No pain, no gain?

No way.

Gardening is great exercise, but it doesn't have to hurt, said Pat Owen, a horticultural therapist at Cleveland (Ohio) Botanical Garden. "I know we're anxious to get out," she said, "... but we've just got to remember to take it easy."

Gardening, like any form of exercise, taxes muscles that may not have been used in months and requires stamina, Owen said. So she recommends gardening in small increments at the start of the season to build your strength and endurance, and stretching before and after to prevent injury.

Before you start working in the garden, she said, walk around and take stock of the things you want to do. Then tackle the most important chores first, so you're not tempted to take on too much.

Owen said backs, knees and wrists are most susceptible to pain, because we use them so much in gardening. Stretching before and after makes those muscles supple and reduces the likelihood of aches or injuries. Here are the exercises Owen recommended:

Lie on the floor on your back. Pull your knees to your chest and hold. Repeat a couple of times.

Try the cat pose from yoga. While on your hands and knees, pull your abdomen in, push your back up toward the ceiling and drop your head. Hold. Then invert the position, arching your back and stretching your head up.

In a standing position, raise your arms overhead. Then make large circles with your arms in both directions.

Place your hands on your shoulders and rotate your elbows both ways.

To warm up your wrists, stretch your arms out to the sides, palms down. Flex the hands up and down from the wrist, then rotate your hands in both directions.

A frequent cause of injury, Owen said, is moving in ways that put too much strain on muscles. In general, you should avoid bending at the waist, twisting or lifting things without bending your knees, she said.

Proper lifting is important to protecting your back. Always bend your knees and lift with the thighs while keeping the back straight, she said. Be careful not to twist as you lift.

When you're hoeing or shoveling, keep your knees relaxed, stand straight and don't hunch, Owen said. If you need to use a rotating movement, such as when you're shoveling mulch, take a step in the direction you're headed before you twist your body. That releases tension on the spine, she explained.

She also recommended using a lightweight wagon or wheelbarrow to haul things, and keeping the load light. If you're buying materials in bags, choose smaller quantities that are easier to haul.

When you're working low to the ground, Owen recommended sitting or kneeling on a cushion. Kneel on both knees at the same time to avoid injury when you twist.

If you have to reach for something that's far away, get as close as possible to the object, sit as straight as you can without hunching, then reach, she said. If possible, use a long tool to do the reaching for you.

Use comfortable, lightweight tools, she said, and if you're short, use shorter versions of long-handled tools such as shovels and rakes. Alternate your grip from hand to hand periodically.

Don't do the same chore for an extended period, she said, and change positions frequently to give your muscles a break.

Owen also recommended choosing tools with brightly colored handles. They're easier to see, so you're less likely to trip over them in the grass or run over them with a mower. And don't leave hoses lying around, she cautioned. They pose a tripping hazard, especially when you're carrying an armload and you can't easily see the ground.

Wear gloves to protect your hands, too. Owen was reminded of their benefit when she tripped while working in her garden recently, and the gloves protected her hands from being injured by the grit on her driveway.

If you're worried that starting the gardening season slowly won't give you enough health benefits, consider this: Just being in the garden reduces stress, Owen said. She once measured the heart rate and blood pressure of 128 volunteers at a botanical garden and discovered a significant decrease in the systolic blood pressure readings, indicating a lowering of stress just from the environment.

So get out in the garden. It's good for you.