You could live longer with this simple outdoor exercise that you might already do every day
While many of us try to commit to a healthy lifestyle, it's not always easy to stay motivated to keep hitting the gym. But an expert has suggested that exercise doesn't have to be as strenuous as doing several hard core workouts a week.
Dan Buettner is a researcher into so called 'Blue Zones', where locals are reportedly 10 times more likely to reach 100 years old than "ordinary" citizens of the United States.
On his TikTok profile, which boasts 152k followers, the 64-year-old revealed that centenarians are more inclined to garden, which he says can reduce stress levels and heighten physical activity.
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"After 20 years of looking at the world's longest-living people, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best physical activity there is, is gardening," Dan said. "Why? Because it's a range of motion, stress levels go down, you get slightly winded.
"And because you planted these vegetables and you want to see them grow and you want to eat them, it gives you an impetus to do it every day. To water, weed or harvest every day.
"And when it comes to longevity, if it's not something you're going to do a lot for a long time, forget about it. Plant a garden and we'll see you when you're 100."
And the TikToker's theory isn't without support. Kieran Sheridan, a physiotherapist based in the UAE, previously told the Mirror that it's possible to burn a surprising amount of calories just by gardening.
But for weeding your garden to be considered a "legitimate" workout, you do have to meet some requirements, reports Surrey Live. "According to CDC, you can burn about 300 calories with just 45 minutes of gardening," Sheridan explained.
"Planting and potting for an hour can also burn 200-300 calories. It targets a lot of muscle groups because of all the strenuous physical activity - such as planting, watering, even digging and lifting fertilizer bags."
For comparison, someone who weighs around 10 stone could burn approximately 258 calories an hour by walking on a treadmill at a brisk pace of 3.5mph, according to Very Well Fit. A run at 6mph, and you'd burn 680 calories per hour.
Gardening can be a workout for various muscle groups across the body, including your buttocks, abdomen, back, legs and arms. The pushing action of digging can work many of these muscles simultaneously, making it likely to burn the greatest number of calories among other strenuous gardening skills.
Sheridan went on: "It's also required to stretch first to build your strength before gardening and also to avoid cramps and overworking the muscles after gardening. These gardening tasks also help burn calories just like a simple exercise would do.
"I advise mixing things up when gardening. You can't do one task alone because it could strain your muscles. For example, just planting and carrying bags of mulch will be physically straining, which can lead to injuries and body pain. I'd suggest doing other tasks such as pulling weeds and raking."
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