What do you count as exercise?

ChelleDJM

I have been counting exercise I do at the gym, or an outdoor walk, or exercise video as exercise...basically, anything I do as intentional exercise. Now that I have been here awhile, I do see others putting in cleaning, gardening, grocery shopping, even sitting at a desk all day as exercise. So where is the line on what is exercise? Things we do to break a sweat? - sports games, heavy cleaning or gardening, etc seem to be okay to me, but grocery shopping? What do you count as exercise?

SublimelyMe

My work - at the moment - requires me to sit for anything up to 14hrs a day. Days that I do less desk work and have more free time I make an effort to go to the gym (4 times a week, if possible) and the days where I work a lot, I tend to either go shopping (walk in to town and carry it back) or do all my chores as vigorously as I can. It's these days where I log 'light cleaning' as exercise, but because I intentionally put effort into dancing around the flat while cleaning!

cannie55

I follow the same basic rule you do- if it's something I do with the intent of it being exercise I log it. So, for me that's mostly going to the gym, running, lifting weights and walking my dog. When I walk my dog I walk very briskly and up a steep hill, by the time I get to the top my heart is pounding just as hard as it does after a long run!

I don't log anything else- grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc. Even the time I spend walking around campus or at work I don't log. I figure that's all regular life stuff and shouldn't be calculated. But- that's not to say I think other people are 'wrong' for doing that, I'm just choosing not to!

LesliePierceRN

I only count intentional exercise. Not what I do at work, not housecleaning or even when I'm working the wood to bring in to burn in the fireplace.

PunkyRachel

I count, shopping and cleaning, and I count sexual activity as well. I don't count the sitting I do at work/home. I once counted a 3 hour mid-day nap, cause you do actually burn calories while sleep. When I log shopping, I just mark it as walking, cause I'm walking around the store.

tifarahmonteith

I agree with most of you......calories burned being alive and doing "alive people" things do not get logged on mine. This app has supposedly already taken into account our daily activity when it asked how active we are on a daily basis right from the get-go. People on here are always wondering why they can't get past a weight loss plateau.....perhaps it is because they are eating all those calories burnt sleeping??

brandiuntz

I log intentional exercise and when I play recreational sports on the weekends. Everything else is part of my daily lifestyle activity. My daily activity is set as "lightly active", so all my day-to-day falls under that.

sherrillg

I don't log daily laundry, dishes, vacuuming, etc however I do log non-routine items. Just this week I put away boxes in the attic, heavy boxes, up/down ladder (Christmas stuff...don't ask why, I know it's March:blushing: ) I have also logged cleaning the roof/gutters and yard clean up (I think I logged both as "gardening").

I use a BodyMediaFit and often times have to come up with something equivalent to enter to pump my exercise calories up to the level I have actually burned without doing actual planned exercise. Since I know I do this, I figure others do as well and I don't put much stock/thought in what anybody else logs. It's not my business to monitor what they choose to log and they may very well have a good reason for putting in. You never know where the person started from and that exercise they are counting may be the best they can do and they don't deserve to be judged.:flowerforyou:

craignev

and I count sexual activity as well.

I would as well. But I'm married so it's never appeared in my log! Haha



Seriously though, I only log activity that makes me sweat.

And as for logging sleeping as an activity....that's just nuts!

PunkyRachel

and I count sexual activity as well.

I would as well. But I'm married so it's never appeared in my log! Haha



Seriously though, I only log activity that makes me sweat.

And as for logging sleeping as an activity....that's just nuts!

Hey! I'm married too, that don't stop us. lol I never sleep during the day, I was sick and it was just out of the norm for me so I counted it. It was a one time deal. I am horrible about cleaning, so when I do do clean usually I work up a sweat! So I count it. Shopping, sometimes I get sore from just walking around and stuff, so I count it. I'm weak, and have spend most of my life just sitting around, so I count everything.

Nikki582

I had a friend continually not exercise, but overeat and then log random life-things like folding laundry, driving in the car to work (!!), cleaning etc.. and then kept gaining weight.
Tell me, if that stuff works to help you lose weight, why are you here?

PunkyRachel

I "intentionally" exercise, I'll go do Zumba, walk the local track, I have a gazelle I will exercise on (that was collecting dust for years). Before I started this, I went to work, came home, made and ate dinner, watched tv and went to bed. I let housework slide, we looked like we live in a pigsty most times.So yes If I cleaned, it was a all day or all weekended ordeal, and I'd sweat my *kitten* off. I don't count driving or anything that involves sitting. I never exercised before, other than "bedroom stuff", and walking around a store to get the stuff I need. I have lost weight, since MFP, mainly cause of changing my eating habits, but also just cause I'm actually getting up off my *kitten* for a change.

lsapphire

I count anything that elevates my heart rate or is out of my normal routine. I figure if i do something that causes exertion out of my normal or that i have planned for as a bonus. Every little bit helps

MogwaisGrandma

When I first started on here I was logging cleaning but that was because working on a poolside you do do a lot of cleaning. Some of it did not make me break sweat so I decided to stop logging it.

My activity level is set at light but when I am in the pool teaching I can do up to 5 hours of wading back and forth in the pool as my clients swim. Believe me, that is some hard work at times so I sometimes log that, but only as an hours worth.

