Life gets busy sometimes and taking care of you isn’t high on your list of things you have to get done. But chores and a full schedule doesn’t mean you should forgo your daily workout.. Especially since the benefits of moving your body are huge. You have to get a little creative to make exercise part of your life when your day is jam-packed.
Here are some helpful ideas for things you are already doing to crank up the intensity and push the calorie burn into high gear.
Hustle
The key to turning any household task into exercise is to pick up the pace or increase intensity and sustain it for as long as comfortably possible without taking a break.
Example: if your floors are nasty pick up the broom or mop throw on your fav fast temp song and get to cleaning. If you put a little muscle into it and keep it up you will increase the activity enough you can count it as exercise. AWESOME!
Think Outside The Box
Push The Dirty Dishes Away
You can attack the dishes and get a workout in AT THE SAME TIME! Start the dishes, and then every few minutes, stop to do some push ups at the sink:
- Areas worked: chest, arms.
- Starting position: Face the sink, hands on the edge of the counter top, arms straight; position feet slightly farther than arms-length away from the counter so that your body is at a slight angle.
- Action: Without bending at your waist, slowly bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the counter. Dip your chest toward the counter as far as comfortably possible before returning to your starting position. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
- Tip: Make sure the counter and your hands are dry and you're wearing shoes that won't slip.
Clean It Up Squats
This one is good for mopping the floor or washing the car outside.
- Areas worked: arms, thighs, buttocks.
- Starting position: Stand with one bucket handle gripped in each hand, feet shoulder-width apart; back, arms, and legs straight.
- Action: Keep your arms straight down at your sides while you slowly squat by bending at the knee and hip joints. Lower yourself until your thighs are roughly parallel to the ground, then return to starting position. Repeat 10 times.
- Tips: To avoid injury, keep your knees centered over your toes when squatting, do not allow your thighs to dip beyond parallel to the ground, and keep your back straight.
It All Counts: Adding Up the Minutes
Top ten household chores for burning calories*
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1. Moving furniture
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225 calories
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2. Scrubbing floors
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189 calories
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3. Raking leaves
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171 calories
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4. Gardening
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162 calories
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5. Mowing the lawn
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162 calories
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6. Washing the car
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153 calories
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7. Cleaning windows
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153 calories
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8. Vacuuming
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84 calories
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9. Washing dishes
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76 calories
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10. Doing laundry
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72 calories
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*Estimations based on a 140-pound person and 30 minutes of activity
You must supplement your exercise routine with longer bouts of cardiovascular exercise, whenever possible. Make exercise a priority even on days when your to-do list is massive and feels never ending. When you put a little oomph into your chores you get to multitask. Who doesn’t love that?
