Real spring training

Let’s not beat around the bush! If you’ve been resting on your laurels and neglecting to condition your body (your most important tool) you may be sorry and sore as springtime gardening chores beckon. Will your body be willing, ready and able to spring into action?

The simple, easy exercises that follow focus on strengthening three body zones that are important to an active gardener: the knees, hands and abs. For a more complete conditioning routine, you could include endurance exercises as well as flexibility stretches that target the hamstrings (back of the legs), shoulders and lower back.

By beginning your shape-up now, you will be able to ward off those garden-variety  aches and pains that too often accompany the arrival of the daffodils.

                        Your knees

Stress on the knees comes from all directions: front, back and sides. You’re knees are constantly being called upon: when you squat to pick up your tools, push a cart uphill, when you have to crawl and kneel.

Knee conditioning indirectly results from strengthening the quadriceps (the front of your thighs). The stronger your quads, the less pressure on your knees.

Strengthener: Sit in a straight back chair, feet flat. Holding on to the sides of the chair, extend your right leg straight out in front of you, foot flexed, lifting it so that it is level with the chair. Repeat eight times with each leg.

                    Your hands

A good grip is necessary for weeding, pruning, dead-heading and numerous other tasks.

Strengthener: Wrap a broad rubber band around the fingers, not including the thumb, so they touch but are not overly stressed. Spread the fingers apart, palms facing down, creating as much space as you comfortably can. Hold for five seconds.  Repeat four times on each hand, working up to eight reps.

                  Your abdominals

Whether you’re lifting a bulky bag of lime, transplanting a shrub or turning the compost, strong abdominal muscles protect your back from fatigue and injury. The better conditioned the abs, the less strain on the back.

Slow, controlled curl-downs strengthen the abdominal muscles by challenging their ability to remain contracted. But they must be practiced slowly.

Strengthener: Sit on the floor with your knees bent, feet slightly apart and parallel, arms extended in front at chest level, hands clasped together, back straight. Contract your abdominal muscles, round your back, lower your chin, and slowly roll back, one vertebra at a time, until your lower back rests on the floor. Repeat four times.

Barbara Pearlman is an exercise therapist and the author of “Gardener’s Fitness: Weeding out the aches and pains.