How to Burn Calories Doing Gardening and Lawn Care
You burn calories daily just by moving around, and doing chores like gardening and lawn care burns more than doing less strenuous tasks, such as washing dishes. However, by making some small changes in how you garden and care for your lawn, you can increase the number of calories burned. Burning extra calories while reducing your calorie intake will aid in weight loss. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Put on a pedometer each morning. A pedometer measures the number of steps you take during the day. Use this to remind you to take extra steps until you build up to at least 5,000 steps per day.
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Warm up before doing gardening or lawn care, just as you would any other exercise. Do gentle stretches, then shake your limbs a bit. Walk in place or around your yard to get your body ready for activity.
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Strap ankle weights to your ankles before mowing your lawn. The extra weight will help you burn extra calories while mowing back and forth over your yard.
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Alternate activities. For example, hoe or till a planting spot for 20 minutes, then switch to weeding or pruning. Get up and walk briskly around the yard in between tasks that require kneeling.
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Lift flower pots or 5- to 10-pound bags of potting soil -- depending on your fitness level -- for a quick muscle workout before using them. Do as many repetitions per arm as you can until your arm grows tired.
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Tips & Warnings
Just as with any new exercise program, speak to your physician before adding extra strenuous steps to your gardening and lawn care procedures.
Stay hydrated and do not attempt to implement these extra steps during hot summer afternoons when the risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke increases. Do your gardening and lawn care early in the morning or late in the evening after the temperature has dropped to a more comfortable level.
References
- Photo Credit Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
