Does House Cleaning Count As Exercise?
When you vacuum the house, does it count as exercise? If you’re wondering if house cleaning is exercise, you’re not alone. Many people believe that vacuuming counts as exercise but don’t realize that house cleaning can help your body burn calories. Fortunately, you don’t need to go all out to get your entire house vacuumed. Just focus on three rooms at a time, working up to the whole house in a single day.
Less than weight lifting
While it may seem like housework doesn’t count as exercise, it burns more calories than weight lifting. A recent study found a connection between housework and weight. When combined with weight lifting, housework can burn 178 calories in 60 minutes. And while housework is excellent exercise, it should not replace workouts in the gym. For example, if your laundry room is in the basement, carrying a heavy laundry basket down the stairs may require two arms.
While house cleaning may seem like a waste of time and energy, it burns more calories than weight lifting. Many people underestimate the point burnt when doing everyday chores. For a woman weighing 130 pounds, cleaning the house can burn over two hundred calories. If you clean the outside of your home, you could quickly burn more than three hundred. While house cleaning does not build muscle mass, it does burn enough calories to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.
More than squats
More than squats during housework can be considered exercise, but it should not be the only way to get a good workout. You can add mini additions to your housework workout, such as calf raises while cooking, holding an ankle or wrist weight, or squatting while carrying a laundry hamper. You keep track of your squats, while housecleaning can be fun.
More than backbends
You might be asking: “Does house cleaning count as exercise?” You might not have realized it, but doing household tasks is an exercise for the whole body. And backbends are a great way to work your back and stretch your muscles. It’s a good thing house cleaning is also relaxing and offers the gift of opening. You can even get a bonus by practicing backbends while you clean the house!
When performing backbends, you should remember to value resistance since it is a natural component of the practice. You shouldn’t strive to be someone else – you’re working on your body, not trying to impress your neighbors! Instead, strive to practice with positive intentions and aims, which can help you banish your fears and overcome obstacles. Practicing with positive purposes and aims can improve your posture, strengthen your muscles, and experience greater freedom and joy.
If you feel comfortable doing this pose, you can practice more advanced ones. You can even try performing backbends with a gentle abdominal contraction. Just be sure to honor your comfort level when you’re doing this. If you can lift your rib cage, you’re doing it right! Using your abdominal muscles to do backbends is like opening an extension ladder and stretching your muscles!
Practicing backbends when house cleaning is an ideal way to practice yoga, but you’re probably not very good at it. Instead, try to take a break from the house cleaning and concentrate on the backbends. They’ll help you develop more flexibility in your back, which is essential for your overall health. When you practice backbends, you’re stretching your back and your front body. It also opens your chest and arms, flushes out waste, and brings fresh oxygenated blood to your body.
More than sitting still
While you may not see this as exercise, a lot of house cleaning can be considered a form of exercise. Cleaning activities can burn up to four times more calories than sitting. This number varies greatly depending on how intense the cleaning activity is and your fitness level. Of course, you shouldn’t count cleaning as your only form of exercise. A recent British study showed that women who clean only every week are the most likely to become overweight.
