Yes, I Count Gardening as a Workout
I spend a lot more time gardening in the fall and spring than I do the rest of the year, and yes, I count those hours as workouts. We have a lawn service that mows each week (my husband highly encouraged me to give up that favorite chore after multiple skin cancer diagnoses), but I still enjoy doing many of the other chores that I could farm out.
During October, I prune back our foundation bushes (think six hours of squats). Fall cleanup also includes cleaning out the perennial garden – another couple of hours of bending and cutting back dead flower stalks and carrying them off into the woods. And finally, chairs, tables, etc. need to be carried into the garden shed for storage during the winter (think farmers carries).
Leaves (like windows), though, I don’t do leaves and leave that fall chore to my husband. 😉
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 34.3 miles
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Average speed: 13.3 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: 1,460 feet
• Start time: 11:42 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Hamilton loop
• Weather: 54° and partly cloudy, climbing to 60° and sunny
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, jacket, fingerless gloves over nitrile gloves
My husband planned our ride to take us by the fairgrounds during a local cyclocross race where we watched our VeloPigs fearless leader race. It was our first time attending an event like this and I’m still not sure exactly how it works. I think riders go through the challenging course multiple times for a certain amount of time. Maybe whoever gets the most laps wins? Whatever the case, it’s a great sport to spectate because you see the riders many times at several different locations. Obviously, I won’t be asked to be a spokesperson for cyclocross. LOL
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 2.04 miles
• Average pace: 15:28 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 116 feet
• Start time: 4:58 PM
• Location: neighborhood streets
• Weather: 64° and mostly sunny
• What I wore: capris, s/s shirt, and visor
Fighting the early signs of a cold, I took an afternoon nap and later multitasked by walking to the grocery store to pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner.
Tuesday
Walking: 3.17 miles
• Average pace: 15:22 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 57 feet
• Start time: 10:51 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 62° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: capris, l/s shirt pushed up to elbows, and visor
Gardening: 2 hours
I took a walk to check out the Halloween decorations in our community. Halloween has become quite the event for elaborate (and grotesque) decorations for some of my neighbors. I’m much more of a fan of cute little ghosts (bottom center) rather than the creepy stuff, though.
Later in the afternoon I finished the fall hedge pruning, working on my puffball nemeses (I’d completed all of the other foundation hedges last week). I prune the puffballs every October and they hold their shape until August/September before sprouting enough new growth to look like one big blob.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Gardening: 1 hour
Walking: 2.11 miles
• Average pace: 16:34 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 72 feet
• Start time: 7:24 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 68° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts and s/s shirt pushed up to elbows
I went for an evening walk to see the Halloween decorations lit up and they were as creepy as expected!
Thursday
Walking: 4.06 miles
• Average pace: 15:36 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 110 feet
• Start time: 5:30 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 55° and clear
• What I wore: shorts, l/s shirt, and gloves
Gardening: 1.5 hours
I lucked out with fantastic walking weather, but Kim was stuck inside thanks to rain and wind during our weekly virtual cardio/chat sesh.
Later in the morning, instead of going for a bike ride, I cleaned out the perennial bed. I’m not quite finished with fall cleanup, but I’m getting closer!
Friday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
Saturday
Cycling: 16.5 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 16.2 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:18 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 65° in basement
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 3.08 miles
• Average pace: 15:19 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 144 feet
• Start time: 9:55 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 53° and mostly sunny, climbing to 56° and partly cloudy
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, visor, and gloves
I had to teach a class during the afternoon so I kept my workouts on the shorter side and close to home. That didn’t stop me from taking pictures of the still beautiful fall leaves during my walk, though.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: October 13 – 19 and 20 – 26 / Busy, Busy, Busy!
- • Tuesday – Minnehaha Falls Bike Tour
Questions:
- • Which is your style: creepy or cute (if either) Halloween decorations? ~ cute
- • Do you enjoy doing gardening chores? ~ I really enjoy most; however cleaning up leaves and spreading mulch are no longer in my wheelhouse. 😉
- • Did you run in a race this weekend? ~ no
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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Gardening is definitely a workout! Your hedges look great. I also notice that you averaged 8 hours of sleep per night- that must have felt good! Your photos are beautiful- I see you’re still having fall colors there. And, I love all the Halloween photos- it’s such a fun holiday and people get so creative.
We haven’t had much rain or wind so the leaves have stayed on the trees much longer than usual. It’s been a beautiful fall!
My sleep was greatly improved by taking 2-hour naps 3 afternoons. Even though I felt pretty good, my cold made me exhausted and I needed naps. Also, my 6:30 AM client (4 days per week) had the flu and I didn’t train her all week so I was able to sleep a tad later those mornings.
No doubt all that gardening counts as fitness! Lots of heavy-duty work there. I was really jealous of your Halloween morning weather, but glad we still had a great morning “session” together 😉
Yes, so much squatting, bending, and lifting; and then carrying heavy bags of yard debris to the curb.
When I think of gardening I think of squats! And heavy lifting and pushing wheelbarrows around. In CrossFit, there’s a workout called “farmer’s carry”, where you walk carrying heavy bags.
Only in your case you don’t have to pay a gym fee and you get the added bonus of a beautiful garden!
I don’t like creepy Halloween stuff at all! So glad we don’t have any Halloween decorations in South Africa!
There was definitely lots of squatting going on with my gardening, both pruning and fall cleanup. My glutes were quite sore the next couple of days! 😀
I don’t care for the creepy Halloween stuff either – not sure why I took so many pictures of them. Honestly, I didn’t see very many cute things in people’s yards during my walks.
I’m not a fan of the gruesome Halloween displays that seem to be so popular this year. I know people love it but it’s not for me.
Gardening is such hard work! We really had issues with weeds this year and our perennial garden needs a complete overhaul. We’re supposed to get a lot of rain this week, which should make it easier to pull things out. I guess that’s on my to do list…lol
I don’t care for the gruesome Halloween displays either and I’m not sure why I took so many pictures of them. Honestly, I didn’t see very many cute things in people’s yards during my walks.
I did a complete overhaul on my perennial garden about five years ago and it looks so much better now.
Gardening is hard work! I definitely see it as a workout. I don’t do a lot of garden work in the autumn other than some weeding but definitely in the spring with cleaning up, pruning shrubs etc.
I like the more creative Halloween decorations that I see on photos this year. I think I prefer the ghost-y ones more rather than evil creatures.
I remember when you were doing cleanup during the spring when you were having some construction done. Didn’t it involve a lot of moving of rocks? That sounded like a really hard workout!
That was the terrible grass cutting before we bought the robot! It was so tough! Then I carried rocks for the entire month of August (that was when the construction was being done). I never had any rest days then!
I’d say I tend toward Halloween decor on the cute side, although I do have some skulls I just brought in. Haha! Gardening is most definitely a great workout. Your entryway is gorgeous! I mostly have the garden and deck buttoned up for winter, but not entirely. It’s going to hit 70 here today so we’ve got more very unseasonally mild weather. Go figure!
Yay for having your garden and deck buttoned up for the winter. I still have to cover my deck tables and chairs and really should do it on one of these gorgeous days we’re having rather than fighting the cold wind later in the month.
Good for you with all of that gardening. I am a serious slacker when it comes to gardening. It is such a great feeling of accomplishment when it does get done though! Those shaped bushes look great. I am a fan of the spooky decorations 🙂
Thanks, Lisa! I think it’s my farm heritage that make me take gardening so seriously. 😉