Smarter Health: How Many Calories Do You Burn on Housework?
I have to say, it is time for me to clean my apartment. It's been way too long - even the dusbtbunnies have dust on them. Though my abode isn't huge, it takes just a few hours to get it sparkling again...but it's getting motivated to do it that is the problem - same problem I have for exercising.
Then I had a light bulb moment - turn my housework into exercise! I wondered how many calories I would burn doing certain household chores. Check this out:
Doing dishes: 160 calories for every 30 minutes you scrub that dried-on mac-and-cheese goop.
Scrubbing floor: For every half-hour, you burn 200 calories. Be sure to switch arms to tone both arms.
Vacuuming: An hour of sucking up little particles can burn 180 calories. Bend your knees and do lunges to work arms and legs.
Gardening: If you spend 60 minute weeding and tending to those plants, you can burn up to 250 calories - just be sure to sit properly and lift with your legs if you are carrying anything heavy.
Remember to turn on some fast tunes to keep yourself going and try to infuse little bits of real exercise in there too. As you are doing dishes, raise up onto your tiptoes 20 times to work calf muscles or do some squats with that laundry basket. When you scrub that bathtub, reach and pull the nasty grime, flexing your arm muscles.
Before you know it, you will have a clean house and burned some calories!
What housework do you feel gives you a little workout?
©iStockphoto.com/ Stockphoto4u
the laundry gives me the biggest workout..lol and the dishes!
laundry and sweeping and mopping and cleaning the bathtub..
Instead of folding all the laundry at once, I put on some music and fold one thing, run & put it away, and come back and do it again until it's all put away.
Kmart's new commercial - Big Gas Savings
- HeatherNYC
on Jun. 5, 2012 at 12:00 AM