Cleaning the house could help burn hundreds of calories and make up for lost time in the gym, it has been revealed. Experts from weight-loss aid Zotrim have researched how many calories can be burned by doing simple household chores.
Keeping up with regular weekly chores, including washing up for 15 minutes every day, scrubbing the bath for 15 minutes and an hour of laundry could help burn 255 calories, the same as playing an hour of doubles tennis.
A spokesperson for Zotrim says: ‘With gyms and swimming pools being shut due to coronavirus many people are trying to be more imaginative with their gym routine. What’s not commonly known is that many of the day-to-day jobs that we’re all doing are also helping lose calories without us knowing. Just as with exercises at the gym, different chores will focus on different muscle groups, and spending a little time thinking about your posture and what you’re tensing as you complete the task, could go a lot further in terms of toning and exercising.’
These are Zotrim’s pick of the best calorie-burning chores:
Washing up
Spending 15 minutes a day cleaning dishes can help you lose 147 calories over the space of a week. This is around the same as playing rugby for a quarter of an hour.
Scrubbing the bath
This chore is perfecting for toning the arms and shoulder muscles as you bend down to reach the corners of your bath rub. Plenty of elbow grease can help burn up to 44 calories in 15 minutes.
Ironing
Everyone knows that standing up helps burn more calories than sitting down, and ironing also has the added bonus of working your core as you move the iron about. Three hours of ironing will help you lose 249 calories, the same amount as using a rowing machine on 150 watts for half an hour.
Mopping and sweeping
Vigorous weight-lifting, such as using free weights or power-lifting, burns around 80 calories – the same amount as cleaning floors for 30 minutes.
Laundry
Considering everything you have to do with laundry, loading and unloading the washing machine, hanging up the clothes to dry and folding them to put away can burn up to 64 calories an hour.
Gardening
An hour of working in the garden can burn around 136 calories, the same as cycling steadily for four miles.
Vacuuming
Half an hour of vacuuming can help you burn the same amount of calories as boxing a punch bag for 15 minutes – 85. Depending on how big your house is it will also help you towards the 10,000 recommended steps a day.
Dusting
Spend 15 minutes dusting around the house to lose 24 calories, the same amount as 15 minutes of yoga.
Cleaning windows
If you’re struggling to find things to do still in lockdown, cleaning your windows – both inside and out – will help make your house sparkle, as well as helping to burn 127 calories an hour.
Making beds
Changing bed sheets can burn 32 calories in half an hour, equivalent to diving for 15 minutes.
Mowing
An hour of mowing the lawn with a regular push mower can burn the same amount of calories as strolling for three hours, 306.
