Put The Work Into Housework

There are often times when we have to make a decision between having a clean house or exercising. Many of us will go for the easy option. We will tell ourselves excuses for why we are choosing not to exercise, like “If I go to the gym, the house will be a mess” or “I won’t be able to concentrate knowing I have to clean when I get home.”

However, more people are doing the housework and making it work for them around their exercise routine.There are options in which you can feel the effects of exercise, while still doing the housework – making people feel much more productive and positive. This begs the question – can tidying really change your life?

Wash your floor in the old-fashioned way, with a brush or mop and a water bucket. While doing this, you can alternate push-ups and leg extensions, enabling you to exercise key parts of your body. If that isn’t your thing, try plank poses or you could attempt to clean the floor while on a stability ball.

You can do dance routines (or you can even jog on the spot) while you mop or vacuum the house.

If a shop is needed, you could exercise your arms by doing bicep curls with the shopping bags as you carry them from the car. You could even briskly walk to and from the car, or even jog.

This might come across as odd, but you could try being less efficient. Instead of carrying the whole load of washed clothes in one go, you could make separate trips. You can also collect dirty dishes from rooms one at a time. This means you are always on the go.

Perform calf raises, squats or other exercises will don’t require a lot of room, while you wash the dishes.

Do jumping jacks while you wait for the kitchen counter to sanitise properly following you spraying antibacterial spray.

You could perform shoulder presses with the full laundry basket or even a bucket of cleaning supplies.

Just about any household chore you can think of can be a little more tiring (and could help to burn calories) with leg lifts and a bit hopping or skipping added into the cleaning routine. You can take advantage of your cleaning time, routine and schedule as an opportunity to incorporate stretching, repetitions, and constant motion, meaning you won’t feel guilty about giving the gym a miss.

However, it is also important to remember that your regular housework chores should not act as substitutes for your regular gym sessions or workouts. Considering that housework has to be done, one way or the other, and you will have to come around to it sooner or later, you might as well let it work for you and do a workout while you are at it. By doing this, you can burn more calories, get your house as clean as you like it, and you can feel much less guilty about sacrificing your workout because you are keeping your house clean and keeping fit at the same time.