Want to kill two birds with one stone? Then get to work -- yard work, that is. We're talking about taking your exercise regimen outside and getting back to the basics. It is possible to whittle your waistline while doing your daily household chores, especially in the great outdoors. Doing yard work is actually a breath of fresh air for those people who are most active in the gym or in the house. {relatedarticles}Mowing the lawn, raking leaves, gardening, shoveling dirt and picking weeds result in big-time calories burned. For a person who weighs about 155 pounds, mowing the lawn with a push mower for an hour burns 387 calories, while raking the lawn burns 281 calories. A 150-pound individual gardening will weed out about 272 calories an hour. Planting a tree for 60 minutes? You'll burn 238 calories getting to the root of things. Putting your green thumb to the test by digging, spading, filling the garden or composting?

There goes another 272 calories an hour. Shoveling snow will melt away 340 calories an hour, while riding a snow blower burns 136 calories. Need some wood cut? Chop to it and burn 340 calories an hour. {relatedarticles}Jean Larson, a horticultural therapist at the University of Minnesota, says going green is a great way to improve your health, as gardening not only stimulates many of the senses, but works the muscle groups as well. Larson told Today's Diet and Nutrition, "Thirty minutes of moderate exercise each day reduces risks of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and colon cancer. It's not something you have to go to the gym for. You can go right out your back door." A day of heavy yard work will not only leave your neighbors jealous of your beautiful lawn, but also of your fit body. Stop searching for a great workout and step into your own backyard.