Gardening is well known to provide healthy food and is a relaxing past time. Now a recent study looked at the health benefits of activity rather than exercise alone. It followed a group of 4000 people for over a dozen years. It found many health benefits of activities such as gardening and DIY in people over sixty.
Daily activity was found to be as beneficial as training for a marathon in seniors. The gardening hobby can decrease the risk of heart attack and add years to your life. Gardeners were also found to have better blood cholesterol, slimmer waistline and less diabetes.
This is great news for a large part of the population that might not be inclined to adopt running, swimming, cycling or going to the gym. Moderate daily activity is one of the important keys to healthy living.
Further research indicates that gardening burns calories at the same rate as riding a bike or taking a vigorous walk. Gardeners have a tendency to have better motion in their joints. Furthermore some of the heavy chores helps build up many muscle groups.
As with any exercise it is important to perform it safely. Be sure to warm up with some light activities first and you can add some stretching to loosen up as well. Be sure to keep your back and core taught and upright and lift or pull using your legs. While working in the heat be sure to protect from the sunlight and remain hydrated.
The benefits of gardening are plentiful; working out your green thumb leads to a healthy you.