Is yard work exercise?

[Hero**]

An hour or 2 of mucking out, lugging hay, lifting water etc. Not actually riding. Please tell me it counts as exercise? It's not high speed ,but it's heavy lifting, pushing etc.
Trying to justify not going for a walk later, I've done my exercise for the day!!

 

[Highmileagecob]

It definitely is when it's sleeting sideways, you can't feel your fingers, and the muddy path to the midden makes the barrow twice as heavy!

 

[Akkalia1]

I think the only reason I can eat what I do and not be the size of a house, is exactly because all the mucking out, lugging hay, water and shavings bales and mucking out the field is all a fair amount of exercise!

 

[Hero**]

Well indeed ?
The sun is actually shining here this morning so I was sweating up a storm, lots of huffing and puffing. Feels much more like exercise than a bloody stroll.
I'm also breaking in new riding boots so wearing them around the yard. That just added to the physicality of it all ?

 

[PurBee]

Hell, yeah! Its fab exercise….definitely counts! You can easily enjoy cake and coffee instead of that walk later ?

 

[Hero**]

My wheelbarrow has a flat tyre so i had to carry the hay over my shoulder, balanced as much as possible. Geoff Capes wouldn't be up to it!

 

[smolmaus]

My wheelbarrow has a flat tyre so i had to carry the hay over my shoulder, balanced as much as possible. Geoff Capes wouldn't be up to it!

A personal trainer would be charging some poor non-horsey person £20/ hour for that kind of workout. Sit down ?

 

[Highmileagecob]

My wheelbarrow has a flat tyre so i had to carry the hay over my shoulder, balanced as much as possible. Geoff Capes wouldn't be up to it!

Off thread but can recommend a burst-proof tyre. Mine has been on for over ten years with no further problems.

 

[dorsetladette]

definitely is exercise!

Poo picking is my daily exercise at the moment.

 

[Hero**]

You're so right!! Sitting down with coffee now, considering some cake ?

 

[Leandy]

Yes of course it is, but if you walk later also that is even more exercise!

 

[Highmileagecob]

Take the horse with you. Mine quite enjoys a walk out now he is mainly retired.

 

[Baywonder]

Oh it is most definitely exercise!

 

[ArklePig]

My share gelding is the wettest pony on the planet, I took two wheelbarrows out of his stable yesterday and if that isn't exercise then I don't want to know what is because I am knackered this morning.

 

[teddy_]

Definitely exercise !

 

[Melody Grey]

I do about 8k steps a day doing three on DIY livery and that’s just meeting basic needs, not even including riding! Definitely exercise!!

 

[SEL]

Oh yes - until my Fitbit broke it would tell me exactly how much cake I could eat!!

 

[skint1]

My FitBit thinks it is, even if i don't class it as a workout and just let the watch run, it will say I have burned nearly 1000 calories doing 2hrs of mucking out

 

[Cortez]

My FitBit thinks it is, even if i don't class it as a workout and just let the watch run, it will say I have burned nearly 1000 calories doing 2hrs of mucking out

Blimey! That's the sort of friendly gadget I can get behind...........When I borrowed my Dad's step-counter thingy (is that a Fitbit? Dunno, not good with tech), it told me I did 13,000 steps in a day, can't remember the calories thing, doing the yard, riding two and mending a bit of fence. My super-fit, runner/biker/yoga-y friend was totally jealous

 

[Hero**]

Fitbit is a good idea actually. Just out of curiosity, does it register you as taking steps when you are actually riding? Sorry if that's a daft question, no idea how they work ?

 

[little_critter]

An hour or 2 of mucking out, lugging hay, lifting water etc. Not actually riding. Please tell me it counts as exercise? It's not high speed ,but it's heavy lifting, pushing etc.
Trying to justify not going for a walk later, I've done my exercise for the day!!

Definitely!
I moved from DIY livery to full livery in the summer. I'm now struggling with my weight. Being active at both ends of the day, every day kept my waistline in check.

 

[Arzada]

My friends's Fitbit recorded hoeing the veg patch as 'strenuous exercise'

 

[smolmaus]

Fitbit is a good idea actually. Just out of curiosity, does it register you as taking steps when you are actually riding? Sorry if that's a daft question, no idea how they work ?

It will register the movement but if you're doing something other than jogging or running (what they're designed for) you either have to tell it what you're doing and when you finish or accept WILDLY out of whack step counts/ calorie estimates. Outside the pre-programmed exercises they have on the app it is not going to bear any resemblance to reality.

Just a note that these devices can all very much overestimate calories burned anyway so don't see "1000kcal burned from 30 mins exercise" and think that's real ?

 

[BBP]

It’s activity but for me I don’t count it as exercise to get me fitter, as it’s what I’m used to.

That said, my garmin watch has been dissatisfied with me ever since I did my ultramarathons last year. It says anything under 110,000 steps or 20 hours just isn’t trying hard enough.

 

[Melody Grey]

Fitbit is a good idea actually. Just out of curiosity, does it register you as taking steps when you are actually riding? Sorry if that's a daft question, no idea how they work ?

I don’t know about Fitbit, but my iphone registers riding as my steps ? so I can pretty easily end up with 20k on a Sunday if I go out for a hack.

OH has a Garmin watch which thinks he’s on an elliptical trainer when riding (whatever that is!!)

 

[MuddyMonster]

It’s activity but for me I don’t count it as exercise to get me fitter, as it’s what I’m used to.

That said, my garmin watch has been dissatisfied with me ever since I did my ultramarathons last year. It says anything under 110,000 steps or 20 hours just isn’t trying hard enough.

Yes, I count it as an activity too. Sadly, I still have to work out to lose and maintain weight. I'd love to be able to be able to maintain by mucking out & carrying soaked haynets alone though, maybe one day

 

[skint1]

The fitbit seems to count riding as steps from what I can see. It's true that mucking out alone wont help you lose weight, I have maxed out on the carbs and lost nothing all winter

 

[Peglo]

It’s activity but for me I don’t count it as exercise to get me fitter, as it’s what I’m used to.

That said, my garmin watch has been dissatisfied with me ever since I did my ultramarathons last year. It says anything under 110,000 steps or 20 hours just isn’t trying hard enough.

My Fitbit counts mucking out as sport ? but I cart bags of feed around all day at work and hit 20,000 steps and still need to run or gym to keep in shape (or it means I can eat what I want if I workout on top ?) this cold weather really takes it out of you though and ruins motivation

it’s sad though that your body gets used to hard work and you just have to work harder. I lost tons of weight when I first started this job but now I have to workout too.

 

[Hero**]

Maybe if we held competitions to see who could muck out the fastest?
The 100 metre dash carrying 2 soaked hay nets.
A wheelbarrow race with actual wheelbarrows. Extra points if the tyre is flat ?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

An hour or 2 of mucking out, lugging hay, lifting water etc. Not actually riding. Please tell me it counts as exercise? It's not high speed ,but it's heavy lifting, pushing etc.
Trying to justify not going for a walk later, I've done my exercise for the day!!

I would say yes, my fitness app shows I walk about 3.3 miles every day with trips to manure heap, hay barn turning out, feeding etc.