Finally fixed my rock-hard garden beds—feeling proud!

So my garden beds were getting ridiculously hard and dense, like digging into concrete almost. Last weekend I finally bit the bullet, rented one of those aerator thingies, and mixed in a bunch of compost. Took me forever and my back still hates me, but wow, the difference is night and day. Plants are already looking happier. Curious if anyone else tackled something similar and how it turned out?