Aerobic dancing, jogging, stationery cycling or weight lifting are some of the activities which come to our mind when we think of exercise. As a matter of fact nobody even ever considers gardening as exercise, but that is not correct. There is more than one benefit of gardening, you benefit by way of exercising and it helps you keep a well maintained garden. Isn’t it much better to grow plants than to sit on an exercise machine?

You may not realize but while gardening a number of muscles are exercised. It can also be called an aerobic exercise are you are doing the same thing again and again when you are weeding or hoeing.

During gardening some muscles which are not used otherwise are also exercised. The old proverb “muscles hurt that I didn’t even know I had” is very true with gardening. For complete fitness it is essential to exercise all the muscles in the body and gardening is a healthy activity to achieve it.

One of the ways that you can make sure you are getting the full benefit of gardening fitness is to concentrate on what muscles you are using at different times, and perhaps accentuate the movements. If you are going down rows digging holes for planting seeds, exaggerate each movement, and try to keep moving for as long as you can.

If you are hoeing, lift the hoe higher than you normally would, and even swing it around each time you go to put it into the ground. Try to feel each muscle that you are using to accomplish different tasks, and try to vary what you do each day. Also, do some stretches before you begin any gardening, as this will help prevent muscle injury. After gardening for a while, you’ll start to notice a difference in the way you feel and the way you look.

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