Creating a Homestead Workout

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This homestead workout is just my suggestion.
Never undergo any diet or exercise changes without talking to your doctor first. 

Find more ways to create a Healthy Homestead with these posts!

Working Out for the Homestead

Living and working on your homestead is different than the regular chores of owning a home. You have to prepare your body for the change in expectations, and the best way to do that is to adjust the focus of your workouts to build strength in the muscles that will be most heavily relied on. You’ll also want to spend time developing your core strength. There is a lot of lifting and twisting that comes with larger homesteads, especially. A weak core can lead to serious and painful injuries. Add the exercises in this list to create a homestead workout that helps you get your chores done without injury! 

Pair your workout with Great Recipes!

The most common chores you’ll have on your homestead can be turned into miniature homestead workouts. Check out the homestead chore workouts we’ve created below: 

1. Cleaning Coops and Stable Floors Homestead Workout

Break out that shovel and wheelbarrow – it’s time to scoop the poop. Cleaning out barn stalls, stable floors, and chicken coops can be rough on the core. You scoop and lift with the shovel, then twist to dump in the wheelbarrow. Without a solid core, chances are pretty good that you’re compensating for weakness by straining the wrong group of muscles. This homestead workout can help reduce the risk of a serious injury. 
Primary Motions: Bending at the waist, twisting, scooping, and lifting

Best Exercises:

• Russian Twists – focuses on the obliques
• Reverse Crunches – focuses on the lower abdomen
• Scissor Kicks – focuses on the deep stomach and the hip flexors

2. Storing Hay and Feed Homestead Workout

Whether you’ve got a loft in your barn or some other way of storing it, hay bales are going to be lifted down from a truck to the ground, then up from the ground, carried to their storage spot, and chances are then lifted again. These motions can be rough on the arms and lower back. 

Primary Motions: Bending and Lifting, Lifting overhead

Best Exercises:

• Spine: Back Extensions – focuses the core and lower back
• Spine: Quad Superman – strengthens spine, lower back, and glutes
• Both: Front Bridge to T – works the back, shoulders, abdominals, and thighs
• Both: One Leg Front Bridge – works lower back, hams, glutes, and upper body
• Upper Body: Dumbbell Front Raise – Works the front of the shoulders
• Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press – Works all shoulder and upper arm muscles

3. Garden Care Homestead Workout

Planting, pruning, watering, weeding… it sometimes feels as though the garden has the longest list of needs and chores, which means it has to be a big part of your homestead workout. When you work in your garden, you’ll need to be able to get down low so you can check your plants for pests and diseases, harvest veggies, and many other things. 

Primary Motions: Kneeling, Crouching, Squatting

Best Exercises:

• Walking Lunges – Focuses glutes and thighs
• Front Loaded Squat – Focuses glutes, thighs, and the core
• Dumbbell Deadlift – Great all-over exercise

You’ll also spend a lot of time on the move, so make sure your body is ready. If you have a predominantly sedentary lifestyle now, then start making small changes to prepare for the future. Add a small circuit around the kitchen table when you fill up a drink. Just adding a few steps a day to your routine will help condition your body for harder work in the future. A homestead workout doesn’t have to be intense but should add new movements to your regular routine.