cleaning as a cardio?

Jes_ika
Jes_ika Posts: 72 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Does any count cleaning as cardio I see it as a option but does cleaning really burn a lot?
«1

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I personally count cleaning as part of my daily life, not as exercise. It doesn't put my heart rate into cardio range.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    no
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    Nope, unless you're featured on "Buried Alive" I doubt you'll get much of a burn from cleaning. ;)
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
    I don't, I don't think it burns that many calories anyway.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    No. I consider it part of my normal activity.

    However, if it's not part of my normal cleaning routine AND is really labor intensive, I will count it. A couple of summers ago our basement flooded and we had to empty out the entire thing. Not something I do all the time and it was a lot of hard work. So I counted that.
  • Jes_ika
    Jes_ika Posts: 72 Member
    yea I didnt think so
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I'm set to lightly active as my activity level since I'm cleaning every day.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    i consider it regular activity. however, i skip from room to room, i dance when i sweep, i do lunges while picking up items off the floor. you can sneak in tons of extra little movements that might not "count" but they do add up. I say, every little bit helps.

    But, to those that log it, i never question it. Its up to each person to decide if they should count it or not. Ive seen some pretty derisive comments about those that do, and that is just not helpful. (but it is the internet so...)
  • _layton_
    _layton_ Posts: 20 Member
    no only 144 calories per hour
  • Jes_ika
    Jes_ika Posts: 72 Member
    besaro wrote: »
    i consider it regular activity. however, i skip from room to room, i dance when i sweep, i do lunges while picking up items off the floor. you can sneak in tons of extra little movements that might not "count" but they do add up. I say, every little bit helps.

    But, to those that log it, i never question it. Its up to each person to decide if they should count it or not. Ive seen some pretty derisive comments about those that do, and that is just not helpful. (but it is the internet so...)

    I do the same when I clean
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited January 2016
    cleaning, cooking, etc are daily activities...even if your activity level is set to sedentary, it's going to account for a fair amount of those types of general activities. Even a sedentary setting is going to account for up to about 5,000 steps...that should pretty much cover most cleaning, cooking, etc.

    that said, it's good to just be active, and that includes cooking and cleaning and doing yard work, etc...the more active you are, the more energy you're going to expend in general. these types of things are why i always had my activity level set to light active even though i have a desk job...when i get home there are always things that need done around the house and usually a big project to take care of on the weekends. i personally don't think most people give themselves enough credit for this type of day to day activity in their activity levels and just default to sedentary even though they're probably not.

    also, "cardio" refers to cardiovascular exercise where you would elevate your heart rate for a sustained amount of time in order to improve/maintain your cardiovascular fitness...i don't count this type of stuff as "exercise" because it does next to nothing to improve my cardiovascular fitness...it is general activity, not cardiovascular exercise.
  • sault_girl
    sault_girl Posts: 219 Member
    edited January 2016
    Sometimes I log it, if I'm working really quickly and actually getting my blood pumping while doing it (i.e. scrubbing the shower, running up/down the stairs putting stuff away, mopping and sweeping).

    I have my tdde set for completely sedentary, so I think it's ok to add some of it.

    If you see me log a LOT of "cleaning" time in one day, I was probably doing a lot of farm chores, which includes a lot of heavy lifting, carrying, walking, pushing/pulling, bending, shovelling, etc. I don't care what anyone thinks about me logging it or not.... it totally counts!
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited January 2016
    I let FitBit count my steps, but it's never enough to change my cal goal. It's just daily activity.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    No. But I do count my Fitbit steps so that measures all activity, period. I put my HR into workout mode when I hike or Zumba.
    I also don't count normal gardening, fence painting, etc either. But if I were doing an activity that elevates my heart rate for an extended period & replaced a normal workout I have. Like snow shoveling my deck at my cabin, or digging out a big in-ground stump with a pick, or shoveling & spreading multiple wheelbarrow loads of compost or bark.
    And I try to have a spirit of generosity here. If a person has been morbidly obese and extremely sedentary, house cleaning may be a perfect bridge activity toward longer walks & more fitness related activities.
  • katiebean
    katiebean Posts: 110 Member
    I add it if it's labour-intensive and out of the ordinary, I think there are options for light or moderate levels of cleaning but I'm not sure what they're called. Usually I don't add it though.
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    I don't. My settings are at lightly active. If I counted cleaning as an extra exercise I would be double dipping and probably be gaining weight...slowly.
  • caednkat
    caednkat Posts: 38 Member
    I do, once a week. I clean a local church as a part time job. I wore my heart rate monitor just for fun one time. In the two hours it takes me to clean the church I burn somewhere between 600 and 800 calories based off my heart rate. So now I wear my heart rate monitor every time just to keep track.
    That being said I don't eat back my calories from exercise. I just like seeing how long it takes each week and what my heart rate is during that activity. For me it's a good judge of how my fitness is getting better. When I first started cleaning the church that two hours would burn around 1,000 calories. As my fitness level increases my heart rate doesn't go as high and so the calorie burn is lower. That feels like a pat on the back for me.

