“Transform your dacha work into fitness with gardening”

Rodion Shvedov

2 hours ago

Farm work can prolong life

Gardening is quite capable of becoming an excellent substitute for training in the gym, experts say. The main thing is not to overdo it and follow certain rules.

Sociological studies have shown that only a third of Russians who own summer cottages use them for recreation and unity with nature. Most people, out of habit or for some economy, continue to grow crops and work on the ground weekly, often undermining health and spending even more money. How to turn work in the garden into useful fitness, experts said.

According to the survey data, a family spends an average of 20,000 to 50,000 rubles per season on maintaining and servicing the dacha. Of course, one could buy a subscription to a fitness club for this amount, but not everyone is ready to refuse unity with nature and their own harvest. Then you should pay attention to the experience of the United States, where gardening was officially included in the list of recommendations for physical activity for the elderly.

The list of useful exercises included only 15 types of activities on the site. Among them, pruning branches, loosening the soil with a hand chopper, transplanting seedlings into the ground, mulching, washing fruits. The most energy-intensive of what is recommended to be done is to dig up a bed measuring eighty meters by a meter or water a flower bed with an area of ​​u200bu200bno more than 32 “squares”. In this case, you should use a watering can with a volume of no more than six liters, and not carry dozens of buckets of water.

In this case, it is necessary to monitor the heart rhythm and prevent the pulse from rising above 120 beats per minute. At the same time, you need to do summer fitness for health no more than 100-120 minutes a week. Any activity in excess of the listed figures is considered “heavy gardening” and is only suitable for those who are young and full of energy. For example, chopping firewood can replace an intense workout, digging beds is equivalent to riding a bicycle, weeding is the same curling, and working with a rake is a dance lesson.