Gardening: How to avoid injury and get fit too

Published on Saturday 3 May 2008 11:06

PERFECTLY manicured lawns; beds and borders to rival a photo shoot for Homes & Gardens; lovingly raised plants and flowers bursting with colour, detail and scent. Ah, there are many upsides of gardening. But, then there are the aches. And the pains.

Chances are, like most gardeners, at some point you've overdone it on digging, weeding and planting, especially when spring arrives and you haven't been busy in the garden for ages.

And, with the summer set to be warm and sunny this year, you're most likely to do it again and again, paying for all that hard graft.

But do it right, and you can benefit physically, with good muscle toine as well as gardenians to show off proudly.

After all, an hour in the garden is the equivalent to an hour in the gym.

"You can easily burn 300 calories an hour weeding or digging," admits Edinburgh personal trainer, Gareth Jones, "and this can be the equivalent to a jog on the treadmill or cycle on the bike.

"However, just like the gym or workout, you also need to warm up properly, otherwise strains and muscle ache can easily result."

But there are ways to garden yourself fit – and without aches and pains. Pilates expert and physiotherapist to the British rowing squad Jacqueline Knox has now teamed up with garden designer Bunny Guinness to write Garden Your Way To Health And Fitness, a book offering exercise plans and injury prevention in the garden.

"I have found that making very small changes to their gardening technique and showing them how to do some therapeutic, strengthening exercise before gardening and some stretching afterwards, causes many of their aches and pains to melt away," says Jacqueline.

Pilates-based movements and body balancing, both of which keep the spine in a neutral position rather than slumped forward make a difference, according to Jacqueline.

There are safe ways to carry out everyday tasks like pushing wheelbarrows, lifting heavy pots and picking low-lying fruit, too.

"When lifting heavy objects like potted plants, keep your back in a neutral position and take away the strain by bending your knees to go down for the object, then use your legs and abdominal muscles to lift it," she explains.

"Lift the pot with both hands, with one foot on the ground for stability, while the heel of the other foot can come off the ground as you rise to a standing position.

"If you have a bad back or problems with your knees or hips, get someone else to lift the object."

To prevent tennis elbow, choose a tool with a hand grip the right size for you, which helps to avoid gripping too hard and over-clenching while carrying out repetitive movements. Your local garden centre will be able to help with selecting the best hand grip. "Alternate activity so that you're less likely to get muscle strain," advises Edinburgh gardener Jason Forrest.

"If you carry out different activities rather than sticking to one for a long time, you effectively lessen the chance of getting injured. Either rest or swap activities every 20 minutes or so.

"Squat when you are hand-weeding to help the back into the neutral position, or weed on your hands and knees, with your back in the neutral position and your knees protected on a pad.

"And avoid neck strain by keeping shoulder blades down and in and using your shoulder blade muscles to weed." All picking up, according to Jacqueline, should be done with knees bent and back straight. Stand up straight, pulling lower stomach upwards and inwards, relax shoulders, keeping the shoulder blades pressed down into the back to minimise strain on your shoulders and neck.

But when weeding, deadheading or any other job which involves bending, avoid bending from the waist.

"Whenever you bend over in the garden, aim to keep your back as straight as possible while bending your knees," she advises.

"When doing overhead work such as hedge-trimming, watering hanging baskets or pruning high trees, your neck becomes vulnerable to strain. In an ideal position the neck shouldn't be too far forward (with the chin sticking out), or too far back (hunched into the shoulders)."

And don't forget those post- gardening stretches.

"Always, always do them," stresses Gareth. "It will lessen any stiffness and is crucial if you've been leaning over or kneeling for long periods. Otherwise – feel the burn."

&#149 Garden Your Way To Health And Fitness, by Bunny Guinness and Jacqueline Knox, is

published by Timber Press, priced 14.99

don't miss

Walk in the Woods month, throughout May, the Tree Council's festival to encourage everyone to enjoy trees and woods in spring, featuring walks, talks and other events. For details go to www.treecouncil.org.uk.

best of the bunch

Dwarf phlox

They are among my favourite rockery plants, their flat heads of brightly coloured blooms providing a wealth of colour in rockeries, tumbling over walls and providing masses of colour in alpine planters.

There are many different types of phlox, including erect, evergreen and herbaceous perennials, but among the best are the spring-flowering dwarf varieties such as Phlox subulata, mainly in shades of blue, pink and red.

Good choices include P. subulata Lilacina, a dense, mat-forming, evergreen perennial which produces soft lilac flowers, and P. Kelly's Eye, another evergreen, mounding perennial producing pretty pink flowers with a deeper pink centre in late spring to early summer.

Rock garden types of phlox need well drained soil in full sun. Plant cuttings in a cold frame in summer.

what to do this week

&#149 During the day remove cloches from strawberries to allow access by pollinating insects.

&#149 Continue to sow maincrop varieties of beetroot, kohl rabi, French beans, onion, spinach, carrots, cabbage and summer cauliflower.

&#149 Earth up potatoes to protect them against frost.

&#149 Plant out sweet peas.

&#149 Plant evergreens and shift large plant if necessary.

&#149 Plant crocosmia, galtonia, gladioli and nerine.

&#149 Prune deciduous shrubs that flower later in the year on the current season's growth.

&#149 Net blackcurrants against birds.

&#149 Pinch out sideshoots of greenhouse tomatoes regularly.

&#149 Start pruning trained fruit tree forms (such as espaliers, fans and cordons), to encourage fruit bud formation.

&#149 Keep an eye out for early aphid attack, and deal with this appropriately, by squashing small colonies.

&#149 Deadhead pansies, primulas and other spring bedding plants. Pansies will carry on in the spring and even to early summer, if attended to frequently.

good enough to eat

Aubergines

Yes, they are tender veg, but if you want a taste of the Mediterranean in summer, to make delicious ratatouille or moussaka, you can still have a go.

They have much the same needs as tomatoes and peppers and are best grown in a sunny spot, ideally in a greenhouse or polytunnel, in free-draining soil to which plenty of compost has been added.

Seeds sown in spring in 4in (10cm) pots, two or three seeds to a pot (heated propagators should help germination), can be planted out in May and June 60cm (24in) apart when the first flowers form and are best under a polytunnel to protect them from flea beetle, thrips and aphids.

Pinch out the first fruit to form on large-fruited varieties and thin out subsequent fruit to leave three to five per plant. Small-fruited varieties can be left unthinned.

Water and feed regularly with a high potash liquid feed. Fruits can be harvested after they've reached half their mature size because then they will be more tender and less prone to bitterness.