Does Gardening Keep You Fit?

I’ve seen many claims that gardening is great for exercise.  There are things that you’re doing in the garden that can be viewed as physical fitness like stooping, bending, raking, squatting, digging, lifting, reaching, or just moving around in general.   With doing movements like those you’re bound to be getting some level of exercise, but how many calories are you actually burning in the garden?

Is gardening good exercise?  It can be, depending on how frequently you’re gardening, how intense the activity is, and the duration you’re doing it for.  Plucking a few weeds for a couple minutes once a week isn’t going to do much for your overall health, but if you’re consistently spending several hours a week in your garden doing work, then it’s going to provide a nice supplemental workout.

Can you burn calories gardening? 

Yes, you can burn calories, but a lot depends on what you’re doing.  WebMD claims that when you’re doing heavy yard work that incorporates things like lifting, hauling dirt, or moving rocks, you can burn about 400-600 calories per hour.

Gardening activities like planting and pulling weeds is around 200-400 calories per hour.  Raking and bagging debris burns approximately 350-400 per hour.

 Again a lot is going to depend on the duration as well.  If you spend 10 minutes doing some lifting, it’s not going to be much of burn.  In comparison, walking briskly for an hour burns around 250 calories, while running is typically 500-600 calories per hour.  So there is definitely potential to burn some calories through gardening and regardless it’s better than being sedentary. 

How to get more Exercise in the Garden

Even though gardening can provide some physical fitness, it’s going to be more of a supplemental exercise, then your primary work out for staying fit.  For those of us that do spend a lot of time in our gardens, we aren’t necessarily doing the heavy yard work every time we’re out there.

  I’ll admit, a lot of times I’m just admiring my work or the beauty of it all.  With that being said, there are ways to create a more consistent calorie burn through gardening.

Intensify

Get rid of the power tools! Yes, they can make things quicker and easier, but that also decreases the physical exertion needed to get our heart pumping and work those muscles.  Click here to visit my Recommended Garden Tools and Product page.

Utilizing hand pruners or a push mower can easily increase the calorie burn by 100 calories per hour or more.  Make it a point to work up a sweat or to use more energy when you’re doing your gardening activities.

Create a Workout Routine

A lot of the movements while gardening are geared towards strength and core exercise.  Try creating an hour-long routine that incorporates a full body workout. 

If you don’t have a Zen-like spot in your garden, it’s time to make one by adding an area that you can put down a padded mat. You may enjoy my post: Why You Need an Entrance Arbor in Your Garden Today, which goes more in-depth on how to add more features to beautify your garden.

Start with a dynamic warmup to get the blood flowing through your body and gets the muscles warm to reduce the potential for injury.  Incorporate things like Yoga, Pilates, and cardio to work in conjunction with your gardening activities.  For example, a few workout routines could look like:

Workout 1

10 Minutes of Dynamic Stretching

10 Minutes of Yoga

30 Minutes of Pulling Weeds

5 Minutes of Jump Roping

5 Minutes of Static Stretching

Workout 2

10 Minutes Dynamic Stretching

15 Minutes of Kenpo Karate (Using kickboxing type movements)

30 Minutes of Digging, Lifting, Moving Dirt

5 Minutes Static Stretching

Make it Fun

Add some music and let loose with some dance moves.  Incorporate your kids or a group of friends to make it more social.  Take a look at my post: Building Relationships Through a Garden Community, that discusses how I’ve met new people with gardening.  Reward yourself after you hit milestones for your health goals.  Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. 

Additional Tips to Consider

• Take care of your back– A lot of the work you do like bending to pull weeds, shoveling, or lifting objects incorporates your back.  Utilize proper lifting techniques and back safety to prevent adverse long term effects of back problems. Avoid attempting to lift things that are too heavy for you to handle. It may be beneficial to wear a back brace like this one here, to prevent injury.
• Use both arms– If you’re only using one side of your body when doing the work, it’s going to create a strong side and a weak side.  Try using your right arm and then alternate to your left an equal amount of times.
• When digging wear a breathable mask– I’ve had allergies and respiratory issues when moving things like mulch which can have a lot of mold spores and allergens.  I always wear a mask to help prevent possible health issues.  Here is the mask I wear.
• Stay Hydrated– Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water and taking precautions against the sun when working outdoors on hot days.
• Incorporate Full Body– If you’re doing a lot of upper body garden work, incorporate your legs somehow.  Think about the type of work you’re doing and how you can supplement other areas to ensure you’re getting cardio, strength, flexibility, and endurance.
• Be Safe-You don’t need to overexert yourself or spend insane hours pushing yourself.  Do what you’re comfortably able to do and gradually challenge yourself a little more.  Take breaks as needed and don’t spend too much time doing one thing. 

Why Gardeners Stay Fit

Unless you’re growing sugarcane and wheat with the intention of refining it to start a backyard Oreo production line, most of us gardeners grow to produce healthy foods.  Gardening at the very least adds healthy fruits, herbs, and vegetables to our diets. 

For a lot of us that garden, not only does it add to our diet, but becomes a means for a healthy lifestyle.  I’m not here to encourage a vegan lifestyle, although that’s great for those that are, just eating cleaner foods from our garden definitely helps our bodies. 

Much of the produce we get from our local grocery store are harvested early in order to ship. Foods that are grown in your backyard are harvested at optimal times to contain the highest amounts of vitamins and minerals.  The pesticides and chemicals used in commercial farming aren’t used very frequently if at all on our homegrown produce. 

There are no worries of the harmfulness of GMO and we know what is going into our gardens.  Lastly, were just eating more vegetables, fruits, and herbs that are bodies need.  Many studies have indicated that kids have a higher probability of eating fruits and vegetables when they garden and are more willing to try healthier foods. 

Final Thoughts

Gardening can be a great way to get some physical activity, as long as you’re consistent with doing some actual work in the garden. With a few simple modifications to some of the work you do in the garden, it can add to the calorie burn.  All that time spent working in the garden can aid in creating a fit body and healthy lifestyle. 

Please comment below on anything that you’ve enjoyed from this post or what you do for added exercise in the garden.