Burn calories in the garden

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful volunteers burn 286 calories an hour when planting a tree. Photo courtesy Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Inc.

On Indianapolis’ Fox59, WXIN-TV, morning show Aug. 26, we’ll talk about burning calories in the garden.

For instance, raking leaves for an hour burns 240 calories per hour for a 140- to 150-pound person. Mowing the lawn burns 374 calories per hour.

If you plant a tree,  you’ll burn 286 calories per hour. And, when digging a new bed, you’ll burn 318 calories per hour. Just general gardening tasks, such as weeding and or removing spent flowers (called deadheading), will burn 272 calories per hour.

As with any ‘exercise’ program, it’s best to warm up a bit first. Walk around the yard for a few minutes and gently stretch muscles by kneeling, bending and reaching.

For more details about lawn and garden calorie burning activities, check out Calorie Count.

For fitness and exercise tips, visit Garden Fitness or Gardening for Health.