If your new year’s resolutions to lose weight and take up exercise are proving hard to sustain, a few hours a week in the garden will not only give you a head start to spring, but may help as part of a fitness programme too.

Raking leaves, digging, weeding and moving shrubs can all be done at this time of year and will help you tone up.

Raking and forking helps strengthen arms and shoulders and tones the abdominal muscles, while digging and bending (from the knees, keeping the back straight) to move or lift plants or pots can help tone thighs and buttocks.

“The thing to keep in mind is always to try to do things to your maximum range of movements,” says Colin Holding, head coach of Wildfitness (wildfitness.com), a company which runs transformative fitness holidays.

He says sitting down is the worst position for the human body, adversely affecting posture and the digestive system and that our natural sitting position is, in fact, a full squat.

Weeding beds and borders gives the legs, hips and buttocks a good workout if you squat while you weed. Heavier work such as clearing brush and stacking wood can give you the equivalent workout to a light aerobics class.

“Get down as low as you can so that your bottom is as close to your heels as it can be. From that position you can do gardening rather than getting down on your knees,” he advises.

“When you stand up you will be using your joints to their maximum range of movements.”

He also recommends just ‘hanging’. In-between other tasks, take time to find a high branch of a tree and just hang from it to take your body weight.

“It’s great for posture and is good for shoulder strength.”

Balancing on one foot while gardening, whether you are trimming a hedge or sowing seeds in the greenhouse, also promotes strength and confidence and keeps the nervous system in good condition, he says.

Set yourself a 30-second time limit to start and, as you progress, increase that and maybe even close your eyes, which makes balancing harder, he suggests.

Gardening can help the cardiovascular system, reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other medical conditions as well as burning calories, according to research.

Half an hour’s digging can use up 250 calories, weeding will burn 105 calories, raking 100 calories and mowing the lawn 195, so those garden chores you’ve been putting off may help you squeeze into those jeans which have been on the tight side since Christmas.

With a little effort two or three times a week in the garden, you’ll soon have your New Year’s resolution to get fit back on track – without a gym membership form in sight.