Housework can fit into your fitness regimen and count as part of your new active lifestyle! Here’s how Health Fitness Revolution found your household chores to stack up in terms of calories burned:
- Scrubbing the Bathroom: 30 minutes burns 200 calories. Removing that stubborn soap scum from your tiles is also a great way to tone the muscles of your arms and shoulders.
- Making Beds: 30 minutes burns 130 calories, the same number you’d use if you jogged on a treadmill or on flat terrain for 15 minutes.
- Carrying shopping bags: 30 minutes burns 190 calories, and maybe more if the bags are particularly heavy. Distribute the weight evenly on each hand, or swap back and forth at regular intervals. Carrying too much weight on one side won’t just overdevelop those muscles, it could injure your spine.
- Cleaning windows: 30 minutes burns 125 calories, the same number used in 20 minutes of power yoga.
- Vacuuming: 30 minutes burns about 90 calories, the same amount you’d burn in 15 minutes of kick boxing.
- Loading the dishwasher: 30 minutes burns 105 calories.
- Washing dishes by hand: burns more calories at 160 calories per 30 minutes.
- Dusting: 30 minutes burns about 50 calories.
- Ironing: 30 minutes burns about 70 calories and tones the muscles of the upper body. Stand up straight at the ironing board and press down firmly. Switch hands periodically so you don’t overdevelop one arm.
- Climbing stairs: 30 minutes burns about 285 calories.
- Painting and decorating your home: burns about 160 calories.
- Showering and toweling off for 30 minutes burns about 70 calories.
- Digging in the Yard: 30 minutes will burn about 315 calories, the same amount burned by 45 minutes of bicycling on flat terrain. Digging tones the muscles of your calves, thighs, arms and shoulders. If you do it vigorously enough and continue the activity for 20 minutes or more, you can raise your heart rate and strengthen your cardiovascular system.
- Washing your car: For every 30 minutes of car washing, you’ll burn 143 calories. It also works your arms and abdominals.
- Weeding: 30 minutes burns 115 calories, the same amount you’d burn in 15 minutes of weight training. Weeding tones your thighs and buttocks. Just be careful to bend with your legs while keeping your spine straight, or you could hurt your back.
- Raking leaves: 30 minutes burns 225 calories. The resistance offered by the leaves makes this chore a type of weight training. Raking leaves tones all the major muscle groups in your body.
