Gardening is a great way to exercise your body and your mind. Being outdoors has a calming effect while at the same time the activities of gardening provide a physical workout.

Modern society is defined by air conditioned structures of concrete and glass, interconnecting freeways clogged with cars and seemingly endless pressure. In the midst of this manmade chaos, a garden promises an island of tranquillity, a chance to reconnect with our roots and to recharge our frazzled minds and bodies.

For many of us the garden is our daily connection with nature. It’s there where we plant and toil, reaping both the tangible and intangible fruits of our labor.

The nurturing, healing power of gardens is increasingly recognized by hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and schools. Inspired by a body of research showing that gardening can help move healing forward, institutions are digging up lots and gardenscaping interiors to create therapeutic environments.

Some hospitals are using greenhouses as sites for physical therapy for stroke and accident victims who need long-term rehabilitation. Repetitive hand motions required by weeding, planting and using a trowel have more appeal and are more meaningful to patients than squeezing a tennis ball.

For seniors in long-term care facilities, gardening offers a small part of the world where the individual is in control and can relate to the changing of the seasons and the life cycle.

As well as nurturing the spirit, gardening can provide a good physical workout. Depending on the type of gardening and yard work you do, an hour in the garden can match an hour in the gym. There’s no membership fee required, and it’s as close as your own back door.

To benefit from the type of exercise you get in the garden you have to sweat a little. There are plenty of garden tasks that can help with that, from mowing and sawing to weeding and digging. In a real world environment, gardening can offer the variety in weight and resistance training you get in a gym.

Researchers at Stanford, the University of South Carolina and the University of Minnesota have measured more than 500 different activities and rated them according to their MET score. MET refers to an activity’s metabolic equivalent, or how much energy a specific task requires.

An activity that uses two METs, for example, uses twice as much energy as being at rest. A moderately intense activity, vigorous enough to benefit the heart, requires three to six METs. Many common gardening chores fit into this range. Weeding and planting, for example, require 4.5 METs, digging and mowing by hand, 5.5, and using a power mower 2.5 METs.

Of course, not all gardening activities are high-powered: watering the garden uses only 1.5 METs. But the beauty of gardening is that you can vary your activity level, moving from one chore to another.

A gardener might spend a couple of hours, using various muscle groups, alternating tasks requiring strength and heavy lifting with more aerobic activities.

How hard you work in the garden depends on your age and physical fitness. As with an exercise plan, it’s best to discuss specific activities with your doctor.

Whatever your level of exertion, it’s important to follow a few safety guidelines to avoid injury.

• Warm up with a few minutes of walking followed by gentle stretching before you get to work.
  
  
• Protect your back by lifting with your legs, and don’t try to lift loads that are too heavy. Use a wheelbarrow or cart or get help for moving heavy objects.
  
  
• Use a low seat or a kneeling pad to protect your knees when weeding and planting.
  
  
• Have a water bottle handy and drink plenty of water, especially if the weather’s warm.
  
  
• Switch activities when you begin to tire so you don’t overuse any one muscle group.
  
  
• Wear gloves to protect your hands.
  
  
• Protect yourself from sunburn and bug bites with light, long-sleeved shirts and long pants and a hat.
  
  
• Take a break if you feel tired. Sit in the shade and experience the serenity of your garden.

The Urban Gardener

Many big city dwellers simply don’t have that patch of green to call their own. Apartment dwellers can indulge their passion for gardening in pots and tubs on patios and balconies. Patio gardening may not provide the physical workout of a suburban garden, but it can help make that connection with plants and the natural world. Herbs, cherry tomatoes, flowers and small trees can all flourish in very small spaces.

For those limited by space, community gardens may be the answer. Many cities set aside land for community gardens where produce is shared with low-income families or shelters. These large garden projects provide a physical workout while offering a chance to mingle with fellow gardeners and share your passion.

City dwellers can also turn to public gardens and parks for walking destinations or a place to practice t’ai chi. You can enjoy the beauty of public gardens without the work.

The city of Chicago has embarked on a number of public garden projects in recent years, creating gardens on the roofs of public buildings for the enjoyment of employees (as well as a means of increasing the ratio of plant life to concrete in the city).

Center boulevards of streets are heavily planted with flowers in the summer. Enormous baskets hang from lampposts, and massive perennial plantings adorn parks. The garden beds between Buckingham Fountain and the Chicago Art Institute attract so many butterflies that simply walking by them in late August sends clouds of butterflies into the air. A Chicagoan can be enveloped by nature within 100 yards of heavily trafficked Michigan Avenue.

If you lack your own garden, seek out public or natural spaces where you can walk, jog or bike. By staying connected with things that grow we can create a natural buffer for ourselves against the concrete and steel of modern life, a green haven capable of nurturing both body and spirit.

REFERENCES:

“Allergy-Free Gardening Can Reduce Eye Irritation,” Immunotherapy Weekly, May 8, 2002.

Dean Fosdick, “Gardening Benefits Mental Health,” Capper’s , May 27, 2003.

“Gardening: An Exercise that Bears Fruit in More Ways than One,” Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, June 2000.
“Gardening Tips for People with Allergies,” AORN Journal, July 2003.

“Heart Lines–Walking and Gardening Beneficial for Heart Disease Patients,” Harvard Health Letter, April 2001.

Sandra Hoban, “The Softer Side of Therapy,” Nursing Homes, March 2002.

Christy Lochrie, “The Grace of Gardening,” Vibrant Life, January 2003.

Nancy Pachana et al, “Passive Therapeutic Gardens,” Journal of Gerontological Nursing, May 2003.

“Promoting Health Through Gardening,” Kai tiaki: Nursing New Zealand, March 2003.

Kim Ruby, “Training Among the Tulips,” IDEA Personal Trainer, September 2003.

Ellen Sturm, “Let’s Get Physical,” Country Living Gardener, May-June 2003.

“Yard Work Helps Women Maintain Strong Bones,” AORN Journal, August 2000.

“Yard Work Saves Bones,” Women’s Health Letter, May 2003.