I have started to walk laps around the pool when I am Lifeguarding. I timed myself intentionally the other day so I could see how fast I was going and now total it up as I do blocks of 15 minutes throughout the day.

MFP knows how many calories you burn in the day living and breathing as you set it when you first start, so sleeping and any sort of sitting should not be counted.

Vegetablearian

Personally my daily calories is calculated on being totally sedentary as 4 or 5 days a week I am. Anything that doesnt involve sitting on my bum gets counted if its for a long time like an hours cleaning, 30 mins walking to the shop etc

threasarenee

I count anything that elevates my heart rate or is out of my normal routine. I figure if i do something that causes exertion out of my normal or that i have planned for as a bonus. Every little bit helps

It really depends on what a persons activity level is set as to whether they should log certain things. If you are VERY active in your life, then I would only put deliberate exercise. BUT if you start out as seditary (like me) or as light activity, then you should log the things that are out of the norm for you and the things that make your heartrate go up. If someone that sits on their bum all day decides to GET UP and CLEAN then they should be able to log it. Now if someone that is constantly moving and has their activity level as active, then NO they probably shouldnt be counting normal everyday things. Just because an activity is NORMAL LIFE STUFF for someone, doesnt mean it is for others

gtfcnat

For me it's anything I didn't do before I joined up to MFP - so Your Shape on the Kinect, going for longer walks and going to the gym.

I wore my HRM while I washed my car the other day, I was just intrigued - I think it was 180 cals. I didn't count it though as I have OCD about clean cars :laugh:

laccy40

My activity level is set as sedentary. So at weekends when I can spend 2 hours running around getting all the house work done, I log it. I figure that is not part of a sedentary life style. A couple of times a week I spend my lunch break walking into and round the town. Again, that's not sedentary so I log it. Other days I'm stuck at my desk all day so that's why I keep my activity as sedentary. If I set it as light activity I'd only be lying to myself. So cut people some slack and let them log what they want, it's up to us.

rdsxgrl28

I only count intentional exercise as well.

tropaze

I log my intentional exercise. I also log some of my kinect play since some of that can be quite vigorous. Other people log what they want and that's their prerogative, everyone has different fitness levels and to some of them that stuff is just like exercising. We might look at it and go "are you kidding?", but they're not for them it's that something they need to just get that much more active.

zombilishious

I only count intentional exercise, but I did recently log a 7 hour spring cleaning stint because it was one heck of a workout. I have a desk job, so my activity level is set at sedentary, even though when I get home, I never sit down again until the 3 kids are sleeping and the house is cleaned up. I don't count all the time I play with the kids, and I don't even log the walks with the dogs because they are leisurely. That's just part of my life, and I don't think it should ever be logged.

Flixie00

Intentional exercise or any really physical activity which is outside of my normal routine, i.e. if I were to deep clean my flat then I would count that as I am not big on housework so rarely do more than the bare minimum. If I did gardening I would count that as well as that can be really hard work.

pigwidgeon82

bump

zafferFL

I count, shopping and cleaning, and I count sexual activity as well. I don't count the sitting I do at work/home. I once counted a 3 hour mid-day nap, cause you do actually burn calories while sleep. When I log shopping, I just mark it as walking, cause I'm walking around the store.

A nap? I hope this is sarcasm, lol.

htmlgirl

I only put things that aren't ordinary, not just intentional exercise. For example, instead of driving somewhere, if I walk instead, I'll count that even though the purpose isn't just exercise, it's just an added benefit. I wouldn't log something like cleaning or doing dishes.

akiramezu

Anything that jacks my heart rate above 150 and leaves me sore the next day. Cause you know, i love pain

janmar57

i have only logged intentional exercise so far such as going on the treadmill i have just got a rowing machine but it doesnt seem to burn many calories but then it is low impact.i would include using the wii sounds dated now its all connect now.i think housework and gardening are considered exercise but as i dont do much of this no good for me.got a new bike just before xmas and need to get out on it but it has loads of gears and my old one only had 3 so am a bit nervous.

lindrusso

I generally only count intentional exercise but will count some outdoor chores. For example......

*Mowing our lawn - before we got a rider mower - used to take about 3 hours and involved hills. I definitely counted that!

*Some gardening - I will count heavy gardening - if I'm moving dirt, raking, lifting heavy bags of soil, etc. I do not count light gardening - pruning, planting, watering.

*Shoveling - We now have a snow blower (which I don't generally count, but will count it if it takes me a long time - it does involve walking and is not part of my normal routine), but if I would definitely count shoveling - it's hard work and also not a normal routine.

I do not count cleaning, shopping, etc.

jaymek92

it depends on how you set up your account in the beginning. if you set it up as sedentary, then yes, log housecleaning etc. because mfp is assuming that all you do every day is sit on your butt. i have my account marked as active, so i only count intentional exercise. and sexytime.

StephanieDJL

I count intentional exercise as the gym, swimming, exercise videos, fitness classes etc. I only log walking if I've gone on a walk or if I've chosen to walk over getting the bus.

douglasmobbs

It depends what you want to track.

If you want to track calories burnt it is probably better to set your daily activity low and track everything from the lighter activities through to heavy workouts.

If you want to track exercise to see how you are doing in terms of cardio then set your daily activity level to a suitable range and only track what gets your heart pumping harder.

I think that it only really matters on the accuracy of tracking if you are eating back your calories and losing slowly or you are trying to bulk up