The Ronseal Garden Workout

6 months ago 22nd May 15:25

Developed exclusively for Ronseal by Nicki Waterman

With so many demands on your time, getting to the gym may not always fit into your schedule. If you find yourself swamped with chores, why not make the most of them? Try to turn your gardening into a mini workout. It’ll make you feel good and you can enjoy the fruits of your labour in more ways than one. Pottering around also reduces stress, lowers cholesterol and burns about 340 calories in an hour. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day in the garden; it will do your lawn as well as your body and soul, a wealth of good.

Here are some ways to cultivate some muscle while you tend to your garden.

Average calories used in an hour

 

(Figures are kilocalories burned by a 10-stone person)

Carrying heavy loads

490

Chopping logs quickly

1,070

Collecting grass or leaves

252

Digging

322

Mowing lawn with a push-along mower

280

Planting seedlings/shrubs

252

Raking lawn

252

Shovelling

574

Pruning shrubs

280

Weeding

280

NOTE: Please be sure to get the all clear from your doctor before taking part in any exercise programme.

1.)STEP-UPS Warm-up
Put on your favourite music and start with some light gardening, like weeding and picking things up or doing some step-ups using a chunky bench, stepped decking or a solid garden step for three to five minutes. You know you've warmed up enough when your joints feel looser and your muscles are pliable but you're not breaking a sweat.

2.)LUNGE AND MOW THE MANUAL WAY

Target: upper back, legs and buttock muscles (280 cals burned in 30 mins)

No matter how large your lawn is, always use a push mower. It may seem heavy at first, but you’ll get used to it. Then put some muscle into pushing the mower forward as far as you can, then back again. The mower alone will give you some good resistance if it's heavy enough, but make sure to move slowly enough to get a good stretch. To begin a walking lunge, stand upright holding onto the mower. Now take a lunge forward while never letting your knee go 'over' your toe. Once at the bottom of the lunge (not touching the floor), push off with the back foot and then approach the standing position. Repeat with the other leg. Make sure to breathe out on the way up and breathe in on the actual lunge. Do three sets of 10.

Comment on this Article

3.)RONSEAL SHRUGS (145 cals burned in 30 mins)
Targets: shoulders
Take two 2.5 litre tubs of product (make sure they’ve got a handle) and, holding one in each hand, do 20 shoulder shrugs. The key is to stand up straight and try to bring your shoulders to your ears. Do not roll your shoulders with this exercise. Concentrate on maintaining good posture. Holding the shrug at the top for one second helps the muscle become stronger. Now you're pumped and ready to clean the patio.

4.)SCRUBBING THE DECKING OR PATIO WHILST DOING THE BRUSH AND ROW
Target: arms, upper back and tummy (180 cals burned in 30 mins)

Whether it's the decking or patio, ditch that broom and scrub by hand to remove all dirt, moss and algae. The harder you work, the better. Push yourself even more by extending your torso and exaggerating your arm movements and then do the upright row exercise by kneeling and positioning foot of opposite leg slightly back to side. Grasp brush from floor and pull brush to side until it makes contact with ribs or until upper arm is just beyond horizontal. Return until arm is extended and shoulder is stretched forward. Repeat 15 times and continue with your opposite arm. Try not to rotate your body in an effort to throw the brush up. Your body should be close to horizontal. Positioning the supporting knee and/or arm slightly forward or back will allow for proper levelling of your body.

5.)DIG IT WITH TRICEP EXTENTIONS

Targets: front and back of arms back (290 cals burned in 30 mins)

Digging with a spade is draining work, but that’s a good thing. While you may not need a lot of holes in your borders, you can work up a healthy sweat turning your compost pile and working the backs of your arms at the same time. Simply position the spade overhead with both hands. Then with elbows overhead, lower forearms behind upper arm by flexing your elbows. Flex your wrists at the bottom to avoid hitting the spade on the back of your neck. Raise the spade overhead by extending your elbows while hyper-extending wrists. Return and repeat 20 times. While doing this exercise, try and position wrists closer together to keep elbows from pointing out too much. Let the spade pull the arm back to maintain full shoulder flexion.

6.)PLANTING SQUATS (252 cals burned in 30 mins)

Target: Legs, buttocks and thighs

Slowly squat down when planting the packs of new bedding plants off the ground, keeping your back straight and your heels on the floor. Do not let your upper back round forward. Include one squat for every plant you put into a pot or border. Try and do 15 squats in a row

More The Ronseal Garden Workout on page 2
The Ronseal Garden Workout

Exercise

enlarge

Share this article:
  • Comment
  • Digg Icon
  • Email Icon