Regular exercise is essential to living a long, healthy life. For those who aren’t physically active, the most obvious solution is to start exercising every day. The exercise routine doesn’t have to be lengthy. Even 15 to 30 minutes can suffice, at least at the beginning.
But committing to exercising daily is easier said than done. This is especially true if you’re coming from a sedentary lifestyle or too busy that inserting a daily exercise schedule seems impossible.
Although, you’ll be happy to know that certain activities you do regularly can be considered exercise. If you do have to be more active, at the very least, you can say that you’re not completely not working out.
General House Cleaning
Many household chores count as exercise, and one of them is general house cleaning. For example, when you sweep the floors, you’re likely to lift or move some pieces of furniture and appliances. This can become your strength training for the day.
You also need to walk around a lot when you clean, move your arms to rearrange things, or even squat up and down. These things are also considered exercise. And although mild, it’s definitely much better to do these activities rather than being sedentary. After 30 minutes of cleaning, a 150-pound individual can burn up to 99 calories, while a 200-pound person can burn 131 calories.
Gardening
The pandemic saw more people getting into gardening. For many, plants have become their friend and refuge from the stress caused by the pandemic. But having plants not only helps with mental health; it also helps with physical health.
In particular, gardening can help you improve your endurance, flexibility, and strength. Some chores that can do this include removing weeds and digging.
Also, gardening means you’re regularly exposed to nature. It can help you relax, which leads to reduced blood pressure, a stable heart rate, and reduced muscle tension. These effects show that gardening is a simple activity that can be therapeutic. It can be a supplementary activity to help people who receive in-home care services for physical therapy.
Lawn Chores
Tending to your lawn is another plant-related outdoor activity that you can consider as exercise. Take mowing the lawn as an example. This task involves walking around your lawn, and if you have quite a large area to cover, then you’ll get an extensive workout from it. Pushing the lawnmower also requires strength and control, so you’ll work out your arms.
Raking dried leaves during the fall and shoving off the snow will also get your heart pumping and your arm muscles burning.
Washing Your Car
If you want to maintain your car and keep it in its best shape, you need to wash it regularly. You can count this task as an exercise. So you’ll hit two birds with one stone: you keep your car clean, and you make yourself healthy as well.
When you wash your car, you’ll have to use your upper body a lot and, therefore, build more strength on that area. For example, you need to use your arms to carry your cleaning tools or lift buckets of water. Your arms will also get some beating when you soak your car with soap, wipe surfaces, and then hose the car down.
Walking Your Dog
If you’re a fur parent, chances are, you take your dog out for a stroll regularly, if not every day. This activity isn’t just an exercise for them but you as well. When you take your dog out, you do the most basic yet effective exercise: walking.
This exercise has several benefits apart from helping you burn calories. For example, walking can improve your lung health and strengthen your muscles. If you take a walk in the morning, you and your dog also get the added benefit of vitamin D from the sun.
Grocery Shopping
In the U.S., grocery shoppers go on shopping trips at least 1.6 times a week on average. If you also buy groceries around twice a week, you can consider yourself mildly physically active since this activity is also considered exercise.
This workout includes walking around the grocery store, pushing heavy shopping carts inside the store and in the parking lot, and carrying heavy grocery bags from your car to your house.
It’s okay if you don’t do the more conventional exercises or workout routines daily due to your busy schedule. If you do one or more of the ordinary tasks listed above, you still get some exercise, and your body will thank you for it.
