Are you tired of pounding the tread mill and going nowhere fast, achieving nothing more than aching bones and a sweaty gym outfit. It's time you tried an allotment.
January is a month when lots of people make a resolution to try something new in order to improve their health and fitness.
It's fully understandable if you have tried the gym and then quickly realised after the free trial expired that pounding a tread mill going nowhere fast, and achieving nothing but a sweaty gym kit and sore knees is not for you. Many others have swiftly arrived at the same outcome.
So why don't you make a resolution you can keep, one that will help you keep fit and healthy, but also provide the opportunity for many other social and lifestyle benefits too.
Here are just a few reasons why you should consider taking up an allotment instead of the grey and dreary gym.
1) Exercise in the Outdoors - as intended by nature, getting your healthy allowance of Vitamin D in the glorious sunshine. Even if the weather is not great, having a reason to be outside in the rain or showers is quite refreshing, no umbrellas required but if it gets too wet you can seek shelter in your shed.
2) Low impact excercise - there are a wide variety of exercises you can do that will contribute to a healthy workout, such as digging, weeding, picking fruit, building plant frames, using a wheelbarrow, watering plants with a watering can to mention only a few. A lot more rewarding than lifting the odd dumbell or jogging on the spot.
3) Membership fees - most gyms will charge around £30 per month, which over a year is £360 - a lot of money if you are only visiting once a week! You can get started with a small allotment for an annual fee that is similar to a month at the gym, a great value alternative!
4) Fresh Fruit & Vegetables - this doesn't have to be the main reason for having an allotment. It's not all about prize winning vegetables and perfect borders, but anything you do manage to grow will take pride of place in the recipes you create at home. Some things are reallly easy to grow and it takes no previous gardening experience to achieve a glut of fresh produce that will leave you with another nice problem to have. In this situation you can turn provider for your friends and neighbours or learn to be more creative with your cooking and invent new ways of turning a seemingly endless supply of green beans, beetroot or courgettes into a wide variety of meals.
5) Inventive & Creativity - allotments can be neat and tidy, but they can also be a collection of odd shaped beds and growing spaces that reflect your personality. You will soom become adept at sourcing free or waste materials to turn them into useful structures such as sheds, gazebos, growing frames, bug hotels or benches. Let your creativity and ingenuity run free.
6) Children & Family - will probably love getting involved too, great if you want to support children learning about growing at school or improve awareness about healthy eating and respecting the importance of food. You will be surprised the lengths you will go to in order to use all the produce you have grown, and in an age of food waste will help improve your use of other shop bought items.
What are you waiting for, go on give it a grow.....