Gardening is an enjoyable pastime that is widely available to anyone interested. There is no need to go to a fancy gym or spend money on exercise equipment. Your gym is the outdoors, surrounded by nature and fresh air. Your equipment can be found in gardening tools such as rakes, hoes, mowers, wheelbarrows, clippers, shovels, and watering cans.
Both gardening and yard work contributes to healthy living. Approximately 300 calories an hour can be burned just by gardening. Not only can you burn calories, but in the end you’ll have a beautiful landscape to show for it as well. Gardening can actually lower blood pressure and cholesterol or prevent diabetes, heart disease, depression, and osteoporosis when practiced on a regular basis. Gardening gives all major muscle groups a good workout including your legs, arms, buttocks, stomach, neck, and back. Whether it comes in the form of digging up soil, setting plants or carrying water, exercise is taking place. Weeding, pruning, mowing, and even walking around the yard can increase heart rate and tone up the body. Your brain even gets a chance to workout as you plan garden designs and absorb information from resource materials.
Gardening is a good way to lose inches from your waistline. Not only is it fun and relaxing, but there is no diet regimen to follow. You’re simply doing what you already love. If done on a regular basis, you can lose weight without even being aware that you’re doing it. In fact, there are lots of gardening chores that can burn fat; and if you are able to burn off more calories than you consume, weight loss should come with ease. One good way to burn those unwanted calories is by choosing to mow the lawn with a push mower rather than riding. Believe it or not, this can burn up to 300 calories or more. Other yard work like raking and pruning can burn close to 200 calories; and even simple garden tasks such as tilling, digging, planting, and weeding can burn up to 200 calories as well. However, not everyone has the same metabolism; therefore, don’t rely solely on gardening for weight loss.
As with any form of exercise, there are risks if you overdo it. Therefore, you should pay attention to your body and exertion level. Take frequent breaks. Never use your back for lifting and avoid bending over for extended periods to prevent neck and back strain. Try not to accomplish too much at one time. Instead, limit your activities by breaking down your gardening tasks each day into short intervals. Just 10 minutes of moderate activities throughout the day can benefit your health. For instance, rather than weed the entire garden at one time, try doing it for only 10-15 minutes. Take a break and go to something else such as raking leaves or turning compost for another 10-15 minutes.
Gardening has a positive effect on not only your physical health but mental health as well. Gardening allows your creative side to shine through leaving you with a sense of accomplishment and pride. Gardening can stimulate all of your senses. The garden is filled with all sorts of sights, sounds, textures, scents, and tastes. It may even stimulate long-forgotten memories. These stimulated senses can easily relieve and reduce unwanted stress associated with everyday life, allowing you a much deserved break from these outside distractions. Gardening connects you with others as well as with nature. This healthy hobby is one that can be enjoyed and practiced by everyone in the family and at any age. Gardening also benefits your health when you choose to grow and eat your own food. When you grow your own herbs, fruits and vegetables, you know exactly what’s been done to it; whereas, commercially grown produce may have been treated with unsafe pesticides and fertilizers. Of course, nothing quite compares to the fresh, sweet taste of food that has been grown and harvested from your own garden either.
You can cover ugly walls with bright vines and hanging flowers as I've done in these photos.
You can plant flowers and flowering shrubs so the view from every window in your home can bring you pleasure that is so good for the heart and soul. You'll see how the garden constantly changes from season to season.
Always remember to stretch first! You'd stretch before going to the gym, wouldn't you. It's also good to do a few stretches in between garden jobs as well as after.
Older people, even those with memory problems, thrive in a community gardening situation. Special gardens have also sprung up for the blind, wheelchair users (raised beds) and people with mental disabilities. just walking into a fragrant warm greenhouse can change someone's whole mood.
Who knew exercise could be so much fun!
Now you're ready for a break. So sit down in a cozy corner in your garden, and have yourself a delicious piece of THE FRESH DIET'S Cheesecake. You deserve it!
Oh Carol! SOOOO beautiful! Did you know that hydrangeas are my favorite flower? They are!!!
ReplyDeleteSis. Boom, Thank you, I've planted all these and so much more over the 14 years we've been here. I'm always digging up the old and replacing with new, pruning, weeding etc. I never allowed paid help in my garden. I need some help now though. Between nursing and gardening, my back isn't what it use to be. Because of an accident, I've lost some use with my right arm and hand. No more heavy digging or using the pickaxe. Hard to use a hand saw too. Tools I used all the time in these gardens.
ReplyDeleteDespite my arm and back, you'll still find me in there!
By the way I love hydrangeas too!! Those in the photo keep changing colors. Right now they are deepening into a rosy burgundy.