Gardening and Physical Health

Take a second look at gardening

Perhaps the word gardening conjures up an idyllic scene in your mind—all marigolds and tomatoes and twee little watering cans. Butterflies. Certainly, not a scene of actual physical labor. But while gardening may bring mental peace, the activity can often be surprisingly arduous. 

 Many people have a workday or schoolday that basically has them sitting at a desk all the time. Crouching on the ground, then stretching and twisting to plant just one more row of seeds in a far corner of the dirt bed can be harder than expected—especially on a body that’s used to the comfort of a nice chair. And pulling out weeds isn’t always for the faint of heart. Some weeds have devilish taproots so deep in the ground that after you yank out (most of) the root, your arm muscles will be sore for days. 

  Not to mention, carrying heavy gardening equipment is literally a form of weightlifting. Shoveling? Resistance training. It’s an entire workout.

References: Unsplash, Royal College of Physicians (Thompson, 2018)