Get Your Fitness In At Home With These Calorie-Burning Cleaning Tasks

Written by Jaymi Naciri Posted On Sunday, 14 January 2024 00:00

"You know what I love about fitness. I love fitness whole pizza in my mouth."

It's an old joke, an eye-rolling joke, but one that still garners a chuckle if only for the inner truth of it all. And here's a nugget that makes it even more relevant: The weekend is here, and while you might have grand notions of making it to the gym every day or going on a long hike (or both!), chances are you'd rather sit down with that pizza. Right?

Here's the good news. That cleaning you've been putting off can help you burn some calories so you can enjoy a slice (or three) or at least reduce your no-gym-going guilt.

"Does housework count as a workout? The answer: Yes! There's a reason they call it housework," said Fitness Magazine. "You can burn serious calories during a marathon cleaning session."

These are the home cleaning tasks - with one home reno and two weekend chores thrown in - to take on this weekend. Note: While you're figuring out which activities to conquer, remember to apply your personal weight to each.

Calorie-burning numbers listed are based on "an average weight of around 150 pounds," said Today. "If you're lighter, in the range of 120, then estimate about 20% fewer calories burned. The same goes for a higher weight: if you're closer to 180 pounds, you'll burn about 20% more calories per activity. So, if vacuuming burns 200 calories for the "average" 150-pound person, then the estimate for a lighter person would be roughly 160 calories, while the heavier person would be in the range of around 240 calories for the same activity."

Vacuuming: "Depending on the size of your home, vacuuming could make a significant dent in your 10,000 recommended steps a day," said Shape. "In the process, you could burn 119 calories per 30 minutes.

Mopping: Your floors probably need it, and the best news is that this task will burn about 150 calories in an hour!

Cleaning the bathroom: Honestly, we hope you don't have an hour's worth of cleaning to do in one bathroom, but you could easily spend that time cleaning up to three bathrooms and burn off 180 calories—enough to enjoy a treat after dinner!

Scrubbing the tub: Maybe it's only the tub that needs serious attention. This unpleasant activity sounds a lot better when you consider how many calories you can burn. Fifteen minutes of heavy soap scum busting can burn more than 90 calories and give you a great arm workout.

Gardening: It's time to get out into the yard and clean up the flower beds or prepare the space for cooler weather to come. All that bending, kneeling, and leaning means you can burn about 250 calories in one hour.

Get the windows sparkling clean: "Wash the inside and outside of your windows for 30 minutes to burn off 100 calories," said Health.

Painting the walls: Ready to bring some new color into your home this weekend? Paint for one hour and burn about 270 calories.

Grocery shopping: This may make you rethink having your groceries delivered or using the market's pre-order/load them up in the trunk service. A one-hour grocery store trip can burn 350 calories!

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