If you’re lucky enough to have a garden, maybe it’s time to get garden fit. If you already have a garden or are considering adding one, you probably already love spending time outdoors. Gardeners enjoy the tasks of tending plants. Thus, if you’ve been spending time a little too sedentary, consider using your garden to help you not only relax and unwind after a tough day at work but to get healthier in the process. Get back out there and do what you love! Remember, simple solutions for sustainable natural living start with using what we already have in front of us. Find what you love and build on that. Besides the obvious benefits of stress relief, raising good food, and cultivating beautiful plants, your garden is key to many layers of your health.

9 Tips To Get Fit While Gardening

Congratulations on the decision to nurture your physical health. I’m proud of you for realizing that fitness doesn’t have to mean long hours at the gym or running marathons if that doesn’t feel right in your life. When we walk into our garden, we are embarking on more than just a physical journey. With a few little tweaks, we can turn our garden hobbies into an adventure as we get mind-body garden fit and enjoy exponential benefits. Sit in your space and see if these tips can help you give a little back to the garden, as it transforms the many ways that it already gives back to use. Remember, energetic movement is already happy and active here.

1. Grab a brush and sweep

   • Mind
     • Feel the energy swirl around as you mindfully clear space both inside and out. 
   • Body
     • If you see a few fallen leaves laying on the floor of your garden, grab a brush and sweep them away.
     • Sweeping could burn as many as 200 calories per hour.
     • Just ensure that you are sweeping hard and fast, as this will get your heart beating in no time at all.

2. Use a rake

   • Mind
     • All things in nature require a little upkeep and right now, you and nature are being nourished by your efforts. 
   • Body
     • Using a rake is an even bigger calorie burner than sweeping, burning as many as 300 calories every hour.
     • After you’ve trimmed your lawn, grab a rake and use it to make huge piles of the grass, which can then be hauled away.

3. Trim the trees

   • Mind
     • In helping all things to grow, we are growing ourselves as a part of that ecosystem.
   • Body
     • A good calorie burner is trimming or pruning the trees in your garden. You will probably have to climb up to the branches, plus the sawing is hard work too.
     • Just a few minutes pruning the dead branches from the trees in your garden will give you a good workout.

4. Digging

   • Mind
     • Instead of digging my own hole deeper, I’m transforming it into a space that will nurture new life, in and all around me. 
   • Body
     • When you dig, you’re using your back, arms, shoulders, core, and leg muscles. It really is a great form of exercise that will get you breathing heavily in no time at all.
     • Whether you’re digging holes for some new plants or turning over soil, it’s a great way to get fitter.

5. Hoeing

   • Mind
     • The grooves made in dirt are just like the grooves I condition into my brain, my heart, and all of life around me. Which ways so I want this groove to sway and bend?
   • Body
     • Similar to digging, hoeing is a good exercise that is useful for turning over the soil to remove those annoying weeds. It can be especially hard when working on rocky ground. Just a few short minutes and you will have worked up quite a sweat.

6. Squat when you are weeding

   • Mind
     • My highest self knows that nature embraces proper form. How can I use proper form to benefit both nature and myself today?
   • Body
     • Instead of using a chair or kneeling while you weed, use the opportunity to get a leg workout in. Each time you reach down for a weed, squat into position and hold the position until your legs start to burn. If you can avoid sitting or kneeling, your legs will get a great workout.

7. Build something for the garden

   • Mind
     • As within, so without…What am I mindfully building in this cycle of life, for this cycle of life? I know that with intention I can make it so. 
   • Body
     • Carpentry can be hard work and is another way to get fit while gardening. Perhaps you could think about building a new greenhouse, chicken coop, garden box, or maybe even a playhouse/treehouse if you have children.
     • Not only are you getting a good workout, but you’re also adding value to your home.

8. Cut your lawn 

   • Mind
     • Connecting with the Earth, I connect with the methodical rythms of myself alive and in alignment with this life. 
   • Body
     • Forget about a ride-on lawnmower. Use a lawnmower that you can push. If you use it around your lawn, you’ll no doubt be sweating and out of breath by the time you finish.

9. Clean up the mess using a wheelbarrow

   • Mind
     • In every moment I clear up space to make room for what is most needed and desired.
   • Body
     • Using a wheelbarrow is a good workout for your core, forearms, arms, shoulders, and back.
     • It gives you an excellent upper body workout while ensuring that you’re leaving your garden nice and tidy.

Using your garden for increasing your physical activity is easy, once you’ve put some thought into an intentional plan. As an added bonus, working outdoors all year long ensures that you’re getting plenting of fresh air, vitamin D, and connecting with your nature, in nature. See?! You’re great at this already!  First, set your intentions. Next up, make a plan. Then, stick with it. Both your garden and your waistline will bless you in unexpected ways. Get out there and get garden fit while tending to the mind-body beautiful.

Happy Gardening.

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