get helth !! Gardening

    

       Gardening is a lot more than a valuable hobby or a way to have fresh vegetables and salads. Research is showing that gardening is an ideal form of exercise because, in addition to its physical exertion values, it also has many other merits. Gardening is moderate, and sometimes strenuous, exercise that incorporates many important elements of accepted exercise regimes, such as stretching and stance, repetition and movement, and even resistance principles similar to weight training, while expending calories. Gardening provides an adequate and challenging workout, but is not as stressful to the body as other exercise options, such as jogging or aerobics. It is still important to warm up muscle groups by properly stretching before gardening and is imperative to use proper techniques for lifting objects, bending, or carrying. Also, unlike many exercise options, you can become involved in what you are doing and still take time to smell the roses!


Gardening is a great remedy for people with different types of physical and mental disabilities. There are a lot of gardening technique, accessories and equipment are being designed and developed over the years to help the disability population enjoying gardening as well as healing in the process.


In a recent study by Barbara Ainsworth and associates, exertion values were assigned to human physical activities of all kinds. These values were based on the ratio of the associated metabolic rate for the specific activity divided by the resting metabolic rate. These studies show that an individual expends just as much energy performing some gardening tasks as they would participating in recommended exercise routines.




Effort exerted during gardening tasks versus
during conventional exercises

EFFORT EXPENDED IN GARDENING ACTIVITIES

1.5


Watering lawn or garden, standing or walking
2.5


Walking, applying fertilizer or seeding a lawn, mowing lawn, riding mower
3.5


Trimming shrubs or trees, power cutter
4.0


Raking lawn, sacking grass and leaves, planting seeds, shrubs
4.5


Mowing lawn, walk, power mower; weeding, cultivating garden; planting trees; operating snow blower, walking; trimming shrubs or trees, manual
5.0


Carrying, loading, or stacking wood; clearing land, hauling branches; digging sandbox; laying sod
6.0


Shoveling snow, by hand shoveling; chopping wood, splitting logs; mowing lawn, walk, hand mower; gardening with heavy power tools, tilling a garden; shoveling, light (less than 10 lbs./min.)


EFFORT EXPENDED DURING OTHER ACTIVITIES


0.9


Lying quietly, reclining, sleeping
1.5


Sitting, knitting, sewing
2.3


Walking-shopping
3.0


Carpentry, general, workshop; bowling
3.5


Walking, 3.0 mph, level, moderate pace, firm surface
4.0


Bicycling, <10 mph, leisure; water aerobics; fishing
4.5


Cleaning, heavy or major; golf, general
5.0


Softball or baseball, general; hunting, general; bicycling, stationary, general
6.0


Aerobics, general; swimming, general
7.0


Jogging, general
8.0


Basketball, general, non-game


Gardening is an excellent means of diverting the mind from work, family conflicts, or other issues, hence relieving stress and providing mental relaxation. Gardening is a relaxing activity, great for unwinding after a difficult day at work, especially when gardening on a small, personal scale.


Keeping plants in good health satisfies the human instinct to nurture and provide care. Gardeners are rewarded for their efforts when the plants they have pampered and coddled flower, produce beautiful fruit, and maintain a healthy appearance.