The Burpee is performed in four steps, and was originally known as a “four-count Burpee”:

1-Start in a standing position and drop into a squat position (as if you’re sitting back into a chair) with your hands on the ground.
2-Bring your palms to the floor and extend your feet back in one quick motion to assume the front plank position.
3-Return to the squat position in one quick motion.
4-Return to an upright standing position.

Try it, and you’ll see that it really packs a punch, targeting the legs, glutes, arms, and core, all at the same time. Do several in a row (if you can), and you’ll ramp up your calorie burn, too.

In the last 6 months, I’ve lost 30 pounds and my blood pressure has reduced to a level that I will be able to get off my blood pressure medicine…woo hoo – something I’ve been wanting to do for last last 5 years. I had gained so much weight that my blood pressure was elevated to the point that I had to take medicine to control it. After deciding to lose the weight, I cut out the things that were keeping me fat ie: diet cokes, sugars, breads, etc. my weight slowing started coming down along with my blood pressure.

Here are some Tips from Dr. Oz on how you too and lose Just 10 Pounds that will make you look and feel so much better. Take the Dr. Oz Challenge and lose Just 10 Pounds!!!

http://members.doctoroz.com/challenge/the-just-10-challenge

Build your fittest body ever with this handy at-home fitness tool

Kettlebells are a must-have fitness tool because they combine strength-training  and cardio, plus they are fun to use. It’s a great way to shake up your routine.  Follow along with Prevention‘s fitness expert, Chris Freytag, as she  demonstrates one of our favorite moves, the windmill. This fun and easy exercise  targets three key areas – shoulders, back, and core – by systematically tipping  and lifting the weight.
Read more: http://www.prevention.com/fitness/fitness-tips/kettlebell-workout-how-use-kettlebells?cm_mmc=Spotlight-_-899152-_-05022012-_-Why-Were-Obsessed-with-Kettlebells#ixzz1tjswbUWP

We all have those days that we don’t want to work out even though we know we should.

When you need a little motivation, look no further.

Above are 10 of 100 reasons you shouldn’t skip your workout today. Click DailySpark.com below to read the entire 100 Reasons.

Print, save, pin or “like” this post so you’ll have easy access to it on the days you need it most. Courtesy of DailySpark.com

“No pain, no gain!” “You’ll never bulk up without supplements.” “Crunches are the key to six-pack abs!” It seems there are more questions and half-truths in the market about healthy exercise than there are clear, definitive facts—but the exercise industry is a multi-billion dollar business in the United States alone, built partially on selling gadgets and DVDs with incredible claims to people desperate to lose weight or look attractive. Meanwhile, good workout plans and simple truths lurk in the background waiting for their time to shine. All of this results in a ton of misinformation about exercise in general, and while the reality is different for everyone, we’re taking some of those commonly held exercise myths to task, and we have science to back us up. Let’s get started.

We’ve tackled food myths, more food myths, brain myths, and even body myths. This time it’s time to take a look at exercise myths, and we enlisted the help of Dr. Brian Parr, Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of South Carolina Aiken, to help us out. Here’s what we learned.

Myth 1: No Pain, No Gain

While it’s absolutely true that you should push yourself and try to extend the limits of your endurance when you exercise, it’s not true at all that the best workouts are the ones that leave you feeling horrible, sore, and beat up the next day. Discomfort is natural, but pain? No way. “The idea that exercise should hurt is simply wrong—muscle pain during or following exercise usually suggests an injury,” Dr. Parr explains. “However, some muscle soreness is unavoidable, especially if you are new to exercise.” Photo by Carlos Martinez.

This myth has been debunked by doctors, physical therapists, and researchers of all stripes, but it still persists because most people conflate the idea of pushing themselves to work out harder with pain. This myth is so persistent that even the MythBusters tackled it. It’s important to remember that your workouts should still be challenging, but if you’re experiencing pain, you should stop. In fact, if your workouts hurt, you probably won’t be as motivated to continue them, which is exactly the opposite of what your workouts should be.

