Gardening Isn't Exercise?

suzooz

I have some leg muscles that would disagree with you! I am so stiff from pulling weeds last night! I think I did way many more toe touches and lunges just to pull one more weed. I paid for it this morning.

And who needs resistance bands? I have a few weeds that will give you great resistance! If I could just master the "curl" format, I'm sure that I can be toned in no time.

And there's still a TON of work to do. . .

I'm heading out to do more exercise --- that is, if I don't get eaten alive by the mosquitos!

change_happens

I knw what you mean. Gardening, pulling weeds that is... is definitely a workout! go ahead, burn those calories

TS65

I thought that too until I wore my HRM one time! I burned TONS of calories doing it. It was more than just pulling weeds though, I was shoveling, etc. Weeds will still get your heart rate up though.

erniemj

I log Gardening a lot for exercise, mostly because Gardening for me is just another name for yard work, including shoveling wheelbarrel loads of mulch, dirt, or compost, weeding, raking, and just about anything else you can think of - trust me, i am sweating, and I am sore after a long day of doing yard work - I have not yet worn a HRM, but I conservatively log calories burned. Either way, I am satisfied that I have done work!

RoanneRed

Try digging the roots of running bamboo out of the lawn - got to be a great back strengthener!

Athena413

Who said it wasn't?! They clearly have never done gardening before...

FairyMiss

i log it to , but then i have a bad habit of letting it go to long (i get busy) then when i get time to do it, its a big job

beamishcas

I TOTALLY AGREE I pulled weeds for an hour last weekend. I was SO SO sore, You would of thought I hadn't been exercising almost every day for that last 2 months. I felt it in my legs and butt. My legs are still sore. It's a MAJOR WORKOUT!!!

suzooz

It's official! It is exercise!

The Bodybugg said that I burned about 300 calories doing 75 minutes of gardening. Taking out the "normal" 80 calories / hour that I typically burn at rest, and I'm thinking that conservatively, it's about 200 calories of "burn." More importantly, I'm liking the "strength" aspect of this -- lots of lunges and arm "pulls". I know I will feel this in my legs and butt tomorrow!

The good news is that I filled another 2 bags of weeds. The bad news is that I have hardly made a dent in it! (Previous owners planted perennials, which often look like weeds to me. I hadn't done a thing for fear that I would pull a flower not a weed! I have finally decided just to take out what I don't like and plant something that I do.)

The good news is that I still have several more days' of workouts! Me vs. Nature? I think Nature is winning this one!

singer201

My yard has benefited greatly from the exercise calories I've expended on it this year. I hate wasting my energy on non-productive exercise!