Working out among the sprouts

NEON-lit gyms and Lycra are not for everyone. Pounding up and down on a treadmill can turn many people off the idea of exercise.

One alternative is to head into the garden for a workout. Green Gyms, which combine community gardening and conservation with a physical workout, are rapidly gaining ground across the country.

Green Gyms were started by the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) and since the idea germinated 12 years ago, they have sprung up all over the country and now number nearly 100, including five in Yorkshire. Calderdale is set to launch its own Green Gym in a couple of months with funding from the local Primary Care Trust.

At Hemsworth Green Gym, in Hemsworth, near Pontefract, sessions take place at an allotment on the edge of a housing estate.

As a cockerel crows a few feet away, the volunteers are hard at work digging over a raised bed and planting cauliflowers.

Organiser ine Welsh said: “You’re outside in the fresh air and you have something to show for it at the end of the day. What have you got to show for a session in a regular gym? You’re not producing anything.

“Here we can chat while we exercise. It’s not about sweaty bodies in one room. You get muddy and dirty but you enjoy it all the more. It’s great to be surrounded by things that are growing.”

Ms Welsh, who started out as a volunteer herself, has been working as project officer for the last few months at all three Green Gyms in the Wakefield area.

Most sessions start with a warm up before getting stuck into some serious spadework.

Different gardening tasks work different muscle groups.

More strenuous activities may include building a path or fence, alongside digging.

The more laborious jobs at a Green Gym have even been shown to burn almost a third more calories than a step aerobics class.

Ms Welsh claims: “Digging potatoes provides a very good workout, especially when you’re trying to find the last potato in the ground.”

Green Gym sessions are free and open to everyone. Many people who come along are referred by their GPs or social care organisations. Some have learning difficulties, mental health problems or restricted mobility. The Green Gym may be their only chance to get some exercise and interact with nature.

Some come for the fresh air and the chance to pick up gardening skills. Others are here for the community spirit.

The idea for a Green Gym came from Natural England’s strategic health adviser Dr William Bird, who is also a GP. He says being outside brings people together.

“The natural environment treats us all the same. In a gym or exercise class you have a hierarchy with the tanned and fit at the top end and people can feel out of place. In a natural environment you feel a lot less threatened, physically and mentally. It is also a good way to beat anxiety and depression. The more stressed and depressed you are the better the impact of green exercise.”

Eric Burkes, 69, has been attending every week since Hemsworth Green Gym opened three years ago. “I come for the exercise and fresh air,” he said. “It’s very easy when you retire to get stuck in a rut but the Green Gym gives you a chance to be active, to do something useful and to enjoy the sunshine for free.”

He added that the mix of people from different backgrounds has given him “a lesson in humanity”.

Many come for the social life. At each session the group stops for a tea break and to share a sandwich or a bowl of soup.

“I’m one of the more physically able, so I spend a lot of time digging,” he said, prodding his spade into a border which until a few days ago was full of broccoli.

“The rabbits have wiped out the purple sprouting broccoli and eaten most of the turnips,” said Ms Welsh. Between the pilfering wildlife and the recent heavy frosts, the borders are looking a little bare. But the brussels sprouts stand proud in the winter sun and there are still some leeks and a healthy crop of rocket.

The volunteers share the fruits of their labour and are encouraged to take plants home. Ms Welsh says the recession has fuelled a new interest in growing your own vegetables and she is now thinking about opening a new weekend or evening session for people who work full time.

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