Gardening Is Good Exercise, Really

In Geezer’s part of the world, the last white remnants of winter generally melt just moments before the official arrival of spring, an event that occurs just moments before he is presented, by Mrs. Geezer, with an all-too-familiar collection of gardening tools. What to do? When there is no escape, there is no choice, so Geezer turns for encouragement to the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service’s uplifting reminder that gardening is not just a matter of horticulture–it’s also
exercise. How much exercise? The extension service has translated several gardening related activities into METs, defined by the American Heart Association as a ratio comparing a person’s metabolic rate while seated and resting to their metabolic rate while performing some task. (The AHA points out that fitness levels range from 1.5 MET for the lowest
exercise capacity to 20 METs for the highest capacity. The average
fitness level is 8 METs.)
The list below shows the METs associated with various gardening activities:
1.5 Watering lawn or garden, standing or walking
2.5 Walking, applying fertilizer or seeding a lawn, mowing
lawn, riding mower
3.5 Trimming shrubs or trees, power cutter
4.0 Raking lawn, sacking grass and leaves, planting seeds,
shrubs
4.5 Mowing lawn, walk, power mower; weeding, cultivating
garden; planting trees; operating snow blower, walking;
trimming shrubs or trees, manual
5.0 Carrying, loading, or stacking wood; clearing land, hauling
branches; digging sandbox; laying sod
6.0 Chopping wood, splitting
logs; mowing lawn, walk, hand mower; gardening with heavy
power tools, tilling a garden; shoveling, light (less
than 10 lbs./min.)
Read more from the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service