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Gardening has taken off. Here’s why the popular activity can replace your gym workout

A lot of people find it difficult to embrace the idea of regular exercise, even though they know it’s good for their physical and mental health. Yet committing to a workout routine doesn’t necessarily entail going to the gym or running around your neighborhood.

Gardening is a great example of a popular hobby that’s accessible and can also be used as a workout.

Working in your garden or yard is a source of moderate to vigorous physical activity in younger adults, while providing low to moderate physical activity in older adults, research has shown. The pastime is also a muscle-strengthening activity, according to the US Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and one of the physical activities with the lowest injury rates.

More good news: Puttering in your garden just two hours a week could help boost your mood, while the communal gardening that’s proliferating in communities and schools provides social benefits that can alleviate stress and help combat isolation and even dementia, according to studies.

With all these benefits, gardening for fitness will be a trend this year, predicts Rishi Mandal, San Francisco-based cofounder and CEO of the fitness coaching app Future. “Our clients at Future have already been asking their coaches to add gardening and landscaping activities into their routines,” Mandal said, “because it’s easy to access, fits into their lifestyle and offers meditative benefits.”

This demand fits with the overall interest he’s seeing among clients for less intensive fitness routines that are accessible and mesh with an on-the-go lifestyle.

Why gardening is exercise

Gardening engages all the major muscle groups, such as the arms, legs, shoulders, back and abdomen, Mandal said. The activity also improves mobility, helps build endurance, and is a comparable workout to walking or Pilates.

All the necessary digging, planting, mowing, raking and weeding torches calories, too. A 154-pound person burns an average of 330 calories per hour through gardening, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such activity is similar to what that same person would burn playing golf or dancing.

Tom Adkinson of Nashville has long been on board with the notion of gardening to stay fit. The 72-year-old has three gardens, which he uses primarily to grow tomatoes, sweet banana peppers and okra. The work varies in intensity during the growing season.

“Every year I turn the soil by hand,” Adkinson said, “and I consider that serious exercise.”

The hours Adkinson spends staking the tomatoes, then watering and weeding all three gardens, involves a lot of bending and stretching, which he likens to performing garden yoga.

Start with a warm-up

Just as with traditional exercise, Adkinson warms up beforehand, doing various stretches. That’s wise, said Christine Zellers, an assistant professor of family and community health sciences at Rutgers University.

“Even though gardening may not appear strenuous, using the body in new ways can make you stiff if you don’t work up to the movement and prepare by limbering up a little,” said Zellers, who teaches at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Cape May County in New Jersey.

In addition to stretching, going for a short walk before you begin gardening can also serve as a warm-up. While working in your garden or yard, it’s important to bend at the knees to lift heavy objects, she said, and pace yourself if you’re new.

Just as a new runner would slowly build up miles before tackling a marathon, new gardeners should start with short sessions, gradually increasing the time and intensity spent in their gardens.

Build muscle strength and burn calories

Once you’ve got some experience working in your garden or yard, you can ramp things up for more of a challenge. If you’ve purchased a flat of flowers, bring them to the backyard one at a time. When it’s time to mow the lawn, increase the pace of your mowing or switch to a push mower. For some strength training, fill two large watering cans, then carry them around your yard to water the plants. “Gardening can provide a sense of accomplishment and reward, in addition to movement, by doing something with your hands that is fulfilling, like feeding your family or making your yard look wonderful,” Zellers said.

For Adkinson, one of the biggest benefits of gardening as exercise is the tangible reward he receives for his efforts. “Getting fresh tomatoes and fresh okra well into the fall is way better than going to the gym,” Adkinson said. “There’s really nothing better than your own sliced tomato for a sandwich.”

注释：

vigorous: adj

表示" 精力充沛的；有力的；"，means "strong;active or energetic"，如：Old as he is, he is none the less vigorous and active. 虽然他年纪很大了，他仍然精力充沛。

pastime: n

表示"消遣；娱乐"，means "amusement"，如：His favorite pastime is tinkering with old radios. 他最喜欢的消遣就是整修老旧的收音机。

Putter: v

1.表示"闲逛"，means "move around aimlessly"，如：If you have a day to yourself, you are likely to putter all day. 如果给自己一天，你有可能会整天闲逛。

2.表示" 慢条斯理地工作；"，means "work lightly"，如：The old car can't get up hills, but it can putter along on the flat all right.这辆破车不能爬陡坡，但在平坦的路上晃晃悠悠、慢慢腾腾地行驶还行。

communal: adj.

