Routine gardening activities such as raking, weeding, and trimming engage multiple muscle groups at once and can burn up to 300 calories in 30 minutes.

A message sent by Human Resources to UWindsor staff and faculty Monday offers strategies to transform yard work into a workout:

• Create a routine. Treat gardening like any workout — stretch first, then alternate light activities with heavier ones.
• Dig deep. Digging is one of the highest-intensity gardening activities.
• Watch your form. Bending and twisting can cause injury if you’re not careful.
• Go old school. Use manual clippers, shears and mowers instead of tools that plug into an outlet.
• Build in strength training. You can incorporate strength-training exercises into your gardening tasks to increase the intensity.

Learn more about gardening as a form of exercise in the Wellness Tip of the Week.