Have you ever thought of troubleshooting electrical problems under the dash as exercise? FordMuscle reader "southerngal63" contributed this shot showing a position we are all familiar with. Like yardwork and gardening, the automotive hobby forces you to utilize all the muscles of your body to accomplish a task

The Automotive Hobby and Its Parallels to Gardening and Yardwork
Working on our cars doesn't provide the same calorie-burning benefits as
motocross, wakeboarding, or basketball. And torquing down a cylinder head won't get you biceps of steel. However, the essential requirement of movement in and around the car routinely and for hours at a time does offer measurable physical benefits. While there's no formal validation or research that working on your car qualifies as exercise, many parallels can be made with gardening and yardwork, an activity that has been studied, researched, and touted as legitimate exercise.

The following excerpt from the article "Gardening as Exercise" from www.doityourself.com could easily be referring to the way you feel after swapping a transmission, installing headers, or even troubleshooting some electrical gremlins under the dash.

"Gardening uses all the major muscle groups - the muscles that do most of the calorie burning in the human body. Your legs, buttocks, shoulders, stomach, arms, neck, and back all get a workout. Gardening also increases flexibility and strengthens joints. Most gardeners have experienced the burning sensation of overworked legs and arms..."

In a study performed by Barbara Ainsworth and Associates in 1996, physical exertion values were assigned to a wide variety of physical activities including gardening and yardwork. Unfortunately, nobody was around to ask her team to measure the exertion value of pushing a 3000 lb rolling chassis up the driveway. While not scientific, I took the liberty to inset some of my own auto-related activities for the sake of comparison. The values in the table below are based on the ratio of the associated metabolic rate for the specific activity divided by the resting metabolic rate.

Think it's a stretch to compare wrenching with gardening or yardwork? The following Ford enthusiast action shots were all gathered directly from willing contributors right here in FordMuscle's Garage Forum. The shots have been set opposed to similar movements in and around the yard or garden.

Kneeling & Squatting
One wrenching session can involve many cycles of moving from a standing position into a squatting position and back again. Changing tires, installing some rocker moldings, or installing a bumper all require an enthusiast to get on or near ground level. While kneeling isn't thought of as exercise, the fact that once you've committed to it means that you've got to get back up is beneficial for your legs, buttocks, and joints. Unlike gardening however, we've got to work on hard surfaces so consider kneepads to encourage yourself to kneel more often.

Lifting
There's another reason they call it good old American iron, the parts and the cars themselves are heavy! Even if you are using proper hoisting
equipment, to get a motor and transmission combo into place still requires a fair amount of pushing, pulling, and even yanking to make it all fit. Take a look at these two guys here. Do you think you can burn more calories manhandling a Ford Inline 6 than you would unloading a wheelbarrow full of mulch?

Overcoming Forces
They call it resistance training in the weight lifting realm and we get
plenty of opportunity to fight resistance when working on our cars.
Resisting the temptation to throw a combination wrench at the garage door doesn't offer any physical benefit but breaking loose a stubborn bolt or torquing down some main caps will. The automotive shots here demonstrate the effort it takes when installing or assembling a motor. Just look at the grimace on the flannel-clad enthusiast's face as he tries to find 90 ft lbs without tipping the engine stand over.


Spraying?
Watering your lawn with a hose can barely qualify as exercise but once
again it does require that you are upright and off the recliner. These days, that alone will set you apart from the masses. Painting your car or sandblasting on the other hand does require more intensity than watering since you are required to get in and around the car or part you are working on. The two auto related shots here reflect not only the action of sandblasting and painting but also the not-so-obvious physical efforts that must have been made during preparation and setup.

While it may seem futile to qualify every action you take working on your
car as exercise, it's really the cumulative effect of thousands of motions
you make while wrenching that do provide a health benefit. If you still
find yourself a little heavier than you'd like to be yet feel you're
spending a fair amount of time upright and in the garage, then take
this single simple step if you haven't done so already. Begin scrutinizing
the food products you are bringing into your home the same way you
scrutinize the performance products you're putting on your project car. Or, the same way you scrutinize the editorial you read in an performance automotive magazine. Don't be a victim of deceptive packaging design and processed food manufacturer's art of manipulation. Don't know where to start? The following section could just provide the catalyst you need to take control of your well-being.

(You're Not a Fool at the Parts Store, So Don't Be One at the Grocery Store)