Does House Cleaning Count as a Workout?

Photo: riot jane, Flickr

Sure you can count house cleaning as exercise -- give it your all and your heart rate will rise, you might even start to sweat and you'll definitely burn some calories. But can you call it a workout? That's Fit.ca says it all depends on the chore (mowing will shave off more calories than dusting) and how hard and fast you work.

Check out this chart, it lists some common around-the-house tasks with calories burned and muscles worked. Vacuuming for 30 minutes, for example, torches about 100 calories, and it works the shoulders and biceps.

If you like this way of thinking, you might want to try the kitchen appliance workout. If it seems like a stretch to log mopping the floor as fitness, then stick with the tried and true -- a vigorous run, a hilly bike ride or an hour pumping iron in the gym.