Gardening As Exercise

"Dig In" declares the Special Report, "9 Easy Ways to Add Exercise to Every Day" located in the August 2006 issue of Tufts University "Health and Nutrition Newsletter."

Are you retired? Do you like to garden? However, do you feel as if you have little time for a formal exercise program? Well, Dig In!

You are not alone. Rebecca Seguin, from the Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition in Tufts' Friedman School and co-author of Growing Stronger, says that ...even among retirees, finding time to work out is a commonly cited obstacle to getting on and sticking with a program of regular physical activity.

Among the 9 Easy Ways to Add Exercise to Every Day, Seguin ranks gardening and other routine yardwork as number five. These activities help strengthen knees, arms and hands, states Seguin.

Pulling weeds, mowing and raking involve the back, arm and leg muscles. Such activities can burn 300 calories per hour - and get you out in the fresh air.

The authors of Growing Stronger want to help older adults improve their health through an easily implemented, mostly home-based program of regular exercise. A three-year grant and collaboration through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Disease Control helped fund the book which is published by Tufts University.

The February 2005 issue of The Tufts University "Health and Nutrition Newsletter" contains an excerpt from the book. An interactive program based on the book is available at a href="http://www.nutrition.tufts.edu/research/growing stronger"Growing Stronger.

My review article Gardener's Yoga written by Veronica D'Orazio and illustrated by Tim Foss, can help put yoga and its benefits into any gardener's routine. The book includes examples to help gardeners learn to relax and stretch muscles.