Working out by cleaning house?

[BonnyC]

I have heard that housework can actually be a pretty good cardio workout. Is this true? I do about an hour of moderate housework each day just keeping up with whatever I'm on top of. I try to deep clean something each day, too. What can I do to make it burn more calories? Strap on some weights, maybe?

[Popatar]

Hmm, how is your heart rate while you are cleaning?

If its relatively normal then I wouldn't consider it in the realm of aerobic, although it still burns calories so that's a plus. To make it more challenging and to burn more calories you can put on a back pack and gradually increase the weight by filling it with contents like books.

You can also put on your mp3 player and dance around while you clean, haha.

[fitnessk]

I wouldn't use this as your main form of exercise. However, some good housekeeping is a way to burn even more calories. Vacumming, mopping and things of this nature can burn a decent amount of calories. I know some people will do some dancing and such while clearning to make it more fun and burn more calories.

[angeldrb]

Yeah, I do it sometimes. I turn some loud dance music on and I clean to the beat. It is not my main workout though, because I rarely clean the house (usually it's my mom or a house help).

[spiderman]

It's a good way to get some sweat but I don't consider that helping your cardio. I still consider jogging to be best for cardio.

[lrlady66]

I agree that cleaning house is work and it can be quite time consuming depending how many children there are to contribute to your work load. Laundry, when I was washing it by hand was definitely a great work out. My forearms got pretty big from ringing out jeans, towels, and sweats. Yes, it burns calories but unless you bring up your heart rate, I would not count it towards my cardio.

[BonnyC]

Ahh, sorry. Cardio wasn't the right word to use! You all get what I mean, though. I actually do listen to music while I do my morning cleaning routine and dance a bit. It does elevate my heart rate and I even break a sweat at times. I just want to burn some extra calories, more than I normally would. I do a lot every morning, though. The most tiring part is running the carpet sweeper in all of the rooms. It's kinda heavy and we have quite a bit of floor to clean.

[dkramarczyk]

I could see how it would help, but I would just make a workout routine as well. It doesn't sound that bad to dance while cleaning though. At least it keeps it entertaining. I think the one type of cleaning that doesn't really work anything is the dishes.

[btatro]

Any type of movement is going to burn calories. I would not, however, consider general housework a cardio workout. There is a range for your heart rate in order to determine what a cardio activity is for you.

[shaun]

Cleaning the house can raise your metabolism and increase blood flow etc. It really depends on your heart rate, if your heart rate rises, it can be considered cardio. You can increase the intensity by incorporating lunges when using the vacuum cleaner, for example.