Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Landscape, Gardening Chores And Your Health

By Steve Grenny

Gardening is usually thought of as just a way to grow beautiful plants and great tasting fruits and vegetables. Most of us have never considered the immense amounts of exercise one can get in the process of gardening.

You might be asking yourself, how much exercise can really be gained from gardening? When you begin to think about all of the work that goes into preparing a garden you come to the realization that gardening can be quite rigorous. From digging holes to pulling weeds, a lot of exercise can occur from daily gardening.

You may not be an exercise fanatic. In fact, you may dread the gym and hate the sight of a treadmill. The good news is that you don't have to be at the gym to exercise. Take up gardening. The great thing about getting your exercise from gardening is that you will not only see physical results, but you will also reap the benefits of what you have planted.

Make sure you stretch before you go out into your garden. Remember, even though you may not be gardening to get exercise your body is till undergoing strenuous activities. Often gardeners spend long periods of time hunched over or bent over. This is bad or your back so be sure to take breaks.

One of the best exercises in the garden is weeding and pruning. You will burn a ton of calories pulling those weeds. You should be careful to take breaks if you are bending over all day.

Exercise can also happen in the lawn. Mowing the grass is a great way to get some exercise. If out have a self-propelled mower try to just push the mower instead. Push mowing is wonderful exercise. If you are seeking a cardio workout, pushing a lawn mower for an hour or so will really get the heart pumping. You will also feel the burn in you arms, legs and chest.

There you have it. Who says you have to join an expensive gym to get a good workout. You can get all of the exercise you need right outside your front door. - 16004

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