The Good Ache (not your traditional exercise)

There's a kind of ache that is a good ache.  I'm not talking about the ache that you get from lifting something too heavy, or from attending one too many classes of boot camp.   I mean the ache that you feel sometimes hours after, or maybe even a day later.  It's the ache that makes you say, "Hmm, I didn't know I even had muscles there."  I'm talking about the early-season-gardening-ache.  It's a good ache.  You might feel it in your back after bending over too much.  Or you may feel it in your legs from squatting too much or in your arms from pulling weeds.  It might show up in your back or shoulders from raking or digging.  The ache may even be in your hands.  You spend the day with hedge clippers and you awake the next day to realize that it's harder to grip.  Apparently, although we use our hands every day, there's still muscles that go underutilized until gardening season opens with all it's clipping, pulling and grabbing.  And unless you push too hard, it's all a good ache.  It says you've had a productive day.  You've been off the sofa.  You spent some time digging in the dirt and inhaling fresh air. 

Along with the satisfaction from the good ache there are also many calories burned.  So if you need another excuse to get out and garden, consider the following from http://www.livestrong.com/ (calories burned depends on weight of gardener):

1. Planting seedlings burns 120-178 calories per half hour
2. Weeding a garden burns 139-205 calories per half hour
3. Digging and spreading dirt burns 150-222 calories per half hour. 

That’s just for 30 minutes and I’m sure we all spend a lot longer than that.  So get out and exercise in your garden.  Just remember to stretch so you don't have too much ache.