Myth 2: Soreness After Exercise is Caused by Lactic Acid Building Up in Your Muscles

So what is that soreness you get a day or two after working out? It’s called DOMS (delayed-onset muscle soreness,) and the belief that it’s caused by lactic acid building up in your muscles while you exercise is false. Dr. Parr explains that this isn’t the case: “A common belief is that lactic acid build-up in the muscle causes muscle soreness. This is based on the fact that during intense exercise like weight training the muscles make energy for contraction anaerobically (without oxygen), which leads to lactic acid production. This is in contrast to aerobic exercises like walking or jogging that produce energy using oxygen, with little lactic acid build-up. This belief that lactic acid causes DOMS has been shown to be false since any lactic acid that is produced during exercise is cleared shortly after you finish, long before muscle soreness begins.” Photo by Chad Zuber (Shutterstock).

Instead, that soreness is actually caused by tears in your muscle that occur as you exercise—especially if you’re just starting an exercise regimen: “It turns out that strenuous exercise leads to microscopic tears in the muscle, which leads to inflammation and soreness. This sounds bad, but the muscle damage is an important step in the muscle getting bigger and stronger. Your muscles are made up of protein filaments that shorten, leading to a contraction,” he continues. Essentially, as your body repairs those microscopic tears, you’re building new, healthy, and strong muscle tissue. This is also the reason why weight training encourages you to increase the resistance or heaviness of your weights as you get accustomed to one level—it’s only through this process that you actually get stronger and build more muscle.

If you want to avoid that soreness, Dr. Parr suggests you start your exercise program slowly and ramp up over time—don’t do too much before you (and your body) are ready, and don’t feel bad about taking a day off between workouts to recover if you’re too sore. Alternatively, switch up your workouts: skip the weights and go for a run instead, for example. After all, an exercise program that makes you so miserable you’ll quit after a week won’t do you any good in the long run.

Myth 3: Exercise Takes Long Hours/Is Worthless If I Can’t Exercise Regularly

Speaking of miserable, getting in shape (not to be confused with losing weight, mind you) doesn’t have to take a really long time. The fact that it does for most people though, is probably a good thing. Let’s be clear: there’s no silver bullet, and there’s no magic method to get in shape quickly, but there’s a great deal of new research that shows a healthy exercise regimen doesn’t mean spending hours at the gym every single day. One study, conducted by researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and published in the March 2012 edition of the Journal of Physiology (PubMed link) showed that even 20 minutes per day can be all you need. Photo by hartphotography (Shutterstock).

Here’s the catch: yes, there’s an easier way to do this, one that requires less time, but you’ll need to up the intensity of your workouts in order to benefit. The process is called High Intensity Interval Training, a topic we’ve shown you how to get started with before. Dr. Parr noted that yes—interval training is a great way to cut down on the length of your workouts and get results in less time, but it requires more effort. Essentially, yes, you can get a great workout in 15 minutes a day every day, but most people will make themselves miserable in the process and give up their exercise regimen within a few days. As always, talk to your doctor about what you can handle, start slowly, and find the sweet spot that works for you between intensity and time. If you have an hour to spare every day, use it instead of killing yourself cramming your exercise into a half-hour. If you can handle a super-intense half-hour workout, go for it.

The other point worth making though is that yes, regular, repeated exercise has great health benefits, but if you don’t think you can fit in a workout every single day for the rest of your life, that’s no reason not to go for a walk today. Even a half-hour walk can make a big difference. Any activity is good activity—don’t cheat your body out of it because you don’t think you’ll be able to do it again tomorrow, or the next day.

Myth 4: You Need a Sports Drink When Exercising to Replenish Your Body’s Electrolytes/Minerals/Etc

This is one of those myths that got carried away from its original intent. “Sports drinks are important for improving performance in high-intensity exercise that lasts longer than an hour. Think of a marathon or triathlon. The reason: sports drinks provide water to replace what is lost in sweat and sugar (glucose), the fuel muscles need most in intense exercise,” Dr. Parr explains. What about low-intensity exercise though, or people who just hit the treadmill for a half-hour every night after work, or bike around town on the weekends? Not necessary at all: “For
lower intensity or shorter duration exercise sports drinks are not needed. In fact, if you are exercising with the goal of losing weight, the calories in the sports drink you consume might offset the calories you burned during exercise!”

This is a good point, one often ignored in the ads for sugary, high-calorie vitamin drinks and energy drinks that make you think you need them if you’re planning to hit the gym at all. Those drinks are highly beneficial to the people who need them, and they have their place, but for most people doing moderate exercise, water will do. Dr. Parr isn’t the only person who thinks so, although sports drink manufacturers would disagree (and indeed, the self-styled “Gatorade Sports Science Institute” has an entire page—one that in my research I found copied word-for-word in many other places—dedicated to why sports drinks are great for everyone.)

