Weight Loss & Your Yard
Some of you may remember the other day when I was all full of how beautiful and green it was here on the Front Range in Colorado since we’ve had such a cool, wet Spring. That was all fine and good until today when I had to face up to the fact that the thoroughly-fertilized lawn of my front yard hadn’t been mowed in over a month, also due to the cool, wet Spring.
My tool-of-choice for lawn mowing is my cute little rechargable, mulching Black & Decker. It’s quiet, and green — no gas fumes, no cord to drag around, and the grass is mulched into the lawn rather than bagged and hauled off to the landfill. My husband makes fun of my little lawn mower, and suggests that I use the riding mower instead. Unfortunately, I am still convinced that my B&D gives me a great sense of freedom and independence and he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
So, in order to prove him wrong and demonstrate what a good sport I am, I don my hiking boots and garden gloves and commence the reclamation of the jungle in the front yard.
If any of you have ever wondered if yard work counts as exercise, let me assure you that it does! My little mowing adventure had me working at a moderate to high heart rate for well over an hour, and I was getting a great strength training workout at the same time.
Here’s what Associated Content has to say on the topic (emphasis mine):
The Easy Way to Stay in Shape
Did you know gardening is actually good for you? Gardening is an enjoyable pastime and relatively free. It’s also widely available to anyone interested. There is no need to go to a fancy gym or spend money on exercise equipment. Your gym is the outdoors, surrounded by nature and fresh air. Your equipment can be found in gardening tools such as rakes, hoes, mowers, wheelbarrows, clippers, shovels, and watering cans.
Both gardening and yard work contributes to healthy living. Approximately 300 calories an hour can be burned just by gardening. Not only can you burn calories, but in the end you’ll have a beautiful landscape to show for it as well. Gardening is a close second to walking as far as exercise goes and can actually lower blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as prevent diabetes, heart disease, depression, and osteoporosis when practiced on a regular basis. Gardening gives all major muscle groups a good workout including your legs, arms, buttocks, stomach, neck, and back. Whether it comes in the form of digging up soil, setting plants or carrying water, exercise is taking place. Weeding, pruning, mowing, and even walking around the yard can increase heart rate and tone up the body. Your brain even gets a chance to workout as you plan garden designs and absorb information from resource materials.
Well, in the end, the grass won. I totally drained the charge in the batteries before I finished the second pass. I’ll choose to look at that as an opportunity to finish the mowing job AND get a great workout tomorrow too.
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