On Wednesday I had a day off, and there was one thing on my agenda: work on the allotment. First on our massive to-do list was to move the rhubarb, raspberries and strawberries from our garden.

After cobbling together a structure of wooden posts and horizontal wires to support the raspberries, I set about loading the car with the fruit...

I hefted the slug-slimy, rotting plastic growing bag full of the rhubarb and its soil off the ground, rested it on the bench then hoisted it to waist level and started walking. My load soon slipped down to around knee level as I hobbled at top speed to the car.

The trough of strawberries presented a different challenge: winter frost had sheared off so many slices of the terracotta that I had no confidence that it would hold together. This needed hoisting even higher, to chest level, to be cradled like a baby.

With the raspberries digging them out of their raised bed was the problem. For some very spindly canes planted in ground that's way too shady they certainly have an admirable root system, and were rather reluctant to be moved. I found that the spade dug them up more easily once I'd started shouting at them.

Once at the allotment there was nowhere to park near the gate, so I had to do the 30-yard dash with each of them again, letting go of them on to the (soft) ground like a weightlifter dropping the bar.

Then an hour's digging... It was a cold, windy day but I warmed up so much I shed a couple of layers. And now I'm feeling it: tension in my glutes, tightness in my abs, taut biceps and triceps, a certain tingling in my calves. It's the best workout I've had in ages! If you eant to give it a go, here's how to garden yourself fit.