Does Anyone Consider Yard Work As....

[TinaT]

a form or working out? I DO!!! I spent 4 hours working in my yard. Pulling weeds, moving rocks, digging, planting, etc. My upper body was spent by the time I got done. I couldn't lift my arms. Not to mention I got my heart rate up a time or two, (or three). It was a great upper body workout.

My legs felt it as well, especially the hamstrings. Anyone else count yard work as their workout for the day?

[boakley]

I definitely count it because it usually means I've nothing left to give to at the end of the day. Can you say "fall into bed"? LOL

Beth

[ldy_solana]

most certainly. it has been said before the yard word burns the most calories of all the housework one can do.

kassia

[Rosebud]

It sure does count as a workout! My blood sugar levels sure tell me it does! I love to be out in the garden and dig and pull and plant - I count mowing the lawn when I use the push mower too! Walk, walk, walk -- our yard is not very small..... lots of mowing!

Rosemary

[Sollamyn]

Originally Posted by Rose

It sure does count as a workout! My blood sugar levels sure tell me it does! I love to be out in the garden and dig and pull and plant - I count mowing the lawn when I use the push mower too! Walk, walk, walk -- our yard is not very small..... lots of mowing!

Rosemary

Same here. I have a larger yard than most in-town houses. And I just have a push mower--takes me about 80 minutes if I do the whole thing at once--and some of it isn't flat ground. Afterwards, I'm exhausted, so I count mowing grass or any tough yardwork (raking and bagging leaves, for example) as a workout. I usually try to do a stretch workout afterwards, though (just like you do in a 'real' workout!).

[Harivelo]

You bet it does. Online calorie calculators include yard work as a cardio workout.

[~^~RedFlame~^~]

Absolutely! I always count a tough day in the yard as a workout! Shoveling snow for any length of time is also a definite workout, core, upper body, arms, legs from squatting, whether to pick up a shovel of snow, or to pull weeds, IT'S ALL GOOD!!! I tell my clients to definitely put the yard work on their workout calendar and count the time.

[Pat58]

Absolutely. I have days where everything I want to do (including exercise) just cannot be squeezed in. If the house or yard needs to be addressed, than rather than working out I'll go into the job and tackle it with high energy, counting it as my functional fitness for the day.

I do the same with snow shoveling in winter. I have a rotation and do sets and reps on alternating sides and do "cardio bursts" of fast and light shovel-and-throws. Whew!

[Kathryn]

I do, depending on what it is.

Pushing my non-gas/non-motorized lawnmower around the yard for 30 minutes to an hour is definitely a workout.

Hauling and digging and uprooting and sawing off branches is definitely a workout.

Picking a few weeds here and there and putting some mulch around the beans, however, is not.

[Debbie S.]

During the nicer months I spend at least 8 hours a week outdoors doing yardwork and most of it is hard work, but I don't consider it my workout for the day.