Cleaning as Exercise?

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Replies

  • Bigmomma0u812
    Bigmomma0u812 Posts: 118
    I think its just an opinion and lifestyle thing. I personally do not log it even though I have my diary set on sedentary because I'm pretty active (for a little fat girl :smile: ). My sister does log it because she has a more sedentary lifestyle and she burns a LOT of calories with the HRM in cleaning etc.

    I log things like mowing the yard and carrying boxes because that stuff gets my heart rate up. Different strokes for different folks and I'm good with whatever anybody chooses to do. I root on all my friends whether they're lifting weights or washing dishes
  • Kimberz6
    Kimberz6 Posts: 15 Member
    I log heavy cleaning as my exercise. I have alot of kids in my house and a very busy life so it doesn't get a GOOD cleaning that often. When it does, I count it :happy: Emptying the dishwasher and doing laundry I do not count.
  • kali31337
    kali31337 Posts: 1,048 Member
    I personally log it (at half the time so not to cheat myself) on the days I don't make it to the gym. I've noticed that I use logging it as a push to get myself off the couch and we get a cleaner house because of it. I've noticed it makes a huge difference sometime since my calories are only at 1200 and my activity levels are at sedentary. I've seen a decline in weight so why not? It works for me!
  • NormalSaneFLGuy
    NormalSaneFLGuy Posts: 1,344 Member
    Psh. I go to the gym, but I clean too and I log when I do. I just finished cleaning 1400 sq ft and believe me I had a massive sweat going for hours. Sure, sweeping is a joke, but there can be some pretty intensive cleaning practices and it definitely burns calories.
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member


    What does it matter to anyone else what I log anyway? It's my fitness quest, not anyone else's. If I want to log brushing my teeth, I will.


    Agrrrreeeeed
  • sandrajune72
    sandrajune72 Posts: 492 Member
    I have 2 jobs, one of them is cleaning other people's houses.

    Obviously I never log it as it's my job, but I also never log cleaning my own house. I just don't consider it exercise.I was doing the same things before I started this journey, and I never lost any weight then!

    But saying that, each to their own, I would never knock anyone for what they consider exercise, it's totally up to the individual to be true to themselves and eat the right amount of calories to achieve their goals. It's their journey, their life, none of my business! :smile:
  • sandrajune72
    sandrajune72 Posts: 492 Member


    What does it matter to anyone else what I log anyway? It's my fitness quest, not anyone else's. If I want to log brushing my teeth, I will.


    Agrrrreeeeed

    Agreed also! Well said!
  • ncqueenbee
    ncqueenbee Posts: 147 Member
    I personally do NOT log cleaning as exercise. I'd rather workout doing cardio or something that's going to truly get my heart rate up. If I do some sort of cleaning or yard work outside of my normal, I just consider it a small bonus. But logging it...no. I'd rather workout.
  • Sissy4EverX3
    Sissy4EverX3 Posts: 247
    I cannot afford a gym membership. And when I first started out 18 months ago at over 360lbs, and a desk job, yes -- I used the hell out of it. Hell, I used it up until last week! Then I had a conversation with that girl in the mirror and made her understand that stalling out at 277lbs for the last 4 months and basically using only cleaning as my only excuse wasn't good enough anymore. I needed to get off my *kitten*, get my heart racing, and sweat buckets in all this heat and humidity. Though I still have my desk job, I reevaluated my activity level there & I am actually lightly active. (Up, down, back and forth between offices, etc). So I changed my goals, upped my workout schedule, increased my calories and BOOM. I dropped 1.1lbs this last week. I'm officially at 275.9. So, basically, it's YOUR workout. Do what the eff you want for YOUR goals and don't let anyone else tell you any different. It's your life, not theirs.
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
    I just said this the other day on a diff forum, but.. I will say it here too lol

    Unless my *kitten* is sitting on the couch, I am burning calories that go into my daily burn.
    I wear my HRM when I clean my (5 bd/ 3 bath/2 story home with 6 people living in it) and in 1 1/2 hours I burn almost DOUBLE what I burn during my P90X workouts. So, I sure as hell am gonna log it, if I feel like it.

    That said, I also get in extra exercise every day. Maybe there is a diff between cleaning a studio apt vs a 5 bedroom house... but to each their own.
  • natashiag
    natashiag Posts: 33
    ]
    I'm going to start logging "poking through other people's diaries for things to complain about" as an exercise.

    Well then according to MFP I've earned an extra 300 calories!! :drinker:
  • amersmanders
    amersmanders Posts: 118 Member
    I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, and on the off days try to do something fairly active, but not intense. If I am cleaning the house that day, then that's the exercise I track. If I garden that day, that's the exercise I track. If I walk to the store, etc. If I didn't go to the gym though, I don't think that washing a few dishes every day would really count as exercise, nor would it help me meet my health goals, so I try to keep that in perspective. It's good as an off day activity- for me- but not for my main source of cardio, and definitely not the pillar of my exercise plan.
  • ExplorinLauren
    ExplorinLauren Posts: 991 Member
    To put it into perspective, going on my HRM, I burn twice as many calories an hour cleaning as I do doing a zumba class, and I see people logging that all the time.


    Same here!
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
    Not for me. Have set as sedentary and 1200 cals a day, but don`t log cleaning, did 2 hours of ironing today, then, vacuumed, changed sheets etc on beds, but I count that as me being sedentary as I don`t do it everyday.

    But that`s what works for me, if someone else wants to log it and it works for them then heck why not!
  • FJcntdwn2sknyluv
    FJcntdwn2sknyluv Posts: 651 Member
    If I'm cleaning and breaking a sweat and it's over a half hour DAMN right it's a mild cardio workout!... and I count it!..

    Same with moving day, tell me that's not a strength training day!.