Myth 5: Stretching Before Exercise Will Prevent Injury

This particular myth is contentious. There are pro and anti-stretching arguments, with staunch support on both sides, but the confusion about stretching comes down to the fact that many confuse “stretching” with “warming up.” It’s very important to warm up before strenuous exercise, and warming up can prevent injury, but stretching specifically has been shown to at best have little benefit (as this 2007 review of over 10 separate studies (PDF link) published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews concluded) and at worst inhibit performance (as this 2011 study conducted by the University of Northampton and published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (PubMed) concluded.) Photo by ElvertBarnes.

Even the Centers for Disease Control have said stretching doesn’t prevent injuries. We’ve mentioned this before, and even made the mistake of confusing stretching with warming up before, so it’s important that you don’t. Make sure you warm up properly before you begin a workout, possibly even include some stretches to limber up and boost your flexibility, but leave the long stretch-sessions to those long hours at your desk instead.

Myth 6: Working Out Will Only Build Muscle, Not Help Me Lose Weight

Frankly, most people who start exercising won’t see much immediate weight loss, unless everything else in their lifestyle is already optimal. And sadly, because many people don’t see that initial benefit, they believe that exercise is worthless and diet is where it’s at. That’s not the case, according to Dr. Parr. “This is a common misconception that just isn’t true. It is based partly on research that shows that people who try to lose weight by exercise only
lose less weight that people who do diet only or diet + exercise. The reason for this is that is relatively easier to cut back on the calories you eat than it is to burn the same number of calories through exercise.” Photo by keellla (Shutterstock).

Dr. Parr admits that for many people, you may get the bigger bang for your buck by changing your diet, but the belief that exercise increases muscle mass and therefore will make you gain weight instead of lose it just isn’t the case. “Exercise, especially strength training, can increase muscle mass. Some people believe that the added muscle mass leads to weight gain, not weight loss. While exercise could lead to an increase in muscle it is unlikely that someone dieting to lose weight would experience this,” he explains. “In fact, when most people lose weight they lose both fat and muscle. If anything, exercise would help maintain muscle and promote fat loss. The decrease in muscle mass during weight loss can lead to a reduction in resting metabolic rate, which is part of the reason that people tend to regain weight following a diet. By reducing the loss of muscle, exercise may help maintain metabolic rate and prevent weight regain.”

If you’re looking for workout success stories that aren’t pulled from late-night infomercials, Dr. Parr suggests you check out the National Weight Control Registry, which is full of personal stories of individuals who lost weight and kept it off, and how they did it. There’s no reason to feel alone, or doomed to failure. Remember, your weight isn’t the end-all-be-all of your health. When combined with diet, exercise can be a powerful combination to help you lose weight, but also live a healthier life. Check out these other great reasons to exercise from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), from lowering your risk of diabetes and most forms of cancer to helping with anxiety and depression, all of which are huge health benefits.

Myth 7: Exercise Will Help Me Lose Weight Quickly

The inverse of the previous myth, this is the one that usually turns people off from exercise entirely when they spend hours exercising and don’t see the results they were hoping for. The problem is that exercise can help you lose weight, but it’s not the direct “calories in less than calories burned therefore weight lost” oversimplification that’s so often repeated. For example, walking a mile in an hour will burn about 100 calories. Sitting in a chair for the same period of time will probably burn 60 calories. The real weight-loss benefits to exercise come from the eventual ramp-up of tolerance for intensity and duration of exercise that you get once you get started. Photo by Twentyfour Students.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) busted this particular myth. As you exercise, you’ll start walking faster, or maybe running, or perhaps you’ll walk longer and spend more time walking. If you walk or run five miles instead of one, you’ll burn 500 calories, and while it’ll take longer, the weight loss benefits scale better over time than sitting at home, so as you train, you’ll lose more weight. It’s also important to note that—as we mentioned earlier—don’t confuse the weight loss benefits of exercise with the health benefits of exercise, which you feel almost immediately.

