Push Mowing

leeroxboro
leeroxboro Posts: 142 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
SOOO, I just figured out MFP has an exercise (mowing, general) in their database....I'd been logging push mowing as walking 2.0 mph. The mower I use is not self propelled, so I guess I should've known better.

NO WONDER I've been hungry the past few days. Turns out, I've been burning more calories than I thought!! LOL

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,046 Member
    Old school push mowers had no motors. That's a tough workout.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • timeasterday
    timeasterday Posts: 1,368 Member
    Yep, I wore my HRM a few times when push mowing just to get an average calorie burn and it was a lot higher than I thought. It's a pretty good workout!
  • leeroxboro
    leeroxboro Posts: 142 Member
    Old school push mowers had no motors. That's a tough workout.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Yeah, we used to call those push, pull, curse, do whatever you gotta do to get the yard mowed mowers!! Don't think I could handle one of those just yet!!
  • leeroxboro
    leeroxboro Posts: 142 Member
    Yep, I wore my HRM a few times when push mowing just to get an average calorie burn and it was a lot higher than I thought. It's a pretty good workout!

    I'm still researching on how to use a HRM and FitBit to see which, if either I want to invest in.....I'm not very good with all this new technology!!
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    tumblr_m26u7iJ4Fq1qfqz7no1_500.jpg
  • leeroxboro
    leeroxboro Posts: 142 Member
    HOW cool is that?
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    Bumping an old thread, but how accurate do you all think a HRM burn estimate is for push mowing? I just spent like 3.5 hours push mowing my lawn and its 10" grass (yes, I am a procrastinator :grumble: ) and my ftt60 is giving me an estimate of 1265 cals burned. My heartrate WAS around 120-140 for most of the time, since the grass being so tall made it a bit more challenging, but that still seems high, and I assume the HRM would overestimate, since it also wasn't steady cardio - there was a lot of getting stuck and spending time shoving the mower over tufts of crab grass. Given all that, what percentage of the burn do you think I should log? 50%? More? Less? I know HRMS can be pretty far off when it comes to something like this, but I thought it might be better than nothing.

    Edited to fix some holy run-on sentences, batman.
  • DonnaJean0919
    DonnaJean0919 Posts: 2 Member
    That BIKE MOWER is Awesome!!!
  • sajeffe
    sajeffe Posts: 850 Member
    tumblr_m26u7iJ4Fq1qfqz7no1_500.jpg


    Mind officially blown. I sooooo love this.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    One thing I miss about having an actual yard was the awesome workout of using a manual reel mower on it. You really feel it in your abs. My 8x14 concrete pad is pretty low maintenance.
  • Fithealthyforlife
    Fithealthyforlife Posts: 866 Member
    As a lawn fanatic, I use a gas-powered, non-self propelled mower. It takes effort to push up hill. There are times I don't have to work out. Unfortunately, it is a poor muscle building exercise if you've been doing it any length of time; the body adapts.
  • GKoz004
    GKoz004 Posts: 87
    Yep, I wore my HRM a few times when push mowing just to get an average calorie burn and it was a lot higher than I thought. It's a pretty good workout!

    I'm still researching on how to use a HRM and FitBit to see which, if either I want to invest in.....I'm not very good with all this new technology!!
    I've got a Polar FT4 HRM, and I like it a lot! I know some Polars don't come with the chest band, but I feel like it helps with accuracy. I have found that MFP is pretty accurate with it's estimates, though!
  • Fithealthyforlife
    Fithealthyforlife Posts: 866 Member
    I just spent like 3.5 hours push mowing my lawn and its 10" grass (yes, I am a procrastinator :grumble: ) and my ftt60 is giving me an estimate of 1265 cals burned.

    Mowing frequently is actually better for both the grass and you. You can even mow every 3-4 days if needed.
  • leeroxboro
    leeroxboro Posts: 142 Member
    As a lawn fanatic, I use a gas-powered, non-self propelled mower. It takes effort to push up hill. There are times I don't have to work out. Unfortunately, it is a poor muscle building exercise if you've been doing it any length of time; the body adapts.

    I just started push mowing our yard this year, with the same type mower. I'm just now wanting to get healthy, which is why I got the mower. It takes me 4 days of mowing 30 minutes/day (took 5 when I started three weeks ago) so I know my body is starting to adapt.
    I can still feel a little muscle burn in the arms and legs.

    I'm trying to figure out a way to put some more "weight" on the mower once I get to the point of not gasping when going up the hills!! Don't know if it will help, but I don't think it would hurt...do you have any thoughts on that??

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