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For those of you who have always hated going to the gym, you’re in luck. Recent research has shown that you don’t actually have to get to the gym to meet your fitness goals.
One of the most efficient ways to get in shape may actually just be staying at home, doing housework.
The study investigated a number of common household chores – like vacuuming, washing the windows, scrubbing the floor, and gardening – to determine how many calories could be burned in a half hour of performing this action, and whether or not it these gains could ultimately replace going to the gym.
Half an hour of vacuuming can burn 180 calories and targets the core, calves, and triceps. Washing windows for half an hour can burn 125 calories and gives you a full upper body workout, and mowing the lawn for half an hour can give you a cardio workout that will burn 185 calories.
While these numbers and statistics all look and sound quite nice – particularly in comparison to dragging yourself to the gym – personal trainers say that performing general household chores ultimately cannot replace the gains you can potentially make at the gym. But that’s not to say household activities can’t be helpful in maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle.
One of the downsides of these home chore workouts is that you have to be intentional about it. Personal trainer Andrew Flint explains that in order to get the most out of your at-home workout, you have to be purposeful in your actions and put in the effort to make these movements feel like a workout you’d do at the gym.
Andrew’s advice for those hoping to squeeze in their workout at home: “Look at the task that needs to be done and think to yourself, ‘What’s the hardest way I could do this physically?”
At the end of the day, whether you work out at home or at the gym, you won’t be getting those gains unless you put in the time and effort to do so.
