Work on the site is called garden fitness for a reason. For fun, count how many times a day you bend, squat or lift something heavy. To dig a bed of potatoes, harvest apples or transplant flowers, you need a lot of physical strength. These works compare classes in the gym. What do athletes do before starting training? That’s right, they’re warming up.
And now let’s remember what we do: we just grab a shovel and run to dig. Hence such troubles as back pain, sprains, aches. All that will help you avoid this is a five-minute warm-up. Warmed-up muscles will become more elastic and obedient, as a result, you will be less likely to feel back pain or pull your wrist.
Warm-up does not involve performing complex exercises – its main task is simply to warm up the body before working in the garden. We have selected seven simple exercises for you that will help activate your body. Important condition: perform them slowly, smoothly and accurately. Perform each exercise 10 times. If you feel that it is difficult, you can reduce it to 5. Remember: your task is not to set a sports record and not to test yourself for endurance, but simply to bring the body into working condition.
Make it a rule to start your day in the garden with a warm-up, then back problems will be much less
Begin warm-up
If the muscles hurt, you need to perform the exercises very carefully, in a gentle mode. Otherwise, you will only make the situation worse. It is very important that you do not experience joint pain during the warm-up. The muscles may hurt, but the knees, spine and shoulders do not. Discomfort in them is a bad sign. In this case, it is better to temporarily stop classes until you feel better.
And one more useful tip: if you suffer from constipation, regular warm-ups will help you improve the situation with your intestines, because by bending and turning, you stimulate the movement of internal organs. And if you add proper nutrition to this, the result will be obvious. Try to eat fruits and vegetables every day and drink more water to improve digestion. Or you can use natural herbal complexes to cleanse the intestines.
Exercise one: neck and head
Always start the warm-up with the neck and head.
Always start by warming up your neck and head
Put your feet shoulder-width apart. Hands on the belt. Tilt your head back and forth. Now tilt your head left and right – smoothly, without jerks. Then perform circular turns of the head clockwise and counterclockwise. All these exercises help to stretch the neck: vessels and muscles that have been clamped relax, blood flow improves.
Exercise two: hands
Let’s stretch out our arms so as not to accidentally stretch our wrists while working in the garden. Clench your fists and turn them clockwise first and then counterclockwise. Do the same exercise with your hands open.
When working in the garden, the wrist may be unintentionally stretched
Exercise three: shoulders
It’s time to warm up the shoulder joints, because they will have a significant load. Feet shoulder-width apart. Rotate your shoulders, moving them up, back and down. And now change the direction of rotation: up, forward and down.
Exercise four: hands and back
Stretch out your arms. This exercise also involves the upper back. Feet shoulder-width apart. Stretch your arms out in front of you. As you exhale, spread them apart so that the blades are brought together. As you inhale, return your hands to the starting position.
Exercise five: corps
A very good exercise with body turns.
Very good exercise – body turns
Feet shoulder-width apart. Hands on the belt. Now turn your upper body first as far to the right as possible, and then as far to the left as possible. If the exercise seems too simple, you can complicate it a little by using inventory. And what kind of equipment can be in the garden? A tool for the garden, of course. So, lift the shovel or rake over your head, grasp the different ends and turn the body to the right and left.
Exercise six: loin
The slopes will help warm up the lower back. Feet shoulder-width apart. Stretch your arms forward and bend down. Stretch so as to reach the ground with your fingertips. If it works out, fine, if not, do not get upset and do not try to reach the ground at any cost. This is fraught with pinching. The main thing is to get the back muscles in motion and thus prepare them for the working day.
The main thing is to get the back muscles in motion and thus prepare them for the working day
Exercise seventh: legs
And finally, we will pay attention to the legs. Stand up straight, legs together. Place your right foot in front of you on the tips of your fingers and turn your foot in a circle first to the left and then to the right. Do the same with your left leg.
So our little warm-up has come to an end. It is not necessary to perform a large number of exercises: our goal is not to drive ourselves, but to warm up and activate the sleepy muscles a little. Now you are ready to work in the garden.
Now you are ready to work in the garden
Tips for those who work in the country
In addition to the warm-up, there are a couple of useful tips that will make your working days in the garden easier and more enjoyable.
- It is impossible to perform heavy physical work both on a hungry and on a full stomach. After eating, it should take at least half an hour – then you will feel comfortable. If you haven’t eaten for a long time, you may get dizzy.
- The more you move, the more you sweat. And this can lead to dehydration, especially in hot weather. Therefore, you need to drink a lot while working. And it will be better if it is not sweet soda, compote or tea, but ordinary water. The body at such a time requires a lot of unsweetened liquid. If you have to spend a long day outdoors, take a bottle of water in the garden and put it somewhere in the shade so that it stays cool longer.
- In the heat, do not neglect the headdress. No one is immune from sunstroke. And it’s even better to wait out the midday heat in the house.
In the heat, do not neglect the headdress
- In the spring, when you are preparing the beds and making crops, it is advisable not to kneel. The soil is still cold at this time (even if you don’t think so), and there is a risk of catching a cold in your knees. Use a special lining made of soft foam or make it yourself from an unnecessary pillow. The same rule applies to wet soil – if you wet your knees, hypothermia is guaranteed.
- Try to distribute the load on the whole body. For example, it is better to take two incomplete buckets in both hands than to carry one full one. This way the weight will be distributed correctly – and it will be easier for you and more pleasant for the spine. It is not surprising that people used to use a rocker arm.
Be attentive to your body, do not overexert yourself and do not forget to warm up – this way you will be able to maintain your health and good mood, as well as enjoy working in the garden.
Leave a Reply