Garden your way to a better body

2 mins to read

Can time spent gardening help to manage your weight? Personal trainer Andrew Cate shares some tips on how to get the most out of gardening.

Everyday health

Is gardening good exercise?
Physical activity can be defined as any movement involving the contraction of muscles that results in kilojoule use.

Gardening is a form of physical activity that allows you to be productive while enjoying the great outdoors. It provides a wide variety of movements that will challenge and develop your agility, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and muscle strength. The more muscles involved in each specific gardening activity, the more kilojoules you'll be likely to burn.

There are a number of different tasks involved in gardening, and some will be more effective than others at improving your fitness and helping weight control.

The research
A study published in the journal HortScience measured the physical intensity of various gardening tasks to find out what was most effective. Subjects had their kilojoule use and heart rate monitored while performing 15 gardening tasks, and had 5 minutes rest between each task.

They discovered that tasks using both the upper and lower body were most effective at burning kilojoules. These tasks were rated as moderate intensity physical activities and included:

digging
mulching
fertilizing
weeding
raking
tying plants to stakes

Tasks that used mostly the upper body while standing or squatting were rated low intensity physical activities and included:

Mixing soil
Planting seedlings
Pruning
Sowing
Watering using a watering can or hose
Harvesting

Tasks requiring limited use of the upper body while standing, such as filling containers with soil and washing harvested produce, were rated the least demanding physical activities.

This study shows some gardening tasks, especially those which use both the arms and legs, are vigorous enough to be considered moderate in intensity. At this level, they could be used as an alternative to sports or other exercises to keep fit and burn kilojoules.

How to garden your way to a better body
Here are some tips to maximise your fitness boosting and weight management benefits of gardening:

Warm up with light gardening activities such as pruning or picking up fallen branches, then pick up the pace and treat your gardening experience like a workout.
Seek out gardening activities that use both your arms and legs such as digging, raking, mulching and weeding.
Because gardening is a stop-start activity, try to move quickly between tasks to keep your heart rate up.
Perform all your gardening tasks at an energetic pace that gets your muscles working harder and your heart rate elevated.
If you have a lawn, don't pay someone else to cut it. You can save money and burn off extra kilojoules by mowing it yourself. Even better, get yourself a manual push mower, which can take the kilojoule burning rate to a whole new level.
Look after your back by performing all tasks with your core engaged, and maintaining good posture throughout (especially while lifting). Alternate your dominant hands on tools to get a balanced and back friendly workout.
Why not benefit your health even further by growing your own vegetables and herbs. Eaten fresh, they are rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants yet low in kilojoules, making them ideal for weight control. Start out with varieties that are easy to grow, such as parsley, mint, chives, shallots, green beans, tomato, rosemary, lettuce, spinach and Bok Choy.
If you live in an apartment, or have limited space, you can still grow herbs in pots on the balcony or window sill. You can also hook up with someone else to grow vegetables, or see if there is a community garden in your area.
Because gardening is a light to moderate intensity activity, it needs to be performed often and for a long duration for maximum effectiveness. Unless you can garden vigorously for 30 - 45 minutes on five days each week, I would advise you combine gardening with other more intense forms of exercise to help achieve your weight loss goals.