The Flexibility Coach, LLC

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Weeding Out Tension: Stretches for gardening and yard work

It's ironic that the very activities that are part of what makes spring and summer so enjoyable -- getting outside, tending the garden, bringing the yard back to it's full-color life, are also activities that can cause debilitating aches and stiffness. Not exactly the way to kick off the warm season! Fortunately, there are easy steps you can take to thwart this unwelcome side effect.

Generally, there are two categories of stretches when it comes time to gardening (or readying the body for almost any activity): the stretches you perform outside of the task itself -- building the base, if you will -- and those that you perform in tandem with the task itself, particularly afterward, to help your muscles recover and reduce the occurrence of soreness. In both cases, it's generally best to hold each stretch for about 30 seconds, sometimes a bit longer if the muscle is particularly tight, all the while breathing smoothly and concentrating on relaxing the targeted muscle group. In a few cases, however, the aim of the position is also to help strengthen certain muscles, in which case you want to concentrate on contracting that muscle, feeling it squeeze as this helps to provide strength and stability to a given joint or area.

So, without further ado, here are two groupings of gardening-specific stretches and strengtheners; the first set is to help build your base, the second group is for helping the muscles recover after a gardening or yard work session:

(As always, be sure to seek approval from your doctor to engage in these and other exercises/stretches, and avoid any position or movement that causes pain or discomfort.)

Building the Base:

Post-Gardening Recovery:

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