Page 96 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2026

SPORTS & OUTDOORS
Gardening for
Gains
The Workout You Didn’t Know You Signed Up For
story by
John N. Felsher
If you’ve ever spent a spring afternoon working in your yard and thought, “Why am I this tired?” It’s because gardening can be one super-tough workout! You may not have lifted actual weights or run a 10k, but your muscles absolutely noticed.
On the Coast, gardening isn’t a gentle hobby. Between sandy soil, fast-growing plants and weather that encourages everything to grow like it’s in a race, yard work becomes a full-body event. It’s the kind of exercise that sneaks up on you. One minute you’re planting begonias, the next you’re questioning your life choices.
Take digging and planting. Every time you squat to place a shrub or veggie start,
96 | March 2026
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