Heart rate (HR) was measured continuously while men (n = 6) and women (n = 2) ages 71 to 85 years (M = 77.4, SD = 4.1) completed nine gardening tasks. HR and VO2 from a submaximal graded exercise test were used to estimate gardening VO2, energy expenditure, % HRmax, and metabolic equivalents (METs). Tasks were low to moderate intensity physical activity (1.6–3.6 METs); those which worked the upper and lower body were moderate intensity physical activity while those that worked primarily the upper body were low intensity physical activity.
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