House work as exercise

amcrook

If you think it is legitimate to log zumba, then equally it is legitimate to log house work, neither get the heart rate anywhere near the heart rate of say cycling, and both are low impact, and involve a fair amount of just weaving your arms or *kitten* about. What applies to one equally applies to the other, depending on the intensity of the action both or neither are exercise.

If you think Zumba is not an exercise then you have never taken a class before and you are merely speaking out of ignorance. The zumba classes I take get you heart rate up, make you sweat, and are definately not low impact. Zumba is not the same as house cleaning! And it's more than just weaving your arms about...get a clue and educate yourself!

mmarlow61

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.

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

chris1816

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.

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

So increase your activity level accordingly. It gives you more calories on a daily basis.

LazyHairyBear

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

You are doing what people do in factories and restaurants all over the world, working for a living. Maybe you need to set your activity level to "Active" and no longer log the house cleaning as exercise. Or maybe factory workers should log their entire day as exercise and set their activity level to "Sedentary".

aleham

I don't think the problem is with logging the housework as exercise, it's the overestimation of calories that I feel concerned about - like with any exercise.

As an active MFP member, I do my best to help my friends with honesty, feedback and encouragement and I do so in the most positive way that I can. It can take lot to burn 400 - 500 calories (my heart rate monitor indicates that, during Jillian Michael's workouts I only burn about 200 calories, and likewise with a 30 -40 minute run).

I realize that everybody is different, and everybody's bodies can function in different ways according to their gender, age, weight etc, which is why, when I see 30 minutes of "general housework, light effort" logged as 500 calories burned, I suggest the member invests in a heart rate monitor, or something similar that will give them an accurate reading of their calorie intake/calories burned ESPECIALLY if the individual has complained they're not losing weight even though they're burning x amount of calories a day.

You can turn absolutely everything and anything into an exercise, but you need to be honest with yourself about how many calories your exertions burn as well as how many calories you eat otherwise weight loss can be very difficult.

ItsCasey

I don't really care what other people do, so please do not take this as criticism. It's just my opinion. My personal view of the exercise diary function is that it should be used only for actual workouts. That is not to say you aren't burning calories when you clean or walk your kids to school. Obviously you are. But if those are regular parts of your routine, your body has already adjusted to compensate for them, so you're not getting the same benefit from them as someone who rarely does those things. Therefore, they should be included in your lifestyle assessment (i.e. sedentary, lightly active, etc.) rather than as exercise in your daily calories burned.

If you get a psychological boost from recording things like housework or your daily walk to and from the office, then go ahead. Makes no difference to me. But I do think it sort of misses the point of using an exercise journal to track your fitness progress.

FitLink

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry. How many times have you gone running out to chase a toddler who sneaked out the back door while you were taking a moment to actually THINK you had time to go to the restroom while they were preoccupied? (and yes the door was locked, he had figured out how to open it). Or how many times you've gone up and down stairs to do laundry for your children who brought laundry home from college? OR how many times you've stressed over how clean your house was and gone on a rampage cleaning because your children were bringing guests home and you wanted to make the right impression. NOT to mention the mundane everyday chores of sweeping, mopping, keeping yards up, vacuuming, and I could go on and on and on. There are SO many strenuous chores you go through keeping up a house that YES you DO get a good workout doing them.

You are doing what people do in factories and restaurants all over the world, working for a living. Maybe you need to set your activity level to "Active" and no longer log the house cleaning as exercise. Or maybe factory workers should log their entire day as exercise and set their activity level to "Sedentary".

Or maybe you should MYOB. Some of us have radically different days in terms of activity level. If we set our activity level for more active than sedentary, on the sedentary days we'd have have to log "negative exercise."

I have Central Pain Syndrome. On a bad day, it's an accomplishment for me to get from the bed to the couch. On good days, I'm often quite active. I don't even have an "average week," let alone an "average day." So I list my activity level as sedentary, wear a FitBit, and log manually the things FitBit can't track well or at all, like swimming.

People whose days vary radically in activity level legitimately list themselves as sedentary and log all activity--even factory workers who veg on the couch all weekend. HOW YOU ARRIVE at the correct numbers isn't important. That they are reasonably accurate is all that matters.

BTW, now is when the "it's not exercise if you do it every day" crowd chimes in with "You obviously have CPS because you didn't take care of yourself." Because you can know all about a person without ever meeting them. So, go for it.

Kara_xxx

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry.

Oh for pities sake, do you think other people don't wash their own clothes???

