Yard work makes for a good workout. Lifting heavy bags of leaves and trimmings add weights to your program.
Maintaining a healthy lawn leads to a healthy body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical activity, such as mowing the yard or picking up sticks, can relieve arthritis pain, according to a report by the CDC, an operating component of the Department of Health and Human Services. Just two-and-a-half hours of moderate activity per week can reduce pain and improve function, mood and quality of life for adults with arthritis, according to the report. Lawn work also helps manage other chronic conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Here are just a few good suggestions for how to turn your weekly outdoor chores into a gym-like workout.
1. Stretch
Be sure to stretch your muscles to prepare your body for yard work. You also should stretch a few times during and after working in the yard to avoid stiff muscles. Pay particular attention to stretching your legs, arms and lower back, since these are the areas most used during yard work.
2. Hydrate
Drink plenty of water before, during and after working outdoors. Staying hydrated helps your muscles work properly.
3. Cardio
Use a push mower, if practical, when cutting your grass. We don't mean an unmotorized push mower from the pre-combustion engine days, though that would certainly give you a workout! Any push mower, self-propelled or otherwise, will do. Just 30 minutes of this kind of cardio activity can burn hundreds of calories and increase your heart rate.
Leave that leaf blower in the garage to get another good cardio workout. Sweep up those leaves and grass clippings with a good, old-fashioned long-handled rake.
4. Weights
Burn hundreds of calories and strengthen arm muscles by scrubbing your siding, cleaning your gutters, tilling your garden and power-washing your deck. Any activity that gets you on a ladder or has you lugging bags to the curb for disposal is beneficial to your body.
And while you're getting a workout, your yard will be getting a makeover!
