House work as exercise

KateL1969

I hope this thread will encourage some people to rethink their views.

I have read a few threads recently which criticiseMFP members for adding housework (cleaning) to their cardiovascular exercise. I find this quite bizarre as my understanding is that MFP works out the number of net calories you need to eat using the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day, your weight goal and the number of pounds you want to lose per week.

Why is housework a lesser form of exercise than any other? Is there some sort of exercise snobbery going on? Just because it has to be done, it doesnt make it less valid in my opinion. Is it a sexist thing? If so why is it predominantly women that have been critical? I sugar-soaped my kitchen door at the weekend and it was a great work-out for my bingo-wings! Are there any other forms of exercise that people think should not be listed? Dog walking? Gardening? As a single Mum I have all these responsibilities. As I also have to work, cleaning, dog walking and gardening are sometimes the only form of exercise I have time(or the opportunity) to do - and its paying off because I am listing them as exercise, sticking to my net calories (most of the time) and I am losing weight! What are your thoughts?

PS I wish MFP worked out the calories burned during strengthening exercises e.g. pressups, situps. Is there a reason for this?

Kashton2011

I agree, I include my house-cleaning as I don't do a thorough top to bottom clean every week (my house isn't minging - honestly!) so I feel I definitely burn more calories that I usually would. If its just a light clean I'm doing then I tend not to include these.

mikejacobs1958

I totally agree with you, have seen some comments (nasty ones too) about critising housework efforts and walking kids to school.

Someone I know regulary walks 2 hrs a day and of course you need to claim that. Has to be better than catching the bus !
Window washing, scrubbing floors, mowing the lawn must all be counted.

Yeh I stopped logging my situps and dumbell exercises because MFP didn't allow any calories for the strength training. For a moment I thought I wasted money on my bench !

MFP don't class it as a cardio workout, well my heart races when I do 100 situps I can assure you.

neverstray

I totally agree with you, have seen some comments (nasty ones too) about critising housework efforts and walking kids to school.

Someone I know regulary walks 2 hrs a day and of course you need to claim that. Has to be better than catching the bus !
Window washing, scrubbing floors, mowing the lawn must all be counted.

Yeh I stopped logging my situps and dumbell exercises because MFP didn't allow any calories for the strength training. For a moment I thought I wasted money on my bench !

MFP don't class it as a cardio workout, well my heart races when I do 100 situps I can assure you.

Just log it under cardio.

Hestion

I put in anything beyond my usual daily tidy up, so when I scrub extra things, clean windows, gut out cupboards, do gardening etc I add it in, but I choose to not personally add the normal housework, but I see no reason why if people want to they shouldnt, its still getting them up and moving.

And I walk 2hrs a day doing school runs most days, how on earth can someone say that should not be added as exercise!

Kara_xxx

PS I wish MFP worked out the calories burned during strengthening exercises e.g. pressups, situps. Is there a reason for this?

I guess it's too complex to generalise... for person A to benchpress 40kg might be a walk in the park and something they could do all day... for person B this might be their max rep effort or whatever. I think it would be meaningless to try to generalisise above and beyong the "strength training" or "calisthenics" average score that's already on the database. Only a properly calibrated HRM will tell you what you really burn.

I can't be bothered to contribute to the rest of the debate because it's been round the houses sooooo many times.

It's no odds to me what someone else loggs and they can do what they like, it's their life. But I see no point in trying to "convince" others or try to "change their mind". There is nothing in the world you could say to me, that would convince me to add 'housework' as exercise calories and eat them back.

Natty0506

I don't personally log housework because, as a stay at home mom, it's something that I do every day. But for people who are not always going up and down their stairs or washing walls or vacuuming, it's a form of exercise. I do log when I do a seriously thorough cleaning though. I think this is just another one of those things that women are criticized for. *shrug* Women can be really mean to each other.

naughtyfushsia_wechnaged

i had 3 kids naturally and my friend had 3 c-sections (as she is unable to give birth naturally) and we were kinda swapping experiences, anyway, when she had her kids, each time she was strongly advised not to exercise including housework including hoovering, mopping, washing windows as it pulls the stomach area and the "cut" area wouldnt heal as it will tug the stitches/staples so in a round about way, for those who dont believe housework aint an exercise it is, even medicals say it is so obviously for those say it dont, they dont do it lmao!

I list housework as exercise and if ya give it an extra umph to it, you do get a good sweat on hehe

Kerri_is_so_very

It really doesn't matter to me what someone logs. My week days consist of a desk job and on weekends I don't sit down most of the day. My setting is set to sedentary. For the past week I've been scraping and painting my house (and have no time for my typical work outs), but I'm moving ladders, bending, standing, climbing ladder, getting down, and yes working those bingo wings scraping and painting! I googled it and it says a 150 lb person burns 203/hour from that. So I take some of the time, but not all. I've done it for 8-10 hours / day. So yes, I'm taking some cals burned for that. And no it isn't quite zumba or a Jillian Michaels work out, but I'm out in 90 degree heat in the sun doing this as well and if nothing else I feel like I'm melting! LOL

If had an active job where I was on my feet all day and my profile was set to this, I probably wouldn't log itif I was doing it on a weekend because MFP would be calculating it to your calories needed already.

