June 6 is National Garden Exercise Day, and Madison Square Park is the perfect place to celebrate! 

Gardening is known to be great exercise, with many muscle groups getting a workout. The best part about getting your exercise through gardening is that you get to immediately see the results of your work: weeding, watering and mulching provide instant gratification. Being outside, under a tree canopy, or simply watching a bee buzz around a plant is great for your mental health too! Getting involved in a local community garden or volunteering at your local park are great ways to work out your mind and body.

Some good reminders for gardeners of all experience levels: always stretch before you start working, take it slow, and remember to utilize both sides of your body to ignite all muscles equally. Strengthening and toning your muscles can all be achieved with a gardening routine. If you are an avid gardener, and you’d like a challenge, try not using power tools—utilize tools that require you to squat and bend instead! And as with all exercise, be sure to drink water before, during, and after gardening.

Here at Madison Square Park, our horticulturalists think every day is National Garden Exercise Day, but we look forward to working out with a little more intention today, and we hope you will too!