    But then I do go to the gym and workout at home with my tapes on a daily basis as well. If people use it as an 'excuse' then they can't ***** if they aren't losing.. simple as that!
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    I have my profile set to "sedentary" since I have a desk job and am often a couch potato on weekends. This is how I decide to log something: I ask myself "would the most sedentary person I know do this?" If they would, like walking up a single flight of stairs or walking out to their car or washing the dishes, then I don't log it. If they wouldn't, like jogging up and down the stairs as quickly as possible an extra 5 times or walking to lunch half a mile away or mowing the lawn, then I do log it. I honestly think I move around a lot more then "sedentary" at work, but that gives me a buffer on other things that aren't counted correctly.
  • ChaseAlder
    ChaseAlder Posts: 804 Member
    I have seen people use grocery shopping as exercise which I think is really dumb. I consider that to be part of everyday life, just like walking to and from the mailbox, cleaning the house, etc.

    There are some "chores" that I would log as exercise if they are physically challenging enough. For example, one time I mowed the lawn for about 90 minutes with the drive turned off so I was pushing it with all my might. I would log something like that. But not cleaning my house. That's lame.
  • 1Kristine1
    1Kristine1 Posts: 697 Member
    Exercise is exercise. Going to the gym isnt the only form of physical activity. If I am breaking a sweat cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, doing laundry all day I consider that exercise.
  • StoutGirl09
    StoutGirl09 Posts: 73 Member
    Activity, is different than exercise.
  • Shinemaria
    Shinemaria Posts: 107 Member
    What does it matter to anyone else what I log anyway? It's my fitness quest, not anyone else's. If I want to log brushing my teeth, I will.

    Agreed. Unless you are volunteering to be my personal trainer, just watch your own exercise and I'll take care of mine - many people are so quick to judge others' activity without knowing about that person. If I was completely sedentary before, and could now walk around the house and do some cleaning, you bet your sweet @ss I'd log that. Now, myself, i don't often log cleaning, but i did today, because i did more than usual today and extending myself beyond my norm is my way of defining exercise.
  • springseternal
    springseternal Posts: 245 Member
    A few weeks ago, i wore my hrm for one of my house cleaning jobs. I cleaned for 4 hours straight, burned 1124 calories (just under 5 calories/minute). I'm set to sedentary...why shouldn't I log it?
  • HeidiSmith419
    HeidiSmith419 Posts: 71 Member
    There was time when I counted it more than the actual gym workouts because it WAS strenuous and i was consuming a lot of calories cleaning for hours on end. I was purging a lot from my life to make room for a new lifestyle. I think a lot of people who fall into morbidly obese would agree that when you are ready to lose there has to be entire life SHIFT in order to be successful. A big part for me was putting my home and finances in order.

    And hey it worked cause I've already lost almost 90lbs and go to the gym 3 days a week. ;) who cares how you get there right?

    And now I pay a house keeper to come clean so I have tIme for more strenuous calorie burning exercises! I know a LOT of people that do that and I could just as easily have said in the beginning that THEY were the lazy ones because they weren't carrying an extra 200lbs on their backs doing it, yet hey still hired someone to do it for them. ;) perspective!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    And I can totally understand that. But I think some people are using it as an excuse or to get out of something. Not saying you ladies. But I know some guys that do it too.
    Each to their own. Everyone is accountable to themselves here, so why does anyone need an "excuse" for anything? The general idea of calorie counting is that you account for physical activities - whether you do that when you calculate your TDEE (ie. are you sedentary, moderately active etc) or whether you log it and eat back the calories - that comes down to personal choice. I don't get why people are bothered by how someone else does this.
  • otrlynn
    otrlynn Posts: 273 Member
    It's better than sitting but it's not an excuse to not challenge your body with real exercise.

    I so do not agree with this statement. Real exercise is what gets your heart rate up and strengthens your muscles. If you have ever scrubbed floors on your hands and knees, washed walls and woodwork, raked leaves, or turned over a garden without a roto-tiller, you have experienced "real" exercise.

    I will concede that if you are a body builder, you may need to do the type of heavy lifting not provided by the activities I just mentioned.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,276 Member
    The only thing I count as exercise is formal exercise. But if it gets a person's heart rate up above the norm, I see no reason why they cant add it. :)
  • predent
    predent Posts: 95
    I don't log cleaning and wouldn't recommend logging it unless you wear a HRM. The calories burned estimated by MFP are crazy high, especially if you're only washing dishes or making the bed (down on hands and knees scrubbing the floor definitely will of course give the good calorie burn).

    I've seen enough people logging like 4 hours of cleaning every day, "burning" 1,800 calories, eating them all back, and then complaining that they aren't losing weight on the forums. Pretty sure that isn't how it works...
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
    Of course! I incorporate Power Cleans and Squat Cleans into my lifting routines. They are great power moves. By all means include them in your routine.
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
    You were talking about particular lifts, right? :-)
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    I'm going to start logging "poking through other people's diaries for things to complain about" as an exercise.



    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I love it!
  • Leeanne1974
    Leeanne1974 Posts: 207 Member
    So I do not mean to sound rude, or unmannerly. But who hear actually considers cleaning an exercise. I mean cool, your cleaning and losing calories, but I do not include it as an exercise. I believe that some people ( NOT MOST or ALL) use it as an excuse to not going to the gym. .I would love some positive or negative opinions on this. Very skeptical.
    With every respect I don't have the money or the time to go to the gym, I do a 45 hour week at work and have a 17 year old son. I get home from work and do our evening meal. Whilst the dinner is cooking i rush around like a blue ar*ed fly polishing, hoovering, making beds, scrubbing the bathroom.
    It is no excuse for me, it is a great way to burn cals AND keep my house clean.

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