Gardening is a full-body workout—so use these five gentle stretches to alleviate soreness and help your body recover
Loosen up your muscles after a day outside
Green-fingered readers will know that watering, weeding, deadheading and harvesting can feel like a full-body workout.
Unfortunately, that means that it can leave your joints and muscles as sore as a heavy gym session.
I’m a trainer, but I often feel achy after gardening, so I've started using this five-move mobility routine to loosen up my back, hamstrings, glutes and shoulders.
If you’re looking for relief after an outdoor session, spend a couple of minutes on each move below, breathing deeply into each stretch to encourage your body to release tension.
I recommend trying it shortly after you've put down your shears and a couple of times again over the following days.
Five best stretches to ease soreness after gardening
1. Child's pose with side reach
Time: 2min
Targets: Lower back, chest, shoulders and side body
- Start on your hands and knees with toes close together and knees wide.
- Sit back onto your heels and lower your chest toward the floor.
- Reach your hands forward to stretch your chest and shoulders.
- Inhale and exhale deeply, lowering your chest further to the floor if possible.
- Place your right hand over your left hand to stretch the right side of your torso.
- Take two breaths, then bring your right hand back to center.
- Place your left hand over your right to stretch the left side of your body.
- Take two breaths, then return to centre.
2. Lying supine twist
Time: 1min each side
Targets: Thoracic spine and lower back
- Lie on your back and hug your right knee into your chest.
- Take two deep breaths.
- Bring your right knee across your body while keeping both shoulders in contact with the floor.
- Rest your left hand on top of your right knee.
- Extend your right arm along the floor, in line with your shoulder.
- Look toward your right hand.
- Stay in this stretch for one minute, breathing deeply, then switch sides.
3. Supine quad stretch
Time: 1min each side
Targets: Quadriceps and hip flexors
- Lie on your right side with your head resting on your bent right arm.
- Bend your left knee and bring your heel to your glutes.
- Hold the top of your left foot in your left hand.
- Push your hip forward to feel the stretch in your hip flexor and the quadriceps on the front thigh.
- After one minute, switch sides.
4. Seated figure-four stretch
Time: 1min each side
Targets: glutes and hips
- Sit on a chair with feet flat on the floor.
- Bring your right foot to rest on top of your left knee and flex your toes.
- Place your elbow or forearm on the side of your right knee and gently lean forward. This will exert downward pressure on the right leg and increase the stretch through your glute and hip.
- After one minute, switch sides.
5. Forward fold
Time: 2min
Targets: hamstrings and lower back
- Stand, inhale and reach your arms up.
- Keeping your legs straight, hinge forward at your hips and fold your body forward.
- Grasp the back of your legs and gently pull your chest toward your shins.
- Take three breaths.
- Inhale and slowly lift your torso, one vertebra at a time, until standing.
- Reach your arms up and repeat.
