowers instead of tools that plug into an outlet. Using a traditional push mower, for example, requires you to use your legs, upper body strength and core.
2) Alternate between activities like raking, mowing, weeding, pruning and digging. If you’re spreading mulch, switch hands periodically.
3) Watch your form. Bending and twisting can cause injury if you’re not careful. If you’re lifting heavy items, bend at the knees. Use long-handed tools to rake and hoe to avoid back pain. If something hurts, stop what you’re doing and take a break.
4) Take frequent water breaks.