You need a smaller yard. Or a teenager

Me, I just lower my standards. Here in L.A., where we're in a drought, it's become near-patriotic to let your grass die. Sure, I still grow veggies and fruit, but my yard looks like crap, and I'm kinda okay with that.

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

I invite my mom over for a visit. She instantly gravitates to the yard and gets as much work done in a day as I do in a year.

I bought a riding mower

Training gets 6mo, then the house and yard get the other 6mo.

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What are you people, on dope?

—Mr. Hand

Mow your grass in 2 days, or even 3 days, to spread the effort around. However, i don't think pushing the mower around is really getting into your aerobic zone at all so i don't count it as training per se, just as i don't count walking as training. It does burn some added calories though, and i count mowing at about 300 cal/hr, similar to a walk at 3 mph pace.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I might need to do this. The big problem last weekend is that the self drive on the mower died, so it turned into a manual.
That and my "yard" is about a 8% slope, so it's a hill workout!

I hung plywood in the garage yesterday while my baby was taking a nap instead of going for a run. I think the answer is obvious: Be slower and fatter.

Can I count that as a core workout?

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

Ya, we had a yard like that when i was in HS and it took me 5 hrs to mow it with a manual but powered push mower. Since i was swimming a lot and playing a lot of tennis, i mowed 5 days on, 5 days off, so as to not wear myself out too much.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Several years ago I had to have a hernia operation, so I started using the neighbor's lawn guy do ours for $25/wk. That was nice. About the time I was able to get back to it, we were going on vacation and needed the lawn taken care of while we were gone, so he kept doing it. About the time we got back, it was ungodly hot (we live in Houston) and I thought you know, I did that shit for about 8 years before going off to college, then for about 10 years after we became homeowners. I make some decent coin...that's what money's for. And I've never done it again! Some of the best money I've ever spent. About the time I stopped doing it is about the time I go into triathlon, so the thought of doing yard work after getting in a long ride or run workout...no thanks. When I was doing the yard work, my kids were younger and I would do it while they were sleeping in or taking a nap or whatever. Now, my kids are older, so I schedule my workouts around their activities and stuff, so when we're both free, we do stuff together. At some point my son might want to start earning some extra cash, so maybe he can take over the lawn mowing duties, or at least I can teach him how to do it properly. But frankly, I'd just as soon spend some quality time with him and my daughter out on a ride or fishing at the lake or taking the dog for a walk. Gotta say, I love coming home on a hot and humid Houston summer afternoon and seeing the yard clippings all bagged up by the street already and the yard looking lush and green and mowed....and putting on my suit and going to the pool.

I drive a 2005 Corolla and I don't buy starbucks or anything like that. So with no car payment, cheap gas, and no money being laid out to starbucks every morning, I can easily justify that $25/wk.

You aren't kidding. It isn't just a matter of time, but energy. Our yard is a huge hill, so we got lazy and hired someone to do the mowing. I used to have a vegetable garden, but the going to the farmer's market is a lot less work. We have gone to low maintenance plants for the beds.

The big project this year is that we are taking the area that used to be a vegetable garden and turning it into a patio. This means digging out a big area and moving all of that dirt to fortify other areas of the yard. The top couple inches are soil, but the rest is heavy clay. Then we have to actually build the patio. I consider working on that to be by strength training.

It would be a lot more effective from a training point of view if you put on a harness and pulled it instead of pushing it.

My secret is Bike - Mow bricks!

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

coreyasaur wrote:

Damn thing isn't going to mow itself, unfortunately.

Actually...
http://www.robotshop.com/en/robot-mowers.html


While I do not utilize a robot mower, I try to sandwich yard work in between the Saturday morning run group and lunchtime. Fortunately, my lawn isn't all that big, so total time is about 90 minutes, including edging. Further, the mower is a reel type, so it can count as a workout. Kind of.

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#cureMS

This. With all the stoopid schitt we blow money on, spending a small amount for a lawn service that opens up additional family (or training) time is a no-brainer. And it is surprisingly cheap, too...

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

x2.

For the longest time I resisted my wife saying we should just pay a lawn service - it would take me 2-3 hours a week between the mowing, edging and cleanup, and it did a number on my allergies too. Then a few years ago, after I got PE's in the spring and had to spend the summer resting as part of the recovery, she went ahead and hired a company that did a few houses on our street.

Best money she's ever spent, although I still put up the pretense that I should go back to doing it.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

The aerodynamics on that are way off. Need some aero bars, a wheel disc, I bet those pedals weight 150g

 
We pay the neighbor kid to do it. It is not professional grade but the yard looks fine and $10 a week is definitely worth it for me to not have to do it.

I had it set up with a guy to do our lawns and weeding, sweet deal. Then I let my wife talk me into getting a dog for the family, between picking up his mess and him tearing around barking at the lawn mower it's now just easier to do it myself, sucks!

Is that the new Orbea?

Lawn guy. 40 bucks a cut and he also takes care of the flower beds (wife doesn't have a green thumb and if I did it, they'd be hacked up). Worth it. Before triathlon, my sometimes crazy work schedule made it hard to guarantee I could get to the yard. Plus we had a newborn and live in unpredictable weather. So missing a cut due to work, could lead to 4 additional days of not being able to get to it, and in hot, humid Houston, that will lead to a jungle your neighbors are pissed at.

Sometimes I feel bad now (work in Oil and things are slow). I get off half a day on Fridays and usually go for a swim, then hang around the house until I'm ready to go for a run. That's usually when the grass guys come. Feel bad sitting inside while they cut, but it's so nice not to worry.

Before when I lived in South Louisiana, I had a push mower. I'd come home at lunch from work and basically jog-cut the yard. Normally took an hour plus, and I'd get it done in 45 minutes. Was actually a good workout.