Myth 8: You Need to Take Supplements to Build Muscle

Sadly, this is another myth that’s applicable to some people, but not most of us—but you’d never know it from the way they’re marketed. Supplements can help, especially if you’re a bodybuilder or strength trainer, but the typical person who does some weight training two or three times a week to stay fit and build a little muscle mass doesn’t need to chug creatine or protein shakes in order to build muscle. Dr. Parr explains, “It is true that you need more protein is you want to build muscle size and strength. But you can easily get that protein from food, meaning that supplements are unnecessary. In fact, the protein in most supplements is derived from milk or soy anyway, so you are paying for a supplement manufacturer to extract the protein from food and sell it back to you! Additionally, getting the added protein from food also provides you with energy (calories) and carbohydrates which you need to fuel your workouts.” Photo by Emmanuel Carabott (Shutterstock).

No one’s telling you to skip the protein shake if you think it’s tasty and enjoy it, but remember it’s essentially another meal—a caloric intake you may not need if you’re just going to go home and make dinner—which, if you make something rich in protein as well as other vitamins and nutrients, will give you the benefits of the shake in a more complete package. If you’re a serious bodybuilder and you do weight training for hours a day every day, the rules might be different for you, but for the average person, all the extra supplements you may be adding to your food or drinks aren’t likely to do you much good.

Myth 9: If You Don’t Exercise When You’re Young, It’s Dangerous When You Get Older

It’s never too late to start a workout regimen and improve your overall health, you just have to be cautious and aware of how you go about it. A 2009 study of over 1800 seniors by the Hebrew University Medical Center and Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (and subsequently used as a reference base for additional research also available at that link) concluded that seniors who exercised—or even started to exercise—late in life were likely to live longer than those who didnt, and live out their last years healthier than their counterparts who avoided exercise.

CSPI tackled this myth as well, and this article at WebMD is full of myths about exercise and older adults, for anyone who’s worried they may be doing their health more harm than good by exercising in middle-to-old age. The key is to find a workout that’s at the right impact level for your age and condition—and as we’ve said before, the health benefits, in areas like memory, anxiety and depression, and even arthritis or joint pain make themselves apparent almost immediately.

Myth 10: Working Out at Home/Working Out at the Gym is Better than Working Out at Home/Working Out at the Gym

Ah, the double-sided myth. No, we’re not going to weigh in on whether exercising at a gym is better or worse than working out at home, or vice versa. There are opinions on both sides of the issue, and studies that have come down on both sides as well. The important thing here is to get rid of the “one is better than the other” statement and remember that different people exercise differently. A 2009 article from The New York Times cited a 2008 study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine which found people with home gyms are more likely to begin to exercise, but less likely to continue exercising in the long run—but the conclusion wasn’t that home gyms are ineffective at keeping people engaged with exercise in the long term, and it wasn’t that home gyms are better at inspiring people to exercise. Instead, the study found that what really matters is the individual’s personal belief that they have the power to start and stick to an exercise regimen, whether the gear is in their basement or at a gym 10 miles away. Photo by Aleksandr Markin (Shutterstock).

Essentially, those individuals who were able to really motivate themselves to work out and believed they could stick to it were more likely to benefit from a home gym. People who were less confident in their ability to stick to a workout regimen did better with a gym membership, or by making their workouts part of their routine. In the end, both versions of this myth are false, and the truth is that the best type of workout, whether it’s at home or in a gym, depends on you and how motivated you are to stick to your exercise goals.

As always, these exercise myths just scratch the surface. There are tons of other commonly held beliefs about exercise that are questionable, if not completely false. Research into many myths is ongoing, so scientists and doctors have the ammunition they need to tell their patients and the public how to get the most from their workouts without harming themselves, or getting frustrated and giving up. We hope we’ve helped clear up some of those myths for you, so you can get back to your workout with confidence.

If you stumble onto some indredulous claim about exercise, remember the tips from the end of our first food myths post to debunk it yourself—look for studies to support the assertion, or at least reputable sources with cited experts who can be tracked down. There’s a lot of confusing information about exercise out there, and a skeptical eye—one that’s also willing to let go of their own opinions when faced with evidence to the contrary—goes a long way.

Do you have some favorite exercise myths we didn’t cover here? Share your thoughts—and your myths—in the comments below.

Dr. Brian B. Parr is an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of South Carolina Aiken. He is an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) certified Clinical Exercise Specialist, and has his own blog where he writes about exercise, nutrition, and health issues. He also authors a regular health and fitness column for the Aiken Standard. He graciously volunteered his expertise for this story, and we thank him.

