Mowing the lawn not only makes your yard look better, it can serve as an aerobic activity that burns calories while you complete a needed outdoor chore. Pushing an electric lawn mower can help you get the 30 minutes or more of daily physical activity that everyone needs to stay healthy.
Calories Burned
A person who weighs 125 pounds burns 135 calories when operating an electric push mower for 30 minutes, according to Harvard Health Publications. Someone who weighs 155 lbs. burns 167 calories in a half-hour of mowing the lawn, and a person weighing 185 lbs. burns 200 calories.
Considerations
According to research published in 1996 in the "European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology," mowing the lawn with a motorized mower is an aerobic activity that increases heart rate and oxygen intake. Adjusting the speed and using equipment with a higher- or lower-powered engine can affect the degree of activity required to operate the mower and therefore the calorie burn during mowing.
Alternatives
For a greater calorie burn, using a manual push mower offers a more strenuous workout. Using a riding lawnmower reduces your caloric expenditure while mowing the lawn.
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