Do you count this as exercise?

JPod279

If you are outside just doing normal yard cleanup, straightening up and in the course of all this pushing kids on the swings or doing some general play with them, do you count that in your exercise log? I haven't really, but I will be on my feet walking around for an hour or so each time and maybe sit for a couple of minutes. I think the only way I want to count something as exercise is when I know it raises my heart rate a decent amount. Like push mowing a lawn, raking, etc... What is your take?

kirstinkrueger

i would. there is an option on here for YARDWORK and for MOWING as well under exercise

monkeybuttsmommy

My rule is if my heart rate goes up, I sweat or my breathing has increased enough for me to notice and its over a period longer than 10 minutes, I log it.

perrytyra

I don't log any chores as exercise, but I haven't done any extrenuous cleaning since starting. I think if it makes your heart beat faster and makes you sweat, it is safe to count it. Especially if you put your activity level at sedentary.

Mad_Dog_Muscle

Some do count it, but I don't, I just use those activities as a "buffer"

eatisfortheweak

Oh, i re-read it. heh
Okay so I do not count those. They're like....counted on a secret mental log that I forget about.

FaeFae

I dont count them!!

catcrazy

if its out of the ordinary and gets your heart rate up for a while then count it if however you have yourself set as anything other than sedentary, have often spent an hour or so doing it and still gained the weight then I wouldnt bother.

spacecase76

I do not count things that are normal for me, that is calculated with my BMR. I think of things like sex, grocery shopping, playing with the kids, taking the stairs at the office, walking to the mailbox....those are things that are "normal" for me, so I wouldn't count that. I also don't count general day-to-day cleaning, only if I am busting my hump and pouring sweat doing some special or deep cleaning (and even that gets counted as "light")

meggonkgonk

If I do normal lifey things that I feel are out of my "sedentary" purview but aren't really hard work, I often log them for about 1/2 to 2/3 of the total time I estimate I did that activity. For me it feels like a more accurate accounting, but it's really all how you feel about it. You can, you don't have to- it's up to you!

meggonkgonk

I do not count things that are normal for me, that is calculated with my BMR. I think of things like sex, grocery shopping, playing with the kids, taking the stairs at the office, walking to the mailbox....those are things that are "normal" for me, so I wouldn't count that. I also don't count general day-to-day cleaning, only if I am busting my hump and pouring sweat doing some special or deep cleaning (and even that gets counted as "light")

BMR actually accounts for NONE of this, just FYI. BMR are the calories your body uses to support the most basic function- organs and such. It is the amount of calories you would use if you were in a coma.

I'm not saying you need to or should count these activity- certainly this is an individual kind of thing- but they are accounted for in your activity level ('sedentary', 'lightly active' etc)

kajun_at_work

I cut grass and weedeated today, about 45 minutes each. I counted it because my activity is set to sedentary and if I wasn't cutting grass, I would have been watching TV or something inside the house instead.

ocsurfmama

I pretty much follow the same thinking as you have laid out. If it doesn't raise my heart rate or make me sweat then I don't add it. If I am digging to put new bushes or trees in, or pushing the lawn mower for an hour then I do count that. Inside if I am doing general light cleaning I don't add it, but if I am mopping and scrubbing all the floors (the entire house is wood floors) then I might add that if I didn't make it to the gym.

I try not to up my earned calorie numbers with everyday chores since I have always done them before my weight loss journey. I do count all my work outs of Cardio, Aerobic, and strength training exercises since I push myself hard with those and they are activities that cause constant change in my heart rate during the workouts.

spacecase76

I do not count things that are normal for me, that is calculated with my BMR. I think of things like sex, grocery shopping, playing with the kids, taking the stairs at the office, walking to the mailbox....those are things that are "normal" for me, so I wouldn't count that. I also don't count general day-to-day cleaning, only if I am busting my hump and pouring sweat doing some special or deep cleaning (and even that gets counted as "light")

BMR actually accounts for NONE of this, just FYI. BMR are the calories your body uses to support the most basic function- organs and such. It is the amount of calories you would use if you were in a coma.

I'm not saying you need to or should count these activity- certainly this is an individual kind of thing- but they are accounted for in your activity level ('sedentary', 'lightly active' etc)

Bah, I misspoke, that is what I meant :ohwell: