How would you like to pursue an activity that involves fresh air, sunshine, beauty, personal satisfaction, and praise from family, friends, and neighbors? If that sounds good to you, try gardening. Gardening is a great activity for improving the physical health of seniors. Planning and anticipating the growth of your garden, and knowing you can make that happen, can be very uplifting as well. However, like all physical activities, you will need to prepare your body for gardening as a senior.
6 Exercises that Help Prepare Senior Gardeners for Gardening
Depending on your gardening tasks and your fitness level, gardening can burn hundreds of calories and involve almost every muscle in your body. You will need stamina and a good sense of balance.
These exercises will help with the bending, squatting, pushing and pulling associated with gardening. (Before beginning any new physical activity, please consult your physician.)
Bird dogs. Get down on your hands and knees, with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips. Tighten your stomach muscles while raising your right arm and straightening your left leg, keeping your back straight. Return to the starting position, switch sides and repeat. The bird dog exercise works the abs, back, and legs.
Chair squats. Stand in front of a chair, feet shoulder-width apart, arms in front of you. Bend your knees, slowly squat and gently sit down, then stand up using only your legs. The chair squat exercise benefits the glutes, quadriceps (a muscle in the front of the thighs) and the hamstrings (a muscle in the back of the thighs).
Modified plank. Lie on your stomach. Raise yourself up so that you are resting on your forearms and your knees. Align your head and neck with your back, and place your shoulders directly above your elbows. Tighten your abdominal muscles, and hold the modified plank position for a few seconds. Increase the amount of time you can continue as your core and back muscles become stronger.
Wall pushups. Stand facing a wall, with your hands shoulder width apart. With your arms straightened, place your palms on the wall. Keep your back straight, bend your elbows into a pushup position and then push yourself away from the wall, while keeping your palms in contact with the surface. The wall pushup exercise works the chest, shoulders, triceps, and abs.
Balance. To move about the garden, you need good balance. Exercises would include walking heel-to-toe, and single-leg stances with a chair assist. Perform only the exercises you are comfortable with. SilverSneakers has a video on five balance exercises for seniors.
Maintain an exercise routine. You can incorporate the exercises that help you garden into a regular routine. The recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, with strength training two days per week. However, just being active three days a week will benefit you.
Gardening Tips and Techniques
Even if you have been following an exercise routine, you will probably find the unique moves and stresses of gardening will result in some soreness. Here are some tips to avoid injury:
- Stretch for a few minutes before starting your gardening work
- Alternate light activities with heavier ones
- Stop and cool down periodically
- Watch your form. Bending at the waist instead of the knees causes many injuries.
- Pull weeds while kneeling on one knee to avoid back strain
- Rake with short strokes rather than long sweeping ones
- Use long-handle tools to rake and hoe to avoid back pain
- When performing a repetitive task, change your position or rest to avoid repetitive stress on joints and muscles
Final Exercise Tip
After a day of gardening, on a summer evening, sit and look over the beautiful garden you have created. Lift a glass of iced tea for as many repetitions as you would like and enjoy what you have accomplished!
For more information on how to stay in top gardening shape, read our health and wellness blog.
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