Benefits Of Introducing Gardening To Your Workout Regime!

Can you imagine having the power to torch the calories with your favourite hobby?

Yes, you read it correctly. Gardening gives you such freedom. Gardening, for ages, is known as a leisure activity or a form of hobby. But it is a great alternative for formal exercises. With which, You do exercises but in the way you like and without even realising you are actually getting some workouts. It brings a bundle of holistic health benefits along your way. 

Serves As A Substitute For The Gym:

Gardening involves a multitude of activities such as weeding, mulching, watering, digging, mowing, and much more. This gives a good drill to your shoulder, back, hip, hands, and abdomen to keep the muscles and nerves active, which regulates the blood circulation in the body. 

A study has shown that it reduces HDL (bad cholesterol), and waist circumference and lowers blood pressure. It offers various health benefits such as enhanced hand function, improved cardiovascular endurance, improved flexibility, and increased bone mineral density. 

Not only does it benefit your upper body, but also your lower body. Activities like mowing, inspecting, harvesting, and watering keep you walking and standing for a good amount of time. When you stand or walk, the muscle in your abdomen, leg, and back works more to keep you straight which doubles the calorie usage. 

30 minutes of standing or walking will burn anywhere around 100 – 200 pounds of calories. And, this strengthens the muscles over there, explains physicians from ThreeBestRated®, a trustworthy ranking website that aims to bring the best businesses or services to your doorstep with just a click.

Workout Routine Suitable For All Age Group:

Anyone at any age can do exercises of their body’s preference. Though, some individuals like those who are with cardiac issues, low-bone density, knee pain, etc., can find it unease to do exercises. They don’t possess enough exercise tolerance. 

Gardening comes to their rescue. It is a combination of both high and low-intensity exercise. Activities like watering, sowing, hoeing, transplanting, etc., offer low-moderate workouts, while the tasks like digging and raking offer moderate-high intensity workouts. 

In fact, a study has proven that gardening provides low to moderate-intensity workouts for adults and on the other hand, high-intensity workouts for youths. Therefore, regardless of age, sex, disabilities, and challenges, gardening allows everyone to reap the benefits of physical activities. 

It Is A Kind Of Therapy:

Exposure to green spaces is a kind of therapy, which is known as horticulture therapy. Interacting with nature at least 30 minutes a day has a significant impact on your mental, physical, and social well-being. It offers some time for relaxation. Numerous researches conducted at the University of Essex, have consistently shown that “Green Exercise” (coined by the University in 2003) has positive impacts on mental well-being. 

Don’t you feel excited and proud, when your efforts bear fruits? Gardening mirrors the same results. Growing plants involves a lot of care and effort. You sow; you weed; you water the plants; you manure; and you care for them. And, at last when you harvest, it fills you with a sense of pride, enjoyment, and confidence, which lifts your mood up. This in turn reduces stress and related depression. 

What’s more, is that nurturing and caring for the plants renders a sense of purposefulness. Having a purpose in your life creates meaning that imparts your life with positive marks. It influences your behaviour, pushes you to pursue goals, and bestows you with a sense of satisfaction. The final result is a drastic improvement in self-esteem!

Where To Start: 

Growing plants needs effort and patience as well. So if you are a beginner, you can start with growing small plants and sprouts in cans or pots. They grow easily, typically within a span of 4-5 weeks. And, they won’t disappoint you, but give rewards to your dedication. The initial success motivates you to expand your garden and grow more and more plants, especially bigger ones in the future. Additionally, starting with smaller ones will let you explore a lot about gardening.

It is important for all of us to indulge in any physical activity to ensure physiological and psychological well-being. However, not all of us are getting time to hit the gym or do workouts on a regular basis. Fortunately, gardening lends you a hand. 

The never-ending care and maintenance of plants will give you the opportunity to keep yourself active all year round. That contributes to your overall well-being…