Title image remixed from De-V (Shutterstock).

When you’re working through a fitness regimen, remember that you should always warm up. If you are under the age of forty, hold your stretches for thirty seconds. If you are over the age of forty, your stretches should be held for sixty seconds. Muscles become less limber as you age, so it is wise to adjust your workout to keep on top of these changes.

Change your diet periodically to keep your body guessing. Just like changing your exercise routine can jump-start your body’s muscle building, changing your diet can increase your metabolism. Take your body out of its comfort zone, and you will see results you could not get otherwise. Make sure to keep your diet healthy.

A lot of people put off exercising because they don’t want to get sweaty. If you don’t want to get sweaty, why not try swimming for your exercise? Swimming can be a great cardio workout. Try challenging yourself to swim an extra five laps everyday. You’ll be in great shape before you know it.

If you’re having difficulty motivating yourself to stay active, think about including your dog in your fitness regiment. Dogs love to run, and you might be able to pick up some of that energy and remind yourself that you could enjoy running, as well. Research has also shown that those who exercise with Fido are more likely to stick with it, compared to those who exercise on their own or with a human friend.

Everywhere you turn, you will see recommendations to incorporate exercise into your life, but you do not have to join a gym to get the benefits of exercise. Taking a brisk walk as often as you can will improve your circulation, strengthen your body and burn calories. Walking is a very good way to stay in shape and tone your body.

When doing a series of abdominal crunches, exhale forcefully at the top of each and every crunch. This movement will cause your abdominal muscles to work harder. By taking this simple step, you can decrease the number of crunches you have to complete but still achieve the same end result.

A great tip that you can apply to your workouts in order to achieve a physically fit body is to stretch your muscles in between sets of exercises. It is ideal that you take 20 to 30 seconds to stretch the muscles that you have worked. Researchers found that this increases strength by 20 percent.

While you may be a decent fitness enthusiast, it takes time and practice to become a great fitness enthusiast. You should know that you are never done learning about the activity or what you can do to better your skills. With the previous tips in mind, you are well on your way to becoming a great fitness enthusiast.

The sad thing is, children are learning from their parents and eating out is so easy and very, very calorie laden…

Below is an article from Dr. Varveris about How To Lose Weight. The thing is, you need to start somewhere so just start.

How Can I Lose Weight?

Americans are getting heavier and heavier. We all recognize this. At present, two-thirds of all Americans can be categorized as being overweight, and one-half of these overweight Americans can be categorized as being clinically obese. These statistics are only getting worse. Scary. At the very same time, we are being inundated with contradictory nutritional and exercise advice and don’t know which way to turn.

Being overweight isn’t just a matter of aesthetics. Obesity contributes to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, lung disease, arthritis, depression, chronic fatigue and various other diseases and disorders.

What can be done?

First of all, we are all individuals – so no single diet and exercise program is appropriate for everyone. That being stated there are several rules to follow when it comes to losing weight, keeping it off and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle as it pertains to nutrition, exercise and their connection with optimal aging. I’ll limit the discussion to what I believe are the three most important of these rules.

Rule #1: Reduce Fructose in Your Diet

If we could just learn ONE thing that would help us lose weight it would be this: eating fat doesn’t make us fat but eating too much fructose DOES. Fructose encourages weight gain and prevents weight loss by many mechanisms – lowering the sense of fullness after eating, being converted into fat more so than any other sugar, robbing the body of a variety of crucial vitamins and minerals and leading to a pre-diabetic state known as insulin resistance. Please realize that insulin resistance appears to be the hallmark of the chronic diseases found in modern man, from type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease to cancer. So if you see the words “fructose,” “high fructose corn syrup” or “corn syrup” on a nutritional label, DON’T EAT IT. Recognize that fruit contains fructose, but also contains an assortment of important micronutrients.

To Read The Rest Of The Article, Click Here http://WeightLossNaples

I started at the speed of 6 for the 30 seconds and the speed of 4.1 for the 90 seconds of recovery. I made it through the 8 sets okay and feel that next week I’ll be able to speed up both just a little.

Below you will find information on What is Peak 8 and I highly recommend, that if you are wanting to lose weight and get lean, to get started doing Peak 8. You can start at your own level and work up but just get started. The results will make you happy and you’ll feel so good! Good Luck!