    That day of the week is also my active "rest" day.
  • courtneylykins5
    courtneylykins5 Posts: 168 Member
    I don't log it but I do consider some things that are not every day chores to be a light workout at the very least. For example, shampooing carpets, vacuuming my stairs, scrubbing floors or shower walls, cutting grass, or shoveling snow.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    no it is not exercise and should not be counted as such. Hopefully, you got fat while cleaning your house therefore, it is considered part of your daily activity and not 'extra'.

    however, if you want to come clean MY house, I will happily let you count those as exercise calories.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    scolaris wrote: »
    No. But I do count my Fitbit steps so that measures all activity, period. I put my HR into workout mode when I hike or Zumba.
    I also don't count normal gardening, fence painting, etc either. But if I were doing an activity that elevates my heart rate for an extended period & replaced a normal workout I have. Like snow shoveling my deck at my cabin, or digging out a big in-ground stump with a pick, or shoveling & spreading multiple wheelbarrow loads of compost or bark.
    And I try to have a spirit of generosity here. If a person has been morbidly obese and extremely sedentary, house cleaning may be a perfect bridge activity toward longer walks & more fitness related activities.

    Ya, I wasn't morbidly obese when I started last spring, but logging cleaning was an incentive to be more active. Now I take long walks at lunch and my house isn't as clean. You've now shamed me into cleaning my frig. Happy? :p
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Never and last weekend I spent hours cleaning out the closet under my stairs. I cleaned when fat and it never made me skinny, is just a part of daily living and already accounted for in the numbers given by MFP.
  • lainy1979
    lainy1979 Posts: 173 Member
    In my opinion it depends on the type of cleaning. If I'm stood still washing pots then obviously I'm not getting a cardio workout. If I'm doing an intensive clean aka hoovering through the whole house thoroughly, scrubbing floors & such like it gets my heart beating & I know I'm doing some good. Sweating and breathlessness being the main clue! If you're super fit then it probably won't be as beneficial but to me its a workout :)
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    No, I don't count cleaning.

    This reminds me of when I worked at an animal shelter, and this girl I worked with I guess recently started tracking her exercise online, and came up to me one day and said, "I just burned 1000 calories cleaning Cat Iso!"
    No honey, you didn't. Just, no.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    I count it. As a result I am trimmer and more fit... And my house has been A LOT cleaner.

    I have lupus, and just making beds and vacuuming is exhausting some days. I stayed logging the housework to keep track of my daily activity, overall. It motivates me to try harder and spend less time sitting. There's pretty solid evidence that time spent sitting contributes to morbidity regardless of body weight, so if you're cleaning instead of sitting that's already a win.

    Actually, given my pedometer tells me 8 take about 2500 steps when I vacuum, you can see how this would add up for anyone.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Nope
  • stephmsj
    stephmsj Posts: 30 Member
    i add it im disabled and was recently very ill in hospital. im starting small and cleaning wipes me out so i class it as exercise
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    When I 'clean' I really clean. I dont count washing the dishes, the odd load of laundry or what have you. But when I clean the house on the weekend its a couple of hours of work, we live in a house with stairs and our laundry is downstairs. Cleaning my kids rooms and taking all their laundry downstairs is a lot of steps, folding and delivering washing can also be many steps. I also purposely do extra trips to make the steps add up. I work up a sweat cleaning.

    I've tracked my cleaning with my fitbit and get a decent burn but generally I dont track my cleaning as an activity I let my fitbit do the adj for steps/hr. I do find that it will sometimes auto pick it up as an activity. I had my shopping come up as a bike ride too (I shop weekly with a list and a family of 5 to feed to its an easy hour walking round the shops but the smooth movement can trick my fitbit into thinking I am riding a bike).
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    I don't count cleaning as exercise.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Jes_ika wrote: »
    Does any count cleaning as cardio I see it as a option but does cleaning really burn a lot?

    I wouldn't count it. It is built into your everyday activity.

Categories