表示"公有的；公社的；共有的"，means "relating to a small administrative district or community"，如：In college we had a communal kitchen. 念大学时，我们有共有的厨房。

proliferate : v

表示" 繁殖；增生；"，means "increase in number rapidly; multiply"，如：Microbes proliferate rapidly. 微生物繁殖迅速。

alleviate: v

表示" 减轻；使 ... 缓和"，means "make (sth) less severe; ease"，如：The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain. 医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。

dementia: n

表示"痴呆"，means "mental deterioration of organic or functional origin"，如：Aging does not ineitably lead to dementia either. 同样，老化也未必一定导致痴呆。

landscaping: n

表示" 景观美化"，means "a garden laid out for esthetic effect"，如：The flooring and landscaping will be done by contractors. 地板铺设和室外美化将由承包人来做。

meditative: adj

表示" 沉思的；冥想的"，means "deeply or seriously thoughtful"，如：She found him in a meditative mood. 她见他正在沉思。

mesh: v; n

1.v表示"啮合"，means "coordinate in such a way that all parts work together effectively"，如：If the cogs don't mesh correctly, the gears will keep slipping. 如果嵌齿不能完好啮合，齿轮就会脱落。

2.n表示"网孔"，means ""，如：The fish tangled in the mesh of the net has died. 那条卡在网眼上的鱼已经死了。

Pilates： n

表示"普拉提(类似瑜伽的健身运动)"，如：Other popular fitness trends include jazzercise, body flow, Pilates and boxing. 其他受欢迎的健身趋势包括爵士乐体操，身体动态，普拉提和拳击。

mow: v

表示" 割（草、麦等）"，means "cut with a blade or mower"，如：You must mow down the long grass in the big field. 我们必须把大田里的深草割掉。

rake: v

表示" 耙"，means "move through with or as if with a rake"，如：Rake the leaves and heap them by the garage . 用耙子把叶子收在一起堆在汽车库旁边。

weed: v

表示"除草；清除；"，means "clear of weeds;"，如：Tomorrow I have to weed the garden. 我明天得给花园除草。

stake: v

1.表示"用桩支撑；"，means "support with a stake"，如：I have staked the apple trees in my garden. 我已把花园里的苹果树都用木桩子支起来了。

2. 表示"下注"，means "risk money"，如：I will stake my good reputation for this. 我用我的名誉来打赌。

strenuous: adj

表示"费力的；繁重的；"，means " using or needing great effort"，如：Strenuous labour wore out their youth. 繁重的劳动使她们失去了青春。

limber: adj; v; n

1. adj表示"柔软的；灵活的"，means "readily adaptable"，如：Gymnasts do everyday exercises to keep themselves limber. 体操运动员每天都做运动保持身体柔软。

2.v表示" 使变柔软"，means ""，如：I always do a few easy exercises to limber up before a match.我在比赛前总要做些简单的准备活动 使身体柔软。

3.n表示" 前车；"，means "a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle used to pull a field gun or caisson"，如：However in this case it means there is no room for a team, limber or caisson. 但是这样就没有足够空间加上炮组，前车以及弹药箱了。

ramp： n; v

1. n表示" 坡道；斜坡"，means " rising bank of earth;sloping way from one level to another"，如：He is able to push the wheelchair down a ramp. 他能把轮椅推下坡道。

2. v表示" 加速；横冲直撞"，means "behave violently,"，如：The children are ramping about in the playground. 孩子们在运动场上乱冲乱跳。

mower: n

表示" 割草机"，means "garden tool for mowing grass on lawns"，如：The gardener asked me for a rotary lawn mower. 园丁向我要一台旋转式割草机。

okra: n

表示" 秋葵；"，如：Experts say good choices for the garden include tomatoes, peppers, beans and okra. 专家们建议在菜园中种植西红柿、胡椒、黄豆和秋葵。

中文简要说明：

做不到有规律上健身房的人别再担心了：如果喜欢种花花草草，这类园艺嗜好也能有效锻炼自己的体能与体态，甚至每小时燃烧的热量和跳舞一样多，专家断言，园艺健身今年将蔚为风潮。

美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）报导，健身不一定要上健身房或到操场跑步，做园艺活动也能锻炼自己，2011年的研究显示，种花花草草对年轻成人来说可以是中度以上的活动量，对老年人则是低度至中度活动量。根据美国政府发布的《美国全民运动指南》（US Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans）第二版，园艺活动能够加强肌肉，同时也是伤害率最低的活动。

另外研究也显示，园艺也改善心情，在小区与人一同进行园艺活动还能降低压力，减少孤独感，甚至对抗失智症。

美国健身教练App「Future」创办人曼达尔（Rishi Mandal）预估，园艺健身将在今年蔚为风潮，他说已经有许多学员要求教练在健身菜单中加入园艺或美化环境的活动。

■为何园艺能健身？

曼达尔说，进行园艺活动需要包括手臂、腿、肩膀、背部及腹部的肌肉运作，这项活动能帮助改善行动力，协助培养耐力，是相当于走路或做皮拉提斯的锻练方式。

另外根据美国疾病管制暨预防中心（CDC）官网介绍，园艺活动所需要的挖土、种植、割草、耙土、及除草等动作都会消耗热量，以154磅（将近70公斤）的成人来说，每小时园艺工作消耗330大卡热量，相当于跳舞或打高尔夫球。

■进行园艺活动前要先暖身

不过进行园艺活动前也要记得暖身，美国罗格斯大学（Rutgers University）家庭与小区健康科学助理教授泽勒斯（Christine Zellers）说，尽管园艺活动看起来并不费力，但如果不先伸展自己、让身体稍微准备一下，用新的方式锻炼可能会让身体变得僵硬。

除了伸展，她说进行园艺工作前先散步一下也是一种暖身。

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