Mopping up the Calories There's more to doing daily chores, it can be a workout as well.

June 25, 2024

Boost your strength with everyday chores. There’s an added incentive to complete those tasks that remain on the to do list.

Apparently everyday actions can become strengthening workouts such as these:

Green Gym:

“Gardening is a fantastic all-body workout,” says James Pittam at Your Personal Training. “Digging, planting, weeding, and watering are great for your upper body, lower back, and thighs. Just half an hour of digging can burn up to 315 calories.” Research from Lloyds Pharmacy found mowing the lawn for an hour can burn more calories than swimming breaststroke for the same length of time.

Hit the Floor:

“Mopping the floor engages your arm muscles and core, burning up to 170 calories per hour,” says James Pittam. “Scrubbing on your hands and knees works the upper arms, core, and abs, burning 200 calories per hour.”

Alphabetise your Bookshelves:

If we imagine your substantial coffee-table volumes as your big lifts and those fragile Penguin Classics as your lighter weights, you could warm up with the paperbacks and build to the heavier volumes. Weight training is carried out in sets and repetitions so if you consider taking a book from one slot and carrying it to another to be a “rep” then you could set yourself the goal of 10 books moved to a new spot at a time.

Childcare Cardio:

“Looking after young children can be like an HIIT class,” says Hagn. “Constantly bending down, crawling, and lifting a baby or toddler provides a surprising workout. Squat, engage your pelvic floor, and breathe out as you pick them up. For more core work, lift your knees off the floor when crawling around with them.”

In the Bag:

“Park as far as possible from the supermarket and ditch the trolley,” advises Hagn. “Carry one bag of shopping in each hand, ensuring the weight is evenly distributed. Lower your shoulder blades and engage your core. This strengthens the obliques and back muscles.”

Laundry Weights:

“When picking up a basket of wet laundry, squat, engage your core, and pull up as you would a weight at the gym,” says Hagn. Repeat ten times for a workout targeting your glutes, leg muscles, core, and lower back.

Vac and See:

Vacuuming burns nearly 300 calories an hour. “It’s a workout for your back, shoulders, arms, and core,” says Anya Lahiri, master trainer at Barry’s UK. “Hold a squat while vacuuming for a total body workout.”

Vacuum neglected areas which will involve lifting rugs, moving chairs, tables and other furniture objects. See how many you can do in 2 minutes and then rest for 30 seconds.

Wax On, Wax Off:

“Polishing windows involves reaching and stretching, excellent for your shoulders and back,” says James Pittam. “The wiping motion engages arm muscles. Try doing it on one leg to engage your core even more. You can burn up to 180 calories an hour.”

Pets Win PBs:

It’s not just “walkies” that keep you fit. A study found that men burn 313 calories an hour and women 264 when bathing their dog. “Squatting to clean pet areas, carrying food bags or litter, and grooming can all build arm and back strength,” says Sean Johnson, fitness educator and coach at Orangetheory Fitness.

Dance, Dance, Dance:

Select a track to get you going (no ballads) or a Spotify list by year of release and then go big, making sure all limbs are being used. The bigger steps you make, the more energy you use.

Okay, it may not be cleaning but think of dancing as a post chore reward.

Read our post on the different ways to exercise