Do we really need gyms?

I agree. And you get the added benefit of fresh air. Can't be beaten.

I totally agree, Bags. But have you any tips on overcoming an extreme horror of slugs, snails and other slimy things that appear mysteriously and insidiously in EVERY bit of the garden.

In terms of strength (predominantly) gardening is a beneficial activity. 'Fitness' is a different beast altogether. You can work every muscle in your body gardening, and it represents a type of exercise. It is, however, not necessarily a balanced form of exercise and arguably significantly more likely if you are not a 'fit' individual already, to cause back and knee problems.

Cardiovascular fitness is really what you need to be targeting. Arguably, if you are getting puffed from walking or gardening you are not fit in a cardiovascular sense.

You don't need to use a gym to be fit, though it does help some people. It is true that sedentary lifestyle through desk jobs etc is a leading cause of premature mortality (3rd along with smoking actually), so being active in the garden is always good. It wont regularly and sustainably reach 'moderate' intensity which is where the significant benefits are.

I would never go to the usual sort of gym but I did overcome my aversion to US Franchises & tried a Women only Gym. It turned out to be brilliant for me - 10 min walk there & back, 30 min routine, no set group or set time, cheaper than my Aqua-aerobics class, didn't get wet or have to dress in lycra, oldest woman was 80, youngest 16. I built up strength around gammy knees etc & exercised bits that didn't get exercised by other everyday means or walking. You could chat to others if you wanted or keep silent. It got me through a couple of very stressful periods, tightened tummy & built up strength round gammy knees etc. Then the Franchisee went bankrupt & I haven't found anything as good or convenient since - the next franchise is 40 mins away. I was gutted.

You certainly do reach moderate intensity through many of the activities in gardening, sweating and raising your heart rate, for example. Digging, turning over a compost bin, shovelling, barrowing heavy loads up hill would all be examples of this. The other advantage is that you reach lots of different muscle groups. Chopping and hauling logs is also very hard work.
If you are talking about a little gentle weeding then clearly that is not going to give you enough exercise. Yes, heavy gardening can be tough on ageing bodies, but I think pounding a treadmill is just as tough and you don't have anything tangible at the end.
As I said on another thread, many of my neighbours can still do a day's work in the fields in their eighties and they have certainly never been near a gym.

toby, if you think gardening is not a cardio-vascular exercise, you really really really need to come and work in my garden!

Moderate intensity? Won't reach? Ha!

Seriously! Try pushing our mower up our slope and say that!

I'm talking about 3/4 acre of steep rough ground (think mountainside) here, not some postage stamp on the flat.

Bet you've never swung a scythe.

PS

Reminds me of when we (briefly) had a gym membership and an allotment. The gym was full of fat businessmen panting away on the machines. Quite a few had coronaries then or later. The allotment was full of wiry, whippet thin chaps who were thirty years older and could put in hours at a time with a spade. We gave up the gym.

If you are retired you can go to the gym in the daytime and it won't be full of sweaty young things but there will be lots of older people who are not as fit as you and that will be very good for the ego! Actually this week there was a grey haired lady who, as they say, 'had all the gear and no idea'!

Mmmm, tried going during the day joining the wrinkly brigade. Much more fun but not a lot of good fitnesswise - we spent all our time chatting!

Nfk Did you get the professionals to do you a programme? That is very motivating as you want to get onto heavier weights etc.

Yes I did get cornered and had a programme worked out for me but I'm afraid I fell by the wayside and kept leaving out the bits I didn't like. No will power. Like Bags I find gardening more rewarding. Looking back at a well weeded row of onions or a patch of freshly dug soil is an instant reward.

I used to have a horse and look after him and a couple more. Now that was a superb workout!

With diabetes type 2 on the increase in younger people, I would think gyms are very necessary. Perhaps not for our age group, but if they get younger people keeping fit, and thin, that must be good.

I'm more of a garden admirer than a gardener. Bags, yours is no ordinary garden!! Much respect, my efforts are limited to pottering about with a pair of secateurs .

You're absolutely right about the sedentary jobs of course, mine included.

I can't see why this has to be an either/or choice. It is possible to enjoy both indoor & outdoor forms of exercise.

If all the machines were linked to the National Grid the gym fees would be minimal and more young people could afford it.

I think gyms can be useful if you are pressed for time and live in an urban area. I just never liked the atmosphere. I have never seen any gyms here, there are a few bits of equipment at the swimming pool, but I think I would have to travel 60 km to find one. I think the French tend to cycle a lot, people of our age walk and garden. I go to a keep fit with other ladies from the village; it is run by a physio and it an hour of quite hard work. Definitely much less obesity in France which I think is down to more exercise and better diet. I know it is increasing as a problem, but nowhere near UK levels.

Most people should try and do some form of exercise to keep healthy however to help prevent Osteoporosis we need to do weight bearing exercises.
If you have health problems it's best to have a word with you GP before undertaking any form of strenuous exercise. I wear a heart rate monitor to ensure my rate doesn't go above 130 as per cardiologist advice.
Better safe than sorry.

You are right Jeannie I started on the bike and my heart rate went up to 160s so I asked the doc and he told me to keep below 130 so now I watch that figure and adjust my pace accordingly. Now I can see my fitness improve as I can cycle further on the same programme than when I started whilst mainting the same heart rate. It is great to be able to see I am getting fitter.

I'm ashamed to say I belong to a health club but hardly ever use the gym, I go to the pool part for a swim fairly regularly. I don't enjoy walking on a treadmill, I'd rather have a walk in the park and look at something more uplifting rather than giant suspended tv screens showing MTV or sport. I marvel at some people who manage to use apparatus and read a book at the same time, I wish I could master that it might make the experience a little less boring!

This morning it was pouring with rain as this 'lemming' spent a very happy hour doing half an hour in the gym and half an hour in the pool. If you can go about midday, mid week it's usually quiet and most of the other users, at least at our gym, tend to be in the Saga age group and friendly with it. What you do in the gym is as intensive as you make it and I haven't yet managed to 'pound' on anything. I'm trying to set and achieve my own target on the treadmill. A friend who's been going for 6 months says using the incline on the machine really helped her to walk uphill now without puffing too much. She's working on an incline of 11 while I'm plodding at 4 at the moment. But that's what I'm aiming for. Why does it have to be gym or outdoor exercise? Why can't it be both? I really enjoy being in the garden and walking in the fresh air as well. It's my first ever experience of a gym and joining has been one of the best things I've done. I needed a focus and some time on my own - in all weathers and this fits the bill. I do think though that I've been lucky to find a health club that is light and airy and suits me exactly. If it had been noisy, sweaty and pressured, I would have turned into a lemming and jumped the other way.

I agree with you Rosie. I enjoy both gym and the countryside. Often at the gym I see people who look worse than me which is good for the self esteem! Although this morning there was a woman about my age who had all the gear and looked very fit as well. Hope I don't see her again!

Actually no..Gym people stay fit until they are regular with their gym exercise and the day they left that, they start gaining weight or feel unhealthy and unfit..So it is better to exercise at home by doing some household chores and control the unhealthy eating, avoid too much laziness etc...