Ok folks listen-up; I’d like to give you some good news. Some of us feel there’s not enough time in the day to devote to fitness. The fact is you may already be doing enough to meet the minimum requirements for activity necessary to reduce or prevent the illnesses associated with sedimentary lifestyles. Think about your daily routine for a moment. I’m not talking about your fitness routine, but the movements you perform throughout the day. Things like cooking, washing dishes, vacuuming the floors, caring for child(ren), driving to work or any other activities you might engage in throughout the day. There are a number of health benefits to be gained from these activities.
It’s really nice when you can count activities like walking from the far end of the parking lot, carrying groceries from the car to the house, cleaning the house, sitting down and standing up, walking up the stairs, or even typing, toward your fitness goals for the day. Tracking these activities will allow you to see the benefit you gain each day.
Walking is a cardio-vascular activity; carrying, pushing and pulling are resistance or strength activities and stairs climbing is both cardio and resistance by nature. Chores in and around the home generally involve twisting, bending and other repetitive movements so they can be classified as flexibility and aerobic activities. The goal is to see how much time you accumulate at the end of the day in these areas.
Once you realize you are gaining health benefits from your daily activities, consider making adjustments in some of the other areas associated with a healthy lifestyle i.e. nutrition. You might discover that you are already burning enough calories each day to be at your ideal weight but aren’t. Consider the possibility that an adjustment in caloric intake may be all you need to bring your weight under control.
Activity ..............................Calories burned per minute for 150 lb. adult:
Running up the stairs ................22
Walking up stairs ........................12
Brisk walking ...............................10
Moving furniture ...........................9
Shoveling snow ...........................9
Carrying groceries .......................8
Dancing .........................................6
Child-care i.e. feeding, bathing .5
Sweeping or mopping floor .......5
General house cleaning ............4
Walking 2-mph ............................4
Cooking ........................................3
Driving ..........................................3
Sitting ............................................2
"Let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish."
-Ovid-
Chris Christian - Chris Christian has been involved with fitness for over 30 years and personal training for 12 years. In addition he teachs fitness and ...
Join the Conversation