Table of Contents
Introduction
Mowing the lawn is probably an everyday activity for most families. While most people do not have the time to go for early morning exercises because of their schedule and work, they can get a lot of what they miss out on by mowing. If you fall into this group, those who do not have the time to do regular morning exercise should read on to see how you can get a workout while mowing the lawn.
Lawn Mower
A lawnmower is a machine used to cut grass to an even height; the rotating blades do this that the mover has built-in its design. You can cut the grass’s size to be cut or mowed to the desired height, either by the machine’s design. Adjustments made by the operator of the mower can help reduce the size of the grass. There are different types of lawnmowers, and they are classified according to various criteria; by rotation, energy source, and so on. The mowers are organized by cycle. A cylinder or reel mower is said to carry a fixed horizontal cutting blade set to the grass’s desired height to be cut. There are variants of the cylinder mower.
The push mover has no mechanical engine and is used in areas where noise and air pollution are not desirable. There are many mowers currently available in the markets and new ones that would be launched. However, the sort of lawnmower used to get exercise while moving most often would have to be the push mower; this is because an engine does not power it, and you would have to push it as you mow over the grass you would want to cut. Apart from this, there won’t be noise or air pollution, which would be suitable for your general well-being and health.
Is Lawn Mowing an Exercise?
With you included, many people would have asked or are wondering if mowing your lawn is indeed an exercise. Cutting your property has a mind-body health benefit; there is a sense of meditation that one gets when mowing the lawn. Apart from this, it is a practical way to work out and at the same time burn calories, so yes, lawn mowing can pass for an exercise.
The Benefits of Mowing the Lawn
There are numerous benefits that one can get from mowing the lawn with a push mower. Although not apparent at first, with time, the activity’s signs and effects begin to show. And as recommended for health improvement, building exercise into your daily routine would help in this. In the next subtopics, we discuss some of the benefits you can get from mowing a lawn.
Physical Exercise
Physical exercise is the performance of different activities to help maintain body fitness and to improve overall well-being. These exercises, which are performed regularly, are directed towards the body, as a regular and consistent important factor in preventing health illnesses such as obesity, heart disease, and cardiovascular disease, which can be a venous insufficiency. All exercises are grouped into three categories depending on the overall effect on the body; Flexibility, aerobic, and anaerobic exercises. Flexibility exercises are also called the range of motion where you feel stretched and no pain.
The back and forth movement that comes with using a mower to mow your lawn help you complete cardiovascular exercises without your knowledge. The body’s muscle gets improved by trimming because of the to and fro movement involved in mowing grass; thus, you could gain muscle definition in your biceps and triceps.
To give the exercise a maximum effect and to benefit richly from it, mowing should be done every day with the 150 minutes of moderate-intense cardiovascular exercise recommended by health professionals to be done every week to maintain a healthy living. Some of these recommended exercises include a short walk, yoga, raking, stationary bicycling, etc. Apart from the building of muscle definition, you get to burn a lot of calories mowing your lawn; pushing your mower for about 20 minutes can be compared with walking a mile at a breakneck pace. And moving your mower forward can be comparable to you running than walking.
Without leaving your home, you can perform all the exercise workouts or routines by simple mowing. Although it is an entirely different approach, you get the same result at a shorter length of time. In addition to all of these, mowing your lawn helps you develop and work on your core muscle group. Most personal training you would attend or do has a session dedicated to this muscle group’s work. So without having to belong to a private training group to get to work out on this particular area by just mowing.
According to Harvard Health, lawn, owing to it, is also considered more effective than walking at a slow pace for half an hour. When lawn mowing is compared to many other activities, you will discover that it burns more calories in your body system in half an hour than what most outdoor activities would do.
Outdoor activities are said to burn a large number of calories. Based on your weight, if you were t shovel your lawn using your hands, you would have burned from 170 to about 260 calories. As with many exercises that are performed, ensure you are warm and not cold before beginning. Stretch your body, and watch your posture when mowing. Keep it straight and not arched, as it would lower your risks of back pain and body injury.
Improving the effects of the exercise while mowing
Like all activities used to keep fit, it is a priority always to improve the practice. When working out to increase or improve the results or effects of exercising, there are several ways you can do these with a mower.
When mowing the lawn, you should increase the speed of the act. Because, one average, a person mowing can operate at a rate of 6 kilometers in an hour. However, moving fast while mowing increases the heart’s beat per minute, suitable for cardiovascular purposes. To push your body to increase the result above, you could increase the pace you use when mowing.
Volunteering to help family and friends could be another way you could improve the effects of mowing. This way, you increase the surface area to be covered when mowing, which would be an addition to what you were doing and getting initially.
By all means, you should avoid the use of any motorized or self-propelled engine. Using a mower with this function would hinder you from getting a good return because of the lack of resistance witnessed when mowing with the machine’s operation. As resistance is vital as it gets you to use your strength, your mower’s functionality should be manual. Because the pushing of a mower back and forth manually increases muscle strength.
Mental Well-being
There is no set-out definition of what mental being/health is. However, it includes our social, emotional, and psychological well-being. Our mental well-being status affects how we think, feel, and act at a particular given period. Our position is also a determinant of how we handle stress, our relationship with other people, and the kind of choices we make. Good mental health or well-being is good and is needed from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.
Some factors contribute to one’s mental well-being; the most common factors are the person’s biological, life experience, and family history. Suppose someone’s mental well-being is not on the positive side. In that case, there are warning signs to look out for normally: eating too much or too little, having low or no energy, thinking that nothing matters, shying away from people or activities, the feeling of hopelessness, experiencing severe mood swings, etc.
However, to know that you are doing positively regarding your mental health, you would produce productive work. Be able to cope with the stress that comes with life, realize your full potential, and make meaningful contributions to the community that you reside in.
Although mowing a lawn is a physical kind of work, it can also contribute to your mental well-being and growth. You can trim your yard with a combination of other activities like listening to music or a motivational speech.
If you are undergoing stress or pressure at school or work, mowing and at the same time listening to music can be an excellent way to lose steam and cool off with the stress. Although some people find the smell of the grass relaxing, the activity should help put you on a positive note.
Saving Money
Mowing your lawn can save you a lot financially. Instead of getting a gym membership for a lot of money, you could cut down on that with a mower. By introducing this into your daily exercise routine, you could gain the same result when registering for a gym. You can also cut down on more money when you do the lawn yourself without outsourcing it to an outside firm.
Safety precautions to take while Mowing
In as much as you get your body exercised while mowing, it would be in your interest to be cautious and consider your safety, as this should be important when cutting. Always wear the appropriate footwear needed. The footwear should cover your toes to prevent you from getting an injury on your feet.
Always hydrate yourself because of the heat from the sun; as this is a form of exercise, you should sporadically take in water to help your body system cool. And use sunshade when there is too much sunlight in the environment.
Conclusion
Now that you know of exercising while you mow your lawn. You can include this in your daily routine to help keep your body fit. Keeping the body fit is a way as proven by medical research and vouched for by practitioners that, exercises no matter the form that it takes prolongs life. You can save money that would have been waited on gym card memberships by merely doing this every day as a daily routine.
