If you’ve been spending your autumn days planting spring bulbs, raking leaves and raising plant pots to prevent waterlogging, chances are you’re one of the estimated 27 million gardeners in the UK.
Some 55% of UK adults enjoy gardening as a hobby, according to research from the Horticultural Trades Association. Plus, around two-thirds of British adults visit a garden centre every year (although, that may be for the cake).
Gardening can provide you with a beautiful space to relax in, fresh, healthy produce to eat, and of course, spectacular plants and flowers to enjoy. It also has benefits for your health.
Depending on the task, gardening can help you build strength and get your heart rate up, and, according to Mind, spending time in nature can also benefit your mental health and reduce feelings of stress.
If you’re wondering how gardening can benefit your strength and fitness, here’s what you need to know.
The NHS says mowing the lawn is an example of a moderate intensity activity. (Getty Images)
Gardening works your whole body
According to physical therapist and wellbeing speaker Tyler Lowe, founder of Loving Life, all forms of activity and movement, including gardening, can be fantastic for health and fitness.
“Rather than going to the gym and just working on a particular movement, with gardening, you’re doing so many different things. You might be squatting down to pick up some pots, which works your legs and your core, and then carrying things, which works your arms and your shoulders, so you can often get an all-body workout,” he tells Yahoo UK.
“It allows you to get outside, get moving, and get your body in positions that you wouldn’t normally be doing in your house.”
He also highlights the mental health benefits. “From a wellbeing point of view, you’re creating something that can grow into something beautiful, so you’re getting a reward from it too.”
You can get the whole family involved with helping out in the garden. (Getty Images)
It can help you meet your activity goals
Current guidance from the UK’s chief medical officer is to try and do some form of physical activity every day to stay healthy – and gardening can help you meet those activity goals.
Adults between 19 and 64 should aim to do:
at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week (this can be spread out across the seven days)
strengthening activities on at least two days
Moderate activity is anything that will raise your heart rate and make you breathe faster, with the NHS giving mowing the lawn as an example ( sadly, ride-on mowers don’t count.)
It also cites heavy gardening tasks like digging and shovelling as muscle-strengthening activities.
It could help you stay a healthy weight
Maintaining or building fitness, strength and mobility is a happy byproduct of gardening. And if you’re regularly doing strenuous tasks, such as digging or clearing an overgrown garden, you may even drop a few pounds too.
Recently, singer Will Young, who has two walled gardens and an island connected by a small bridge, at his home in Wiltshire, said he’s “lost a stone” since he started gardening and has also spoken about its benefits for his wellbeing.
Talking to hosts Zoe Ball and Jo Whiley on their Dig It podcast, he said, “I have been working hard but it’s been keeping me really fit.…
“It’s good for your wellbeing. It’s really good for my head. It’s really good for my physical health … crossing over that little bridge onto the island, I feel like my shoulders just drop.”
If you’re growing fruit and vegetables, gardening could also help you reach your five-a-day.
Weeding and clearing involve bending, squatting and pulling movements. (Getty Images)
Different gardening tasks can have different benefits
There are many different tasks in the garden, here’s how just some of them could work your body.
Weeding and planting
When you’re weeding or planting, you’re often squatting, bending and pulling, with the latter helping to strengthen your back and shoulder blades. Sitting in a deep squat position can also help improve balance and mobility.
Digging
Lowe says that digging is good for your core, shoulders and arms. Heavy gardening tasks can also raise your heart rate, helping burn energy and improve your overall fitness.
Clearing leaves
Clearing leaves can be good for maintaining mobility, helping us move more easily in everyday life. “You’re doing the raking, and that’s one form of movement. And then you’re bending or squatting down to pick up the leaves, working the legs and the glutes,” says Lowe.
Mowing the lawn
“When you’re mowing the lawn, you’re walking up and down pushing something, which can be a form of aerobic exercise,” says Lowe. Aerobic exercise can help boost your cardiovascular fitness and lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Heavy gardening tasks like digging can help maintain or build strength. (Getty Images)
Want to reduce stiffness? Warm up first
Gardeners can complain of back pain or repetitive strain injuries after working in the garden but there are ways you can reduce the risk of soreness or injury.
Build it up
As with any form of movement, if you’re not already doing it regularly, it’s wise to build up gradually.
“The key is to start small,” says Lowe. “Don’t go out and start gardening for the whole day, because your body’s not going to be used to it. Start off with maybe an hour to see how your body reacts. The next day, you’ll notice, oh, I feel fine, or I’m a bit stiffer. Build up gradually as your body adapts.”
Warm up
While most of us warm up before going for a run or hitting the gym, it might not be something you think about when gardening, but Lowe advises doing some dynamic movement first.
“A lot of people will just go out there cold and start digging, for example, but your body’s not prepared. If you can do some light movements prior, it will prepare you body and get the blood flowing to the areas you’re going to work,” he says.
He suggests things like rotating the shoulders, arm rotations, gentle light squats and leg swings.
Vary your positions
“Try and get your body moving in different areas, rather than staying in one position for too long as that’s when people stiffen up and injuries can occur,” says Lowe.
Cool down
Once you’ve downed tools, Lowe recommends making time for some static stretching. This could help reduce the risk of soreness, aid recovery, help you relax and could also improve flexibility.
“Ideally, take 15 minutes to stretch the areas that you’ve been working,” he says. “If you’ve done a lot of digging, stretch your arms and your shoulders, for example. One of the ways to do that is simply by putting your arm across your chest and then using the other arm to pull it closer to your chest.”
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