Cleaning as Exercise?

natashiag

]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Activity, is different than exercise.

Shinemaria

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You were talking about particular lifts, right? :-)

bikinibeliever

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

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.