It's that time again for digging, pulling, lifting, bending, hauling, dragging, lunging and clipping.

With temperatures finally warming up, many folks already have dived into the dirt to get their garden going, but the season really takes off next month.

Are you ready?

The upper body twist and the upper body stretch can help prevent injuries in doing garden work.

As with any sport -- and yes, gardening is a sport, as it requires endurance, flexibility and strength -- people should get in shape for gardening. In fact, the average person can burn 250 calories an hour when planting and up to 500 calories an hour when digging.

A Web site, www.gardenfitness.com, provides a comprehensive, six-week plan to get ready. It was designed by Kimberly Ridout, who was certified as a personal trainer through the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, whose founder introduced the word "aerobics" and its concept to mainstream America in 1968.

The American Physical Therapy Association also has put together several easy exercises to get you ready in the short term.

Try some of these:

Upper body twist: Stand with your hands on your hips. Slowly turn your upper body as far as possible to the left for a count of 5. Turn to the right and hold for a count of 5. Repeat 10 times.

Upper body stretch: Stand with your back straight and arms to your sides. Stretch arms straight out in front of you and hold for a count of 5. Return arms to sides. Repeat 10 times.

Now, stretch arms straight in back of you until shoulder blades touch. Hold for a count of 5. Return arms to sides. Repeat 10 times.

Gardenfitness.com urges anyone beginning a garden project to warm up first by taking a brisk, five-minute walk around the garden.

Use this time to take a mental inventory of what you want to do in the garden. You want your muscles warm before doing any of the heavy stuff.

Then do a few easy stretches to help prevent injuries from occurring before taking off.

Among other tips from the physical therapy association and other experts:

• If you must kneel, stand up and stretch frequently to avoid stiffness. Use knee pads or a pillow to absorb the pressure on your knees. Also, lean on your hands so that your arms absorb some of the shock.

• Make sure the object -- like a sack of mulch -- is not too heavy to lift. Test its weight by lifting one corner. Roll or push, rather than carry, heavy loads.

• Pull an object by placing your feet apart, bending your knees, and leaning away from the object. Pull by straightening your legs. Always face the object and keep your back straight.

• Gardening equipment should suit your size, build, and physical capabilities. If you have arthritis in your hands, use garden tools with enlarged handles. Long handles on garden tools ease the strain on an arthritic back.

• Switch sides when doing repetitive motions so not to overwork one side of your body. For example, rake 20 times with your right hand and then 20 times with your left.

• Likewise, don't do just one activity the whole time. Switch every 30 minutes.

• Take frequent breaks.