Exercising in the Garden
Yoga in the GardenYoga is a fantastic mind and body exercise that increases flexibility and improves posture. The following poses were found in the article Celebrate your Connection to the Earth. Take your Practice to the Garden. by Kelle Walsh. Read the full article here. These poses and sequences help to "counteract stiffening, repetitive gardening postures". Yoga also reduces the risk of injury by increasing flexibility and by mobilizing the spine in all planes of movement. *Click photos to enlarge and for explanation of the exercise*
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Gardening with Correct FormLike any form of exercise, it is important to be aware of the correct way to perform an activity in order to reduce the risk of injury. By adhering to the following tips you can reduce your risk of injury in the garden while maximizing your time spent and reaping the benefits of health and fitness! The biggest mistake made when gardening is working with poor posture. In general, following the above picture and the following tips will help maintain proper lumbar curvature and will not result in a sore back post gardening.
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Warming Up in the GardenIt's important to warm up before exercising! Warmup should be 5-10 minutes and should gradually increase heart rate and warm up the muscles that will be exercised. Try the movements below that can be done with a rake: *Click photos to enlarge and for explanation of the exercise*
Weeding as a Warm-up
Weeding can be a great way to warm up in the garden. Combine weeding with lunges and squats as shown below and in the garden strength training slideshow. Here are several different positions for weeding. These three recommended positions recommended in Fitness the Dynamic Gardening Way by Jeffrey Restuccio:
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Garden Strength Training
Gardening can be a great form of exercise! However, in order to get the most out of your gardening experience, it is key to exercise with "conscious effort" (Restuccio 62). Below is a non-comprehensive list of exercises that can be done in the garden or incorporated into your daily lifestyle.
Calories Burned While Gardening:
A common method to measure the amount of energy required to complete a task is to calculate the metabolic equivalent or MET. Basically, an activity with a MET value of 3 means that you are expending 3x the energy you are at rest (Hughes). You can calculate how many calories are burned for any activity by calculating a MET minute. A MET minute = minutes spent doing the activity x the MET of the activity.... So, if you spent 30 minutes doing an activity worth 5 METS, you would have accumulate 150 MET minutes. The "Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest that there are substantial health benefits for adults engaging in 500-1,000 MET minutes per week" (Hughes). Below are the metabolic equivalents of common gardening tasks along with more traditional exercises that expend the same amount of energy published in a study conducted in Korea:
Low/Light Intensity Activities:
(1.1-2.9 METs)
Moderate Intensity Activities:
(3.0-5.9 METs)
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Other Examples of Low/Light Intensity Exercise: According to ACS
"Never underestimate you STRENGTH. Never overestimate your weaknesses" -Unknown Other Examples of Low/Light Intensity Exercise: According to ACSM
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How many calories are you really burning???
You can use the following equation to determine how many calories you are expending per minute based on the type of exercise you are doing:
_____MET Value x 3.5 x _____kg body weight ÷ 200 = calories burned per minute.
You can use the following equation to determine how many calories you are expending per minute based on the type of exercise you are doing:
_____MET Value x 3.5 x _____kg body weight ÷ 200 = calories burned per minute.
Example:
You are 150lbs and spend 30 minutes in the garden weeding (3,4 METs). How many calories did you burn?
You are 150lbs and spend 30 minutes in the garden weeding (3,4 METs). How many calories did you burn?
- Divide 150lbs by 2.2 to convert to kilograms (lb/2.2=kilograms): 150lb/2,2 = 68.18kg
- Plug values into the above equation: 3.4 METs x 3.5 x 68.18kg / 200 = 4.05 calories burned per minute
- Multiply calories burned per minute by the amount of time spend doing the activity: 4.05 calories x 30 minutes = 121.5 calories burned in 30 minutes
It may not seem like a lot, but every little activity adds up. Increasing your level of physical activity throughout the day can have a huge impact on your life and health. Every little step towards a healthy, active lifestyle is a huge accomplishment!
"You've always been beautiful. Now you're just deciding to be Healthier, Fitter, Faster, and Stronger. Remember that." -Anonymous
Citations:
Restuccio, Jeffrey P. Fitness the Dynamic Gardening Way: A Health and Wellness Lifestyle. Cordova, TN: Balance of Nature Pub., 1992. Print.
Walsh, Kelle. "Celebrate Your Connection to the Earth. Take Your Practice to the Garden." Yoga Journal (2010): 78+. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Karyn Hughes. "MET Minutes: A Simple Common Value to Track Exercise Progress | Today I Will." Today I Will. N.p., 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 July 2015.
Park, Sin-Ae, Kwan-Suk Lee, and Ki-Cheol Son. "Determining exercise intensities of gardening tasks as a physical activity using metabolic equivalents in older adults." HortScience 46.12 (2011): 1706-1710.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Promoting physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Restuccio, Jeffrey P. Fitness the Dynamic Gardening Way: A Health and Wellness Lifestyle. Cordova, TN: Balance of Nature Pub., 1992. Print.
Walsh, Kelle. "Celebrate Your Connection to the Earth. Take Your Practice to the Garden." Yoga Journal (2010): 78+. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Karyn Hughes. "MET Minutes: A Simple Common Value to Track Exercise Progress | Today I Will." Today I Will. N.p., 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 July 2015.
Park, Sin-Ae, Kwan-Suk Lee, and Ki-Cheol Son. "Determining exercise intensities of gardening tasks as a physical activity using metabolic equivalents in older adults." HortScience 46.12 (2011): 1706-1710.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Promoting physical activity. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.