Can Gardening Be Considered Exercise? (2024)

FAQs

Can Gardening Be Considered Exercise? ›

Digging, weeding, trimming, raking, tilling, lifting and other gardening activities use major muscle groups and burn plenty of calories, too. Besides the aerobic benefits that come from moving your body, gardening is a form of strength training and also helps improve flexibility.

Digging, weeding, trimming, raking, tilling, lifting and other gardening activities use major muscle groups and burn plenty of calories, too. Besides the aerobic benefits that come from moving your body, gardening is a form of strength training and also helps improve flexibility.

But—like other activity trackers—the watch does not acknowledge gardening as a physical activity. If you look under “other,” you can choose a wide variety of activities that are well off the mainstream, including cricket, archery, and water polo.

Not only is this housework exercise a good workout, but it also has the added benefit of taking you outdoors for some fresh air and sunshine! Yardwork and gardening encompass all kinds of tasks, and they're all at least at the moderate intensity level.

Gardening tasks that used both the upper and lower body such as digging were moderate-intensity physical activities (3.6 ± 0.8 METs), whereas tasks that primarily used the upper body such as mixing soil were found to be low-intensity physical activities (2.2 ± 0.6 METs).

Yes, indeed. Gardening is similar to other moderate to strenuous forms of exercise like walking and bicycling. Gardening works all the major muscle groups: legs, buttocks, arms, shoulders, neck, back and abdomen. Tasks that use these muscles build strength and burn calories.

Gardening is a form of moderate-intensity exercise that engages various muscle groups and promotes physical movement. Activities such as digging, planting, weeding, and watering require bending, stretching, and lifting, which contribute to increased physical activity levels.

Every full minute of movement that equals or exceeds the intensity of a brisk walk counts toward your daily Exercise and Move goals. With Apple Watch Series 3 or later, your cardio fitness levels are used to determine what is brisk for you. For wheelchair users, this is measured in brisk pushes.

How Many Calories Does Gardening Burn? Research suggests that an hour of gardening can burn anywhere from 300 to 500 calories, depending on how vigorous the activity is. Plus, if you're lifting dirt, logging, carrying bags of mulch, or pushing a wheelbarrow, you'll get a good workout and might burn even more.

While long walks are great for your overall fitness, they may not raise your heart rate significantly enough to register in Apple Health.

Does pulling weeds count as exercise? ›

That's right, weeding is good exercise! According to the AARP activity calculator, a 175-pound person can burn around 180 calories per half hour through activities such as raking, planting, weeding and pruning.

“The good news – you don't need to do rigorous exercises. You just need to stay active and avoid the couch.” Gardening often requires walking, raking, weeding and shoveling – all great activities to elevate your heart rate and burn calories.

' Guidelines say every physical activity you do throughout your day counts. Walking, dancing, household chores. It may not be called 'exercise' but it all counts toward your daily physical activity. It's all good for better sleep and brain health as well as lowering the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gardening qualifies as exercise. In fact, getting out in the yard for just 30-45 minutes can burn up to 300 calories.

All that bending, lifting, digging and hauling burns calories and builds muscle. But it can also strain backs and leave even the fittest among us aching the next day. And when we're less fit, or have arthritis, a limited range of motion or other mobility issues, the once-pleasurable pastime can seem impossible.

Weeding or planting shrubs for an hour burns 306 calories. Heavy landscaping projects, such as moving rocks or pavers are a great way to improve the tone in your arms and legs. According to webmd.com, heavy yard work such as landscaping and hauling soil, burns off 400 to 600 calories per hour.

“When you're out in the garden, the fact that you're walking, that you're using instruments, that you're using your body and your muscles in a certain way, it's called weight bearing exercise.

Strength training is any form of exercise that involves using weights or resistance to build strength in your muscles. Strength training is also known as resistance training. Strength training involves you using equipment or your own body weight.

Gardening and yard work involve carrying bits of metal, repetitive motions that build and require strength, sweat on your brow (especially during summer)… this is exercise, a full-body workout that doubles as lawn care. And potentially it's better than going to the gym.

Gardening is widely regarded as a moderate to strenuous form of exercise. All that bending, lifting, digging and hauling burns calories and builds muscle. But it can also strain backs and leave even the fittest among us aching the next day.