FitLink

If you think it is legitimate to log zumba, then equally it is legitimate to log house work, neither get the heart rate anywhere near the heart rate of say cycling, and both are low impact, and involve a fair amount of just weaving your arms or *kitten* about. What applies to one equally applies to the other, depending on the intensity of the action both or neither are exercise.

If you think Zumba is not an exercise then you have never taken a class before and you are merely speaking out of ignorance. The zumba classes I take get you heart rate up, make you sweat, and are definately not low impact. Zumba is not the same as house cleaning! And it's more than just weaving your arms about...get a clue and educate yourself!

Don't like it so much when you're in the position of defending YOUR exercise, do you? I'd say, "Point made."

MB_Positif

I agree that these things should be added if the MFP member has his/her activity level set at Sedentary. I do not log these things because I am set at Lightly Active because I hardly ever sit down all day. That is why I only log exercise and other strenuous activities because every day things like cleaning are included in my activity level.

FitLink

REALLY??? I see someone here who more than likely hasn't had the responsibility of keeping a house and keeping up with laundry.

Oh for pities sake, do you think other people don't wash their own clothes???

No, she thinks he hasn't had the responsibility of keeping house for an entire family. If she can't count it as exercise when she does several other people's laundry and cleaning, why shouldn't the people whose clothes she's washing and who she's cleaning up after have to subtract some calories for NOT doing that "normal activity?"

janemem

If you think it is legitimate to log zumba, then equally it is legitimate to log house work, neither get the heart rate anywhere near the heart rate of say cycling, and both are low impact, and involve a fair amount of just weaving your arms or *kitten* about. What applies to one equally applies to the other, depending on the intensity of the action both or neither are exercise.

If you think Zumba is not an exercise then you have never taken a class before and you are merely speaking out of ignorance. The zumba classes I take get you heart rate up, make you sweat, and are definately not low impact. Zumba is not the same as house cleaning! And it's more than just weaving your arms about...get a clue and educate yourself!

Don't like it so much when you're in the position of defending YOUR exercise, do you? I'd say, "Point made."

Here here!

domgirl85

I'm indifferent on the whole housework as exercise thing. It doesn't bother me one way or another. Honestly, if this person does or doesn't log something, how does that affect your goals? It doesn't.......

I personally don't log when I clean my house because I like to enjoy my time at home so I rarely do continuous cleaning. Instead I break task up so I can do other things. I know my heart rate isn't going up much.

As far as strength training, I log mine as "circuit training" under cardio. I do a strength circuit on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I perform the circuit 3 times, doing each move for 1 minute each. I use a HIIT timer and I give myself 15 seconds between moves to get up/get in position/drink water. Since I'm almost constantly moving, I end up sweating a lot and burning quite a few calories. Sometimes I have to stop a little longer to catch my breathe or cool off a little but when run straight through, the workout is 39 minutes with about 3 minutes total resting.

IcassI

I honestly feel if its anything outside of my scheduled work out its just extra calories. If I walk my dog for ten minutes, do I log that....ummm no! I just think its ridiculous honestly to log every single type of activity. Do I log when I get up from my desk and walk to the bathroom...again NO!

ItsCasey

The only point that has really been made in this thread is that you're THAT irate, clearly you know you're doing something wrong.

This is no different than the "You can't lose weight if you eat carbs" theory or the "You're going to bulk up if you lift weights" theory. If you really believed in what you're doing, you wouldn't get all red in the face trying to justify it.

And really, if you're going to start playing "gotcha" and take something that is clearly a form of exercise and say it isn't, you've already lost the argument.

Kara_xxx

Or maybe you should MYOB.

Excuse me but who do you think you are to elevate yourself to a position where you can tell other members to "MYOB"?

A thread was started on an OPEN PUBLIC forum which encourages debate on a subject and encourages people with a range of different opinions to participate.

If you disagree with his opinion then argue your case, but don't go round telling people to mind their own business.

jillica

Oh Snap! I always thought "household cleaning" was code for sex.

Sarahsbattle

Please just get a good heart rate monitor. This solves a lot of problems and motivated me to work or exercise more intensely. You will be surprised at how many calories you burn lifting weights or mowing the lawn (with a push mower of course). The basic element here is that you need toware ofhat your body is doing when you're cleaning the house, lifting, etc. I would not base everything on the calorie burn listed here. A HRM is a wise investment if you want to track your individual progress.

Kara_xxx

The only point that has really been made in this thread is that you're THAT irate, clearly you know you're doing something wrong.

This is no different than the "You can't lose weight if you eat carbs" theory or the "You're going to bulk up if you lift weights" theory. If you really believed in what you're doing, you wouldn't get all red in the face trying to justify it.