Per Dr Mercola, a recent study shows that ten minutes of brisk exercise triggers metabolic changes that last at least an hour. And, the more fit you are, the more benefits you will get.

What is Peak 8?

We first heard about Peak 8 fitness from Dr Mercola but our doctor had been encouraging us to do these intervals in our development while walking. He said it would help the weight come off faster and we would become leaner much quicker. My husband read up on Peak 8 through Dr Mercola’s site, which we are avid readers and Dr. Mercola makes a very good point in his articles and videos about Peak 8. If you want to really learn more, go to Dr. Mercola’s site and type in Peak 8. You’ll get his information and his videos.

The basic concept of Peak 8 is to push your heart rate into that training zone for 30 seconds and then recover slowly for 90 seconds and do this 8 times. The total time with warm up and cool down is around 20 minutes 2 to 3 times per week. That’s it! And once you’re finished with that 20 minute work out, you’re finished with your workout. No hour to 2 hour workout – Sweet!

This is the fastest way to lose fat and build muscle in the body. Peak 8 actually stimulates the growth hormone in the body. I encourage you to visit Dr Mercola’s site to learn more about Peak 8 fitness. My husband and I feel this is one of the best ways to exercise, especially considering the speed at which you will lose fat and build muscle.

I highly recommend logging on to Dr Mercola’s site to watch the videos on Peak 8. You can get all the information you’ll need to know about Peak 8.

Click here for more information Dr Mercola and Peak 8 

If you want a soda, the best would be an organic soda from a health food store but if you must have a soda, drink a regular soda. If you were to stop drinking diet soda all together, and drank regular soda, you would actually lose weight!!!

The idea that diet sodas have less calories, thus are good for weight control, is a lie! The exact opposite is true.

And remember, all carbonated drinks block calcium absorption.

Courtesy of: Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You To Know About

If I were on the sidewalk on a busy Saturday afternoon asking people randomly why we should grow our own food, I would probably get the ‘deer in the headlight’ look way more times than not. People are just not into the idea of growing their own foods. Their families may have had gardens growing up and they enjoyed fresh foods from the garden, but today, in our hectic lifestyles, it’s so convenient to just run to the grocery store, pick up the needed items and go home and fix them. But that’s not Fresh! and what we’re finding out, not really that nutrient…or in a lot of cases, very good for you…

I read this article this morning from Friends of Northeast Florida Community Gardens where he asked this question of  Helene Guest and here was the reply:

Why grow our own food?

Posted by FNFCG Admin

Why grow our own food?

 

This is a question that has been asked many times over when gardens are planned for our communities.  It is a reasonable question considering the busy lives we as Americans lead today.  We can look back in our history and site national success during wartime periods such as the Victory Gardens planted during World War II.  An estimated 20 million gardens were planted expanding urban gardening exponentially.  Food scarcity resulted in the government encouraging people to grow their own food to allow the manufactured food to be sent to our troops overseas.  There are several reasons to promote the same program today.

 

Image: Marc

First of all growing a portion of a household’s food allows a percentage of Food Security.  No matter what is happening in the world around you, a bounty of high quality food can be within footsteps of your kitchen.  Each family can plan a garden with the goal of replacing all or a portion of their fresh food.

 

Food Quality is a measure of freshness.  The amount of time between harvest and use can greatly affect the nutritional value of food.  Vitamins and minerals can be sensitive to time.  Picking and eating our harvest at their peak will greatly increase how they nourish our bodies.  A well nourished body can resist disease, supply needed energy and provide for a better quality of life overall.

 

Gardening is a proven Stress Reliever!  Getting out in the fresh air, digging in the dirt, weeding, planting, watering, and of course harvesting are considered exercise.  Working out in the garden for an hour a day can be a boost to both our physical as well as our emotional well being.

 

Image: Randy Sarvis

Having a garden allows a Family to Team up for a Common Goal.  Turning off the electronics and spending time together outside allows for great discussion and bonding time while providing all of the above qualities.  In turn, passing on the skill of growing food to the next generation is priceless!

 

Let’s not forget reducing the Financial Budget of any household.  Be careful though:  one can spend a fortune on gardening supplies!  Following time tested gardening on a budget rules will prevent your garden from being just an expensive hobby.  Food can be grown effectively at low cost.

 

We in Florida are blessed with great weather and can grow food all year round.  So get growing!!!~ Helene Guest