SO who is losing weight this summer and getting a good work out weeding their gardens? My whole body hurts this morning cause I spent 6 hours this weekend in my shade gardens weeding (a once a month chore). Too many knee bends and picking! I feel OLD.........

Christine a good stretch after you garden should help loosen you up and help you become a Fit Gardener. You won't be so sore afterwards if you do a good stretch while your muscles are warm.

I've learned to wander through my front beds daily and pluck whatever's popping up. I don't bother with trying to get the root (thus disturbing the soil) because I'm okay with just pinching the weed back until it gives up and stops growing (sometimes a season-long process!)

My back beds, however, are a mess. A REALLY BIG mess. And I've kind of given up at the moment because the dogs are ruining them, anyhow. I've moved most of my desirable plants and hostas out front and I'm working toward making the back more of a wildflower/woodland setting with plants that won't mind the canine foot traffic.

My most epic workout this year by far has involved creating (and expanding) the front bed. I turned over all the sod and then shook the soil off by hand. Then I used the clumps of grass to patch thin areas in the shady parts of my lawn. It worked pretty well, but man, it was tiring!

got the workout last week preparing my garden for a visit from the Ontario Hosta Society, but it doesn't seem to make me lose weight.

I hear you Ann!! It just makes me sore all over!

Boy, ain't it the truth? Gardening and sore muscles seem to go hand in hand. Especially as we age.
I remember the good old days when I could work in my garden all day, be tired, and achey and just sleep it off. These days, its an on going soreness all season long. I do a series of Yoga stretches every morning and evening to keep limber. Also,as hard as it is for me, I recognize my limits and pace myself. It takes me much longer to tackle the large projects, such as digging out a new bed, or mulching 2,000 sq ft of bedding space.
I have also gotten better at asking for help, rather than trying to do everything myself. A good backrub always helps too

http://cubits.org/yogaforlife/...

This has been very helpful for me; I not as sore as I was last year at this time. So it must be working!

Kay and Arlene, way to go. Wish I could be more motivated cause I know it makes a huge difference. There's always vitamin I (IBProfen) to get me through the toughest of workouts(heeee, heee) in the garden

When I start picking my green beans I have to crawl because I can't bend over to pick them. By the end of the summer I can go through a whole row bending over. So any kind of stretching and gentle exercise you can do helps.

Maybe gardening today would be akin to the steam room?

Ann