Is housework considered excersise?

Any physical exertion can count as exercise. That's what exercise is. So doing heavy cleaning etc. is definately exercise. You are exerting energy thereby using up calories.

DavPaul says you can burn 1000 calories in 30 minutes cleaning your house if you work hard enough.

ummmmm. no

it's a joke dude.

I don't count housework. I do, however, count yard work. I've mowed the lawn with my HRM and burned almost 300 calories doing it

My mindset: I did that kind of stuff when I was fat.

What I DIDNT do when I was fat was diet and exercise. So those mindful, purposeful things I count. The rest I just chalk up to life as a bonus.

But there are people who are successful in counting stuff like house cleaning, sex, riding a motorcycle. I just don't call that stuff exercise.

I tend to agree with this. I only count "intentional" exercise, like working out at the gym or a strenuous walk. I don't even count walking my dogs as exercise, as I don't walk very fast and when I've worn my HRM to check my heart rate was barely up.

I personally don't log it but if you feel like you've really exerted yourself, feel free to log it and don't let anyone make you feel bad for it.

At the very least, if after doing something physical you find yourself hungry, then eat something. Most often something small is enough to satisfy your body until your next meal.

Good question, I'm getting my hair cut later on today, can I count this as exercise?

Not a fair comparison and just plain snarky...

As for the OP, I wouldn't count normal everyday cleaning BUT if you are doing very heavy stuff like lifting / moving furniture going up and down stairs repetitively why not count it? Wouldn’t you count doing similar things like that in the gym? And to answer another person’s comment, no I wouldn't have done that before MFP. I would have had my husband do it cause I was too lazy...lol

so its 3-4 hours of non stop movements, pulling, pushing, going up and down etc. When Im done, I am more tired than after working out.

Are we still talking about cleaning house?

Yes, I move almost every furniture when I clean. You know how heavy my bed is?

so its 3-4 hours of non stop movements, pulling, pushing, going up and down etc. When Im done, I am more tired than after working out.

Are we still talking about cleaning house?

Yes, I move almost every furniture when I clean. You know how heavy my bed is?

Stop flirting Jack is married......how heavy is my bed sheesh:bigsmile:

DavPaul says you can burn 1000 calories in 30 minutes cleaning your house if you work hard enough.

ummmmm. no

it's a joke dude.

Thank God. I've heard worse serious statements on here before.

sad part was that there was a guy in a thread telling Dav and I (and well everyone) that's how many calories he burned. but he was also a trainer and an elite athlete (and part transformer too i think) so his burns were different.

I would never conider house cleaning exercise. Most people who clean house stop and take breaks and its not consistant. Exercise= Getting your heart rate up for at least 30+ minute dailiy and keeping it up for 30+ minutes. Exersise is more than just physically moving!!!

DavPaul says you can burn 1000 calories in 30 minutes cleaning your house if you work hard enough.

ummmmm. no

it's a joke dude.

Thank God. I've heard worse serious statements on here before.

sad part was that there was a guy in a thread telling Dav and I (and well everyone) that's how many calories he burned. but he was also a trainer and an elite athlete (and part transformer too i think) so his burns were different.

Most athletes burn less calories doing the same activities. He was probably just full of crap.

I tend to agree with this. I only count "intentional" exercise, like working out at the gym or a strenuous walk. I don't even count walking my dogs as exercise, as I don't walk very fast and when I've worn my HRM to check my heart rate was barely up.

See, I count walking the dog. I used to just let her out in the yard. Now I walk her 2-3 times a day.

Walking doesn't make me sweat unless it's a hot day, but when I walk more than I would normally (when I walk the dogs) I count it despite the fact that I don't find walking to bring on any major muscle contractions. Same thing with cleaning, every day or weekly routine cleaning I don't count because that is part of my regular activity, but major spring cleaning that involves moving furniture, trips into the attic, lugging boxes of **** around my house, and full reorganization (a requirement for my house every 3 - 6 months as it seems nothing truly gets put back in it's place) that is a process of days I log a conservative burn.

Edit: I find that the answer to "what is exercise" is amazingly personal and that people tend to become very judgemental about it (if you don't believe me just look at the first page of responses if you haven't yet). The answer to "what is exercise" is based on where you have your activity level set (the higher your settiing the less daily type of activity you would count individually as it's already set in your base setting), what you are capable of (some people just have a hard time getting out of a chair much less walking a flight of steps or doing some seriously involved cleaning), and finally how honest your are about your exersion level (do you sit back and say "damn I worked hard and am exhausted" or "I think I may have worked pretty hard.")

get a heart rate monitor.. if you are doing very strenuous work that makes your heart rate rise.. then you are burning calories.

log what the HRM says.

I count it when I plan on doing very heavy cleaning (i.e. mopping the floors, scrubbing, moving boxes) I wear my heart rate monitor and I can burn some significant calories doing housework. It should also depend where you activity level is set. I have mine on sedentary.