Bottom line is who does this and why I don't care....if I see someone post it I some times ask what they did and generally it's more than load dishwasher and vac.

placebomonkey

Anything that gets your heart rate going is cardio! My only advice would be to keep it realistic. I go horseriding and was in two minds wether to add this or not so I used my hrm whilst riding to see how many calories I was burning it was a bit less than the mfp recommendation but still worth logging.

Why not try using a hrm whilst doing your housework you can post your burn with conviction then

tsjourney

I log my housecleaning as exercise when I am truly exerting myself and doing above and beyond my normal everyday things. It is exercise to me and I am sore afterwards. I sweat, I use muscles I wouldn't have used sitting at my desk. I AM ACTIVE and not sitting on the couch. Am I running a 5K yet, no, but I am getting there, more slowly than a lot, but I am much better than I was a year ago before I started logging anything at all. I'm getting there and I hope when I finally get to the point that I am doing what others call "real exercise" I don't look down on those who are just starting and trying to go from totally sedentary to MOVING and feeling at least a little bit better about themselves for logging it at all. We are on here to build up and not tear down. Most of the people on this site are here because they want to be healthier and probably lose weight and be more active. We are all at different levels and a 5 min walk may not seem like exercise to someone who does 5 miles a day running. Yes, there are those on here who may never get past just logging housecleaning, but there are a lot who will, with encouragement and not nastiness or criticism.

Easywider

It's not exercise. It's the basic rudimentary functions of the 21st century human being in a first world society.

Granted, can you break a sweat cleaning or chasing a couple toddler's around? Absolutely...But to put that on the same level as 60 minutes in the gym..or a zumba class for that matter is stretching the bounds of a lazy rationale.

You should be taking care of all your domestic work in addition to conventional exercise outlets...not cleaning the toilet and calling it a hard days work.

Nothing is worse than failing because you didn't work hard enough.

Lar349

I dont see a problem logging housework especially if it builds up a sweat, but I personally dont log it because it is something I have always done lots of it when I was overweight too so I almost consider it part of mtv bmr I guess whereas the gym is pretty newish to, me so I get a buzz logging my workout. Good luck with your loss every one however up choose to to it x

hadlam83

Before I started MFP I was lazy to the point of not doing housework hence why Ive always been overweight. So being able tog my housework as an exercise has not only been a good start for me in terms of exercise but it has also helped me to get into better practices for my housework. Now although I still loath it I have the energy to do it and set aside 1 day a week as my house work day. It may not work for some people but it worked for me and has helped me and my motivation in more ways then one

Kara_xxx

i had 3 kids naturally and my friend had 3 c-sections (as she is unable to give birth naturally) and we were kinda swapping experiences, anyway, when she had her kids, each time she was strongly advised not to exercise including housework including hoovering, mopping, washing windows as it pulls the stomach area and the "cut" area wouldnt heal as it will tug the stitches/staples so in a round about way, for those who dont believe housework aint an exercise it is, even medicals say it is so obviously for those say it dont, they dont do it lmao!

I list housework as exercise and if ya give it an extra umph to it, you do get a good sweat on hehe

They also say you can't drive...? That would not make me log my commuting as "exercise"? :huh:

Kara_xxx

It's not exercise. It's the basic rudimentary functions of the 21st century human being in a first world society.

:drinker:

Dave198lbs

For me, the issue is not what form of activity I do to get my body moving and active. Whether its cleaning the house or riding the bike or hiking or whatever.

I dont see any room for debate on whether cleaning the house is exercise or not. Clearly it is physical activity that burns more calories than watching tv.

What is most important to me is accurately estimating how many calories I should add to my daily or weekly intake.

I do not log a 30 minute clean of the kitchen and bathrooms. I do consider having done the cleaning as a bonus to my day and I do enjoy a clean kitchen and bathroom.

MaraDiaz

If you put 'sedentary' on your settings, you're supposed to record housework (maybe not five minutes here or there, but serious cleaning, yes).

In reality we are all different. A person the same weight as me might be able to chase toddlers all day, vacuum, scrub, do dishes, and grocery shop on 1200 calories a day. I'd faint from hunger and fall flat on my face.

BrokenBarbiexoxo

You log sit ups, press ups etc under cardio using "calisthenics" its in the database

Bobby_Clerici

I found a way to log cleaning and yard work as exercise.
Like many, I thought this was totally ABSURD - get out and exercise.
DON'T BE LAZY!
And I still believe some people logging in these terrific calorie burns for house cleaning are dreaming.
They'll fail.
What I did was purchase a 70 pound, weighted vest, and when I wear that vest, I count it as exercise.
It feels like exercise.
My wife is thrilled, because I clean more now.
Seriously, do what you want, but the fruit of your philosophy at day's end is this: RESULTS!
And be very careful logging in house cleaning as anything more than a low calorie burn.
Good Luck :flowerforyou:

MaraDiaz

I found a way to log cleaning and yard work as exercise.
Like many, I thought this was totally ABSURD - get out and exercise.
DON'T BE LAZY!
And I still believe some people logging in these terrific calorie burns for house cleaning are dreaming.
They'll fail.
What I did was purchase a 70 pound, weighted vest, and when I wear that vest, I count it as exercise.
It feels like exercise.
My wife is thrilled, because I clean more now.
Seriously, do what you want, but the fruit of your philosophy at day's end is this: RESULTS!
And be very careful logging in house cleaning as anything more than a low calorie burn.
Good Luck :flowerforyou:

You can buy those? Awesome.