And really, if you're going to start playing "gotcha" and take something that is clearly a form of exercise and say it isn't, you've already lost the argument.

Yup.

aleham

Oh Snap! I always thought "household cleaning" was code for sex.

Hahaha, I think I love you for making this comment :laugh:

samandlucysmum

I have my settings on sedentary as I am a SAHM, so all the pottering I do I ignore, but if I do something like hoovering, sweeping or mopping, or reorganising rooms, as long as I work up a sweat, I will record most of the time I do it, but not all., afterall, if it raises your pulse, you are burning calories.

HauteP1nk

I just consider cleaning part of my regular routine. I never log it and any calories I do burn doing it are bonus!

feltlikesound

I do not put any 'regular" tasks -- for example, I don't log the walk around the grocery store (even though sometimes it's pretty significant), or basic cleaning chores. If it surpasses "normal", however, I do log it. For example when I helped a friend move, so we were carting boxes and furniture up and down the stairs. I also log yardwork and other effortful outdoor chores, like mowing my lawn, because with my HRM on it is a significant cardio workout to push the mower and bag.

I try to respect what counts for someone else, because who knows how much difficulty they have in those tasks, or what "works" for them when it comes to considering their daily intake and output. It isn't inherently lazy to count housework as exercise if it is legitimately challenging, and perhaps real exertion for an overweight body. It doesn't mean it will ALWAYS count as a workout, once their abilities and desires advance -- and if it always does, who cares?

NoAdditives

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.

This.

Easywider

Still?

This thread blows. Even OP dgaf.

vim_n_vigor

How about this for a nice change - keep doing what you're doing. If it is working, keep doing it. If you aren't losing weight than maybe you need to evaluate what and how you are logging. Honestly, when I started I set at sedentary, 2 lb a week loss and logged all activity, yes, even cleaning. I am now set to active, but get my calorie goal from my fitbit. I lost both ways. What I logged for cleaning may or may not be what anyone else here logs for cleaning. I logged walking my dogs too. I walked 2 dogs that were close to 80 pounds a piece for about an hour at a time. That was(is) hard work and is cardio. Why should I only be able to log it because my intention is for exercise and not because it is something I am responsible to do, especially when I do it for cardio, I am probably getting less of a burn without the dogs. I really don't understand why people get so bent out of shape for what someone else does. I use my fitbit now and that gives me my tdee overall and I can create my deficit from there without someone else telling me that my activity wasn't valid. A year ago I wasn't physically capable of zumba or running. I was too out of shape. Because of the steps I took with your 'NOT' exercise, I was able to build up to these activities. Thankfully, I didn't have somebody telling me that I couldn't get into shape or improve myself because that is where I started.

Alyssa_Is_LosingIt

I will say that I usually log my heavy house cleaning, such as vacuuming or mopping floors. I don't really log my daily de-cluttering (putting away toys, wiping down the high chair, putting dishes in the dishwasher, etc.). But when I do log my cleaning, I'm very conservative, because I don't want to overestimate my calories. I count even the heaviest cleaning as the "light" cleaning, and I try to be conservative with how many minutes I put. I don't see anything wrong with logging activities such as cleaning, as long as you are careful not to overestimate your calories.

bewitchinglife

I don't log my cleaning. Cleaning is a part of life (for most).

I live on a farm and do farm chores that are much more strenuous than cleaning. I rarely log those. Last week I moved a fallen tree from one end of my yard to the other, and you know I logged that..

but otherwise.. no. I don't log sex either. It seems silly to me.

If you are alive, you are more than likely moving, cleaning, doing, sexing, etc.

I only log when I make a specific concerted effort to get my sweat on (sex does apply here, but I consider that a necessary life act).

pamelak5

If you think it is legitimate to log zumba, then equally it is legitimate to log house work, neither get the heart rate anywhere near the heart rate of say cycling, and both are low impact, and involve a fair amount of just weaving your arms or *kitten* about. What applies to one equally applies to the other, depending on the intensity of the action both or neither are exercise.

Have you tried Zumba? Maybe we go to different classes, because the one I go to is not low-impact by any stretch; there's a lot of jumping, kicking, lunging, squatting, etc. involved. I wear a HRM. For me, jogging keeps my heart rate in the 150s. Zumba keeps it in the 150s and 160s for over half the time. (And no, I'm not in terrible shape, my resting heart rate is in the 50s) My HRM says that my 60 minute workout burns around 600 calories.

I don't log cleaning, but I am tempted to so that maybe I'll be motivated to clean!

armishia

Someone did add Strength Training to Cardio. You have to look for it, and add your workouts so they will count as calories burned.