Why I Love Housework!

Okay, okay, so I may have exaggerated a little with the title! :-)

But, I think it’s pretty neat that household chores could be contributing to my overall health and fitness levels! Get this… if you do four or more household chores per day, it can help you burn over 50,000 calories in one year.

That’s a great way to keep fit, healthy and toned!

Apparently, the average British woman spends more than 16 hours a week cleaning her home – that’s the equivalent of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day!

But, you need to be thinking “elbow grease” here!! Sorry to say guys and gals, moving around the house like a snail does not count!

So, here are a few tips to help you get a good workout at home…

Firstly, try to plan your housework so you constantly have to run up and down the stairs. That’s an easy way of getting a bit of cardio into your housework.

Warm-up
Crank up your fav music and begin with a bit of light housework, such as straightening curtains and cushions, dusting the tops of wardrobes, tidying magazines and newspapers into racks etc.

Do this for up to 5 minutes, until your joints feel looser, but you’re not breaking into a sweat.

Triceps circles
Do 10 circles in one direction, then 10 circles in the other direction. You can use this motion when washing windows, cleaning the bath, polishing, etc.

Remember, the more you put into this one, the more you’ll get out!

Glute squeezes
Squeeze your buttocks together as hard as you can for about 10 seconds every couple of minutes as you carry out the ironing or washing dishes.

For the ladies, don’t forgot those kegels—associating them with a task you do often is the best way to remind yourself to do them every single day.

Body stretches
Give yourself a really good stretch every time you reach up to dust the tops of shelves, organise kitchen cupboards or rearrange your bookcase.

Also, when you’re vacuuming, try to put some extra muscle into pushing the vacuum forward and then pulling it back again, the key is to move slowly so you’re getting a good stretch.

Squatting
Squats are one of my favorite exercises. Why not combine them with a little laundry at the same time?

Slowly squat down when you need to pick up dirty laundry, remembering to keep your back straight, push yourself down a little further to make your legs work harder, then up again. You could include one squat for each piece of laundry you need to pick up.

Arm extensions
Give the floor a good scrub with a hand brush or cloth, rather than using a mop. To get the best from this workout, exaggerate your arm movements.

Another good one is to place your laundry basket on the floor when you’re ironing, this way you’ll constantly have to bend and stretch to reach the clothes on the ground.

Cool down
Don’t forget to include a 5 minutes cool down period. Straightening the bed clothes or reaching to put away dishes will work well here.

Bonus tip: cooking from scratch burns way more calories than simply popping a meal in the microwave!

So, get a little creative in the kitchen with all that peeling, chopping and whisking. Why not have a go at making your own healthy bread? Kneading dough is hard work you know! :-)

Calories burned per hour

Check out these estimates for calories burned per hour taken from Weight Loss Resources:

• Walking at a moderate pace – 287 calories/hour
• Vacuuming – 193.7 calories/hour
• Dusting – 173.6 calories/hour
• Painting, inside projects – 66 calories/hour
• Gardening, weeding – 287.8 calories/hour
• Mopping floors – 193.7 calories/hour
• Car washing – 234 calories/hour
• Cleaning windows – 180.3 calories/hour
• Ironing – 113.1 calories/hour
• Wallpapering – 133.2 calories/hour
• Chopping wood – 415.5 calories/hour
• Walking up and down stairs, moderate – 516.3 calories/hour

What are your tips for making housework into a full-on workout at home?