Who likes house work? Not many of us but it can be of benefit to us. You may not have the time after a days work to come home, do house work and then go to the gym but you don’t have to. Your household jobs can actually help you loose weight.
This ‘chore’ can help you burn calories and keep fit. To loose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat. Many are burnt through the day but depending on your diet, you may need to burn off more. Exercise is usually the best way to do this. You can turn your house work into a workout. It is a cheaper alternative to the gym or buying expensive equipment and can save you precious time.
House work can be as productive as walking on a treadmill for the same amount of time. Knowing you are helping your health and fitness whilst working will make housework more rewarding. You may prefer exercise to housework or vice versa. If you don’t like house work, don’t see it at a chore but as part of your daily exercise regime. Not many of us like house work but the more you do, the more it will be beneficial to your health.
There is a lot of time saving equipment for cleaning but these short cuts won’t help if you are wanting to stay fit. Getting stuck in will save you money and help you get fitter. A bit of elbow grease leads to a more toned body.
Some cleaning work that keeps you fit;
- To tone your arms you can dust, mop, polish, scrub or sweep.
- Making beds makes you stretch and bend, keeping you flexible.
- Laundry helps tone your thighs.
- Running or walking up and down stairs acts as aerobic exercise.
- Cooking can burn up to 50 calories.
- Vacuuming can burn up to 125 calories.
- Mopping can burn up to 125 calories whilst toning your upper body.
- Any activity that involves bending, stretching, lifting and scrubbing will all lead to better health and a more toned body.
If we consider work done outside such as gardening you have the potential to loose even more weight. Raking leaves can burn 110 calories per hour and mowing the lawn can be up to 225.
To get the full potential of a housework workout, put on some music on. Use preferably fast tempo music to help you move fast. Faster movement burns more calories, aiding you more in weight loss. Be careful not to cause injury if moving quickly.
Although your house hold chores can help you loose weight it will not work miracles, you still should eat healthily and exercise where possible. It is nice to know though that the tidier and cleaner your house stays the fitter you’ll become. You can now look at house work with a different perspective and see the positive for your health. Being fitter will keep you healthier and aid your body in protecting you from injury and illness.
Wrote by Atrium Legal helping people with work related illness and injury every day.
nice. I love this!
Now if only I could convince my 4 kids that keeping the house will also help them to stay healthy.
It could be a family activity to help keep the whole family healthy!
This does not need to be restricted to house work, you could also extend it to activities like gardening etc.