Working out in the yard is a healthy hobby for many reasons, the high number of calories burned gardening being one of them.

When you do this kind of physical labor, you carry out a wide variety of movements that most definitely burn calories, and may even tone. Depending on what kinds of projects you are tackling in your yard, you could be squatting, lifting, digging, or covering a fair amount of distance with your many steps.

The best part about it in terms of physical activity is that if you enjoy yard work at all, you aren’t watching the clock or counting down the minutes until you are done (the way that many people do while they are on a treadmill). You can easily spend a whole afternoon or an entire day working without feeling as though you are putting yourself through a mentally grueling workout. Finding physical activities that you enjoy are key to maintaining a healthy weight throughout your lifetime, and this hobby is a perfect example of that scenario for many people.


How many calories are you burning gardening? Find your weight on the list below to get an estimate.

Expenditure in one hour of yard work:

Weight in lbs --------> Calories burnt gardening
90 ---------------------------------------> 195
100 --------------------------------------> 217
110 --------------------------------------> 240
120 --------------------------------------> 257
130 --------------------------------------> 284
140 --------------------------------------> 305
150 --------------------------------------> 326
160 --------------------------------------> 347
170 --------------------------------------> 364
180 --------------------------------------> 393
190 --------------------------------------> 412
200 --------------------------------------> 437
210 --------------------------------------> 453
220 --------------------------------------> 478
240 --------------------------------------> 519
260 --------------------------------------> 568
280 --------------------------------------> 611

The total energy expenditure is going to depend on your weight, metabolism, gender, age, muscle content, and more. It is also going to depend on what kind of work you do and how strenuous the jobs you tackle are.