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Warm up -

As with any type of exercise, it's important to warm up before gardening. Skipping the warm-up stage can lead to sore muscles and even injury.

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Warm up -

Stretch out your legs, arms, hands, and feet before heading out into the garden. You should aim to warm up for five to 10 minutes before each session.

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Do it regularly -

Again, just like other types of exercise, it is best to garden regularly. A few hours a week spread out over a number of 30-minute sessions could do wonders for your fitness.

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Do it regularly -

Exercising moderately for just 30 minutes each day can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as help prevent diabetes and heart disease.

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Vary your movements -

If you can, it is a good idea to vary the movements your body makes while you garden. Set aside a certain amount of time for each task and then rotate.

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Vary your movements -

This technique is helpful since certain activities will put more strain on some areas of the body, such as kneeling down to remove weeds. Rotating activities will help you avoid overexertion.

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Bending and lifting -

In order to avoid overexertion or injury, you should practice controlled bending and lifting. When lifting heavy items, be sure to bend your legs and not your back.

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Bending and lifting -

Similarly, when you need to reach something low down, it is best to squat rather than to kneel where possible. This will help to maintain the natural curve of your back

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Make the effort! -

Of course, it is perfectly possible to do gardening in a way that doesn’t really raise your heart rate at all. Try to avoid this since it doesn’t really count as exercise!

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Make the effort! -

Examples of gardening activities that raise your heart rate might include digging, raking leaves, weeding, mowing, and turning a compost heap.

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Digging -

If you have ever tried to dig in your garden, or even on the beach, you’ll know that it requires a high level of exertion. Even a few minutes of digging is enough to get that heart rate up.

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Digging -

If you’re looking to garden in a way that improves your fitness, why not head down to the local community garden and dig yourself a beautiful vegetable patch?

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Raking -

Raking leaves also requires quite a lot of exertion. Indeed, many people avoid doing it for exactly that reason!

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Raking -

Keeping your garden clear of leaves during the autumn and winter months can be a great challenge that keeps your garden tidy and your fitness levels up.

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Weeding -

Although it is perhaps the least glamorous of the gardening activities, weeding can be a useful form of exercise.

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Weeding -

Anyone who has ever tried it knows just how stubborn those pesky weeds are and how difficult it can be to extract them. Set yourself the task today!

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Mowing -

This one is easier for those with grass in their gardens, but mowing can be a good way to get moving. If you have a big garden, it can be a great way to get that blood pumping.

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Mowing -

If you don't have grass in your garden, fear not! Mowing the lawns of neighbors or family members is a great way to work out while lending a helping hand.

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Turning the compost -

If you have a compost pile in your garden, turning it can be a useful form of exercise. You will engage a number of important muscles.

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Turning the compost -

The bigger the compost pile, the more exerting the task. If you need to turn your pile several times per week, this is a surefire way to get regular exercise.

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Mental health -

We have looked at ways in which gardening can help take care of your physical health, but it’s worth remembering that working in the garden can be great for your mental health as well.

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Mental health -

Working on a gardening project will give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, and in fact gardening has been proven to improve our general outlook on life.

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Mental health -

It has even been suggested that working on gardening projects can cause your body to release the hormones that drive happiness and contentment.

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Stress relief -

In the same vein, gardening is a great way to relieve your mind and let go of stress. Many people find it a useful way to recover from mental fatigue.

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Stress relief -

Just as gardening can help reduce your blood pressure by improving your fitness, the fact that it reduces stress will also help bring that blood pressure down.

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Stress relief -

In fact, there is even evidence to suggest that the mere act of looking at plants can help reduce anger and muscle tension.

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Brain health -

Gardening is not only great for your mental health, it can go some way to ensuring your actual brain health in the longer term.

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Brain health -

Gardening has been shown to prevent dementia in older people, thanks to the fact that it exercises the areas of the brain responsible for creativity and learning.

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Brain health -

Gardening can even help people suffering with dementia by improving their mental health; it has been shown to reduce aggression.

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All in all -

Gardening is a great way to keep yourself healthy in body and mind, so what are you waiting for? Get out in the garden today!

Sources: (WikiHow)

See also: How to build and maintain a garden fish pond

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