During the darkest days of winter, we gardeners love to think of spring, when as e. e. Cummings writes, “the world is mud-luscious and puddle wonderful.” We plan our gardens using the art and the science of horticulture. But we forget the tenets of the sport of gardening.
I am the perfect example. When the warm sunny weather lures me outdoors, the dream of this year’s perfect garden turns me into a John Henry. And the next day it takes a winch to move me.
The short days of winter are the perfect time to begin spring training for our sport. Several of the Internet sources I located recommend beginning exercises at least two months before the last frost. Of course always remember to check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.
Web site http://www.cleveland.com/living/health/fitness/gardening/ has an “8-Week Gardener’s Workout Program” designed by American College of Sports Medicine certified personal fitness trainer Sandy Gross. It is a sensible conditioning regimen. If you would like a copy of the program and do not have access to the Internet, please let me know and I will be happy to send one to you.
And each time you go out to garden, remember the basic elements of any exercise program. Web site http://www.advancechiro.on.ca/exercise.htm has a good synopsis:
►Warm up by slowing and gently going through the same motions you will perform in your gardening that day to increase the flexibility of and the blood supply to your muscles.
►Stretch the major muscle groups slowly and gently to increase the length and flexibility of your muscles and decrease risk of injury.
►Begin gardening with 5 minutes of work a day, and gradually add a few minutes a day until you are able to work as long as you want. The more out of condition you are, the more important this is!
►Cool down with the same slow and gentle movements you did during warm up and stretching until your heart rate and post-exercise blood flow are back to normal.
And while you garden, use good body mechanics:
►Lift by placing your feet shoulder width apart for a good base of support, bend your knees, keep your back straight, bring the object in close to your body, and straighten your knees.
►Change your position frequently, alternate activities, and change hands.
►Research and invest in tools that work with your body. Many of the tools available today were developed during the years of the hired gardener, and are designed to get the most work out of a human body, not necessarily to treat it kindly.
►Use your wheelbarrow and keep your loads small.
Gardening is a sport in which we find great joy. In Bella Tuscany: the Sweet Life in Italy, author Frances Mayes writes, “Happiness? The color of it must be spring green. . . . Working in the mild sun, . . . surges of energy, kaleidoscopic sunlight
through the leaves, the soft breeze, . . . [this] simplicity can be called happiness.”
By incorporating the principles of preparation for sport, we can continue to enjoy “the exhilaration and health” that Ralph Waldo Emerson found “when I go into my garden with a spade and dig a bed.”