by Clare Ross, CRNP
Working in the garden on a pleasant day is certainly good for the soul, but how about your body ─ does it count as exercise?
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.
Digging, lifting bags of mulch and pushing wheelbarrows all provide strength training similar to weight lifting, which leads to healthier bones and joints. Yet there is minimal jarring and stress on the body, unlike aerobics or jogging.
Gardening can help keep you limber since there can be a great deal of stretching involved, like reaching for weeds or branches, bending to plant or extending a rake.
It takes at least 30 minutes of exercise several days a week to really receive any health benefits from gardening. However, you can break that time up into shorter active periods throughout the day. So you can do a little weeding in the cool of the morning and go back out to the garden in the evening to prune and trim.
Gardening can also help you burn calories and lose weight. The number of calories burned depends on several factors, including your size and the task you are performing, but the National Gardening Magazine provides these examples:
| Activity | Calories Burned Per 30 Mins.* |
| Watering | 60 |
| Planting seedlings | 160 |
| Weeding | 180 |
| Trimming shrubs (manual tools) | 180 |
| Digging & tilling | 200 |
| Gardening with heavy power tools | 240 |
* Based on a 180-pound person. Lighter people generally burn fewer calories, and heavier people typically burn more.
If you’re new to gardening, start slowly and build up the length of time of your workouts. Avoid injuries by using your legs to lift heavy loads. Don’t stretch too far to reach awkward shrubs; this will prevent muscle strain. Vary your tasks and your movements and make use of the major muscle groups to get the most benefit. Make sure you incorporate a little stretching before and after gardening and take things slowly on hot days. Drink plenty of water if you are outside for more than 30 minutes. Use gloves and wear long sleeves to prevent cuts and scratches.
After you are done, have a hot shower to soothe your muscles, wash off any possible poison ivy residue, and check for ticks. And as with any other form of exercise, check with your doctor first if you’re not used to strenuous activity.
So go out into your garden, enjoy the lovely spring weather, and get some exercise!
FAQs
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.
Can gardening be a good workout? ›
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.
Does working in the garden count as exercise? ›
Health Benefits of Gardening for Exercise
According to Harvard Health Publications, 30 minutes of general gardening for a 155-pound person can burn 167 calories, more than water aerobics at 149. Mowing the lawn with a push mower can expend 205 calories, the same as disco dancing.
What intensity of exercise is gardening? ›
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).
Can gardening help you lose weight? ›
It is clear from numerous studies that gardening helps to burn calories. For example, you can burn around 300 calories per hour when digging soil. If you prefer lightweight work like weeding, you can burn 200 to 400 calories an hour. More intensive work like shovelling snow can burn upwards of 400 calories per hour.
Is gardening better than walking? ›
Regular moderate intensity exercise may reduce the risk of dementia,48 mental health problems, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer of the breast and colon, and in an Australian study, gardening was found to be more effective than walking, education or maintaining alcohol intake at moderate levels in protecting ...
What does an hour of gardening do to your body? ›
You may burn as many calories as a workout in the gym. If you aren't used to these types of activities, it is likely that you will feel a bit sore after a busy day gardening. Gardening also can improve your balance, strength and flexibility. Gardening activities can be modified if movement is a challenge.
Why is gardening so exhausting? ›
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.
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.
Is doing yard work considered exercise? ›
In fact, getting out in the yard for just 30-45 minutes can burn up to 300 calories. Routine gardening activities, such as raking, weeding and trimming, engage multiple muscle groups at once, improving your overall fitness level.
As long as you garden for at least 8-10 minutes at a time, the activity can be counted towards your weekly aerobic activity totals. Many gardening activities also help strengthen your muscles, such as digging, pushing or lifting.
What is heavy gardening? ›
Heavy gardening, which requires you to use a lot of your muscles can help with overall strengthening. Think of bending down to pick up something heavy, digging holes or making a paver wall.
Is gardening good for gut health? ›
And research has shown that the gut microbiomes of gardeners is more diverse than those of non-gardeners. In addition, it isn't just the gardener who benefits from contact with soil. Rather, the whole family (or those that live with the gardener) also show increased gut microbiome diversity.
Is gardening a weight bearing exercise? ›
Weight-bearing aerobic activities
Examples include walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, elliptical training machines, stair climbing and gardening. These types of exercise work directly on bones in the legs, hips and lower spine to slow bone loss. They also improve blood flow and are good for the heart.
Is gardening hard on the body? ›
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.
Does housework and gardening count as exercise? ›
' 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.
How physically demanding is gardening? ›
While gardening isn't technically a sport, it is as physically demanding as one, which means you may benefit from some specific training for the muscles and joints you use often. Try out AARP's strength and stretching routine for gardeners.
