Health: How Gardening Can Help Your Overall Health And Wellbeing - The Best Of Health

If you want to stay fit, are intimidated by gyms, but enjoy theoutdoors and want to benefit from fresh air, then gardening may be the perfect choice for you. As the weather improves and the days lengthen,many people think about heading out either into their own outdoor spaceor to a public allotment. Research has shown that regular energetic gardening provides the same positive health benefits as exercise programmes such as jogging or swimming:

• Half an hour of digging burns 150 calories
• Half an hour pushing a lawn mower burns 165 calories
• Half an hour raking a lawn burns 120 calories

While running or exercising in a gym may burn slightly more calories, doctors are increasingly trying to encourage people to take up lighter activities that can be fitted into a daily routine. The key principle in any fitness regime, is sustaining the exercise habit by doing something enjoyable such as gardening.

The Royal Horticultural Society asked 2,000 gardeners about their experiences in a campaign to get more people using gardening for fitness. 80% of the respondents said gardening had improved their
fitness, 60% said they felt physically energised after gardening and 53% said it improved their mood.

Around 70% said that gardening helped tone their forearms, 52% that it toned their thighs and nearly a third that it toned their bottom.

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