Non-Exercise Exercises

Options
DanaLynnMN
DanaLynnMN Posts: 192 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Where can I find some kind of average calories burned for "non-exercise" exercises.....like housework, yard work, etc.???
I'd like to add these types of activities in to my exercise totals so I can really keep track of what I'm burning.

My new line of thinking is that doing anything is better than doing nothing at all....right! That way I don't feel completely guilty if I don't get a true workout in as scheduled.

Replies

  • chrisc31
    chrisc31 Posts: 137 Member
    Options
    They have those things in the MFP database (cleaning, gardening, mowing, etc).....but my rule of thumb with the calorie estimates that come from the database is to only record half of what it says. In using my heart rate monitor I've found that MFP is usually about double of what my HRM says.
  • MrsCupCakeBoyle
    MrsCupCakeBoyle Posts: 259 Member
    Options
    type it in the exercise data base
  • alfredapittman
    alfredapittman Posts: 256 Member
    Options
    On the exercise tab, type "Cleaning" and you can enter your information there. I hope this helps!
  • yeabby
    yeabby Posts: 643 Member
    Options
    I considered that when I entered my daily activity level (sedentary, lightly active, active, very active) on my fitness profile. In my mind that's part of daily life and exercise is an effort made beyond that. Not sure if that's correct, just my understanding.
  • mlemonroe2
    mlemonroe2 Posts: 603
    Options
    those kinds of things are in the database. cleaning, gardening, cooking...things like that. i add cleaning when i go to my moms once a week and spend 2 hours cleaning her house! i wear an hrm and i do burn a lot more than i would hanging out w/ my daughter doing dishes and laundry all day!
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Options
    I considered that when I entered my daily activity level (sedentary, lightly active, active, very active) on my fitness profile. In my mind that's part of daily life and exercise is an effort made beyond that. Not sure if that's correct, just my understanding.

    I agree with this. I mean, people with an active lifestyle, that take a weekend off don't subtract from their caloric requirements those days. Things like house cleaning you do every week balance the days you get more rest imo. If I am going to do something outside of my normal requirements to maintain my lifestyle...I record it. Other than that, its just living.
  • GaveUp
    GaveUp Posts: 308
    Options
    The way I see it is if I wasn't losing weight before while I was cleaning house then its not going to help me now. I only enter real exercise. I also use my HRM to get the correct calorie burn. Great investment!!!!
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Options
    The way I see it is if I wasn't losing weight before while I was cleaning house then its not going to help me now. I only enter real exercise. I also use my HRM to get the correct calorie burn. Great investment!!!!

    Awesome =D.
  • DanaLynnMN
    DanaLynnMN Posts: 192 Member
    Options
    Thanks all!
    I had tried typing in "cleaning" in the database earlier and nothing came up.
    But, I just tried again and options came up. I must have had a "duh" moment earlier and did something wrong.

    yeabby and cris - I do agree with you that normal cleaning and such is a part of daily life and I did take into consideration when I updated my fitness lifestyle.

    I'm only going to enter activities that are out of the norm for me. For example, last weekend I helped my husband cut up and move a large tree from our front yard to our back yard. Another example is when I did a SERIOUS cleaning of our basement. These activities are not done on a regular basis and, therefore, I feel I should be able to count them in my exercise log.

    Up until recently, I was the fat girl that just came home from work and sat on her fat butt and watched TV all night. I only did basic cleaning on the weekends. I'm trying to DO more EVERYDAY now. Sometimes I days I would much rather do something more productive around the house rather than work out (though I really do try to get a true work out in too).

    Hopefully my thought process above is realistic - and not a way to "trick" myself!?!
  • mytime60
    mytime60 Posts: 176 Member
    Options
    I agree with you, the normal day to day I don't count. I used to sit on the couch all night too. Now when I mow the lawn instead of jumping on the riding lawn mower I use the push mower and wear an HRM. I count those calories. I spent last weekend cleaning up trees from a storm that went through. I counted those calories. My normal house cleaning I don't count; but if I spend the day washing windows and siding; it gets counted. When I set up my profile I set it up as sedentary and stated that I didn't plan on exercising at all; that way when I do, I know those are safe extra calories.
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Options
    Thanks all!
    I had tried typing in "cleaning" in the database earlier and nothing came up.
    But, I just tried again and options came up. I must have had a "duh" moment earlier and did something wrong.

    yeabby and cris - I do agree with you that normal cleaning and such is a part of daily life and I did take into consideration when I updated my fitness lifestyle.

    I'm only going to enter activities that are out of the norm for me. For example, last weekend I helped my husband cut up and move a large tree from our front yard to our back yard. Another example is when I did a SERIOUS cleaning of our basement. These activities are not done on a regular basis and, therefore, I feel I should be able to count them in my exercise log.

    Up until recently, I was the fat girl that just came home from work and sat on her fat butt and watched TV all night. I only did basic cleaning on the weekends. I'm trying to DO more EVERYDAY now. Sometimes I days I would much rather do something more productive around the house rather than work out (though I really do try to get a true work out in too).

    Hopefully my thought process above is realistic - and not a way to "trick" myself!?!

    You'll be fine hun. Try it, if it doesn't work to your liking, tweak it some and try again. There is no hard set way to do this...because we all got to this point in different manners, and we all have such different lifestyles...it's all going to come off differently. A human body as a general thing works very similarly to every other human body, but the small differences in our caloric intake, in our caloric expendature, in what kind of macro nutrients we're getting...and in our hormonal response to various exercises can lead to vastly different paths to achieve the same goals.

    Cris
  • cnegron40
    cnegron40 Posts: 2
    Options
    I searched the database for cleaning and I found it, but the type of stuff I am doing is not listed at all.

    Like cutting the grass/yard work. I do this maybe once every two weeks or so and I believe its well deserved
    work out.

    On top of that, I do house projects, like currently I am putting in a wooden fence where I'm digging the 2 feet holes
    manually and lifting 4x4 and 6x6 as well as nailing the fences parts by hand (no prefabs here because of the slope
    of my yard).

    So if anyone can point to the estimate amount of calories I am burning this type of work...that would be great!!!
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    Options
    I searched the database for cleaning and I found it, but the type of stuff I am doing is not listed at all.

    Like cutting the grass/yard work. I do this maybe once every two weeks or so and I believe its well deserved
    work out.

    On top of that, I do house projects, like currently I am putting in a wooden fence where I'm digging the 2 feet holes
    manually and lifting 4x4 and 6x6 as well as nailing the fences parts by hand (no prefabs here because of the slope
    of my yard).

    So if anyone can point to the estimate amount of calories I am burning this type of work...that would be great!!!

    There is no way to accurately estimate this...I'm sorry =(. The only thing to do would be to pick up an accurate heart rate monitor...and anything less than $75 probably won't cut it. When I bought mine, the differences (both high and low) were astounding as compared to what MFP estimates. I found that there was NO accuracy whatsoever. My strength training burned over 2x as much, and my cardio burned less than half as much. I could only imagine what cleaning or yardwork would compare as.

Categories