Fitness expert Nicki Waterman shares her tips on how to turn your housework chores into exercises to burn calories, lose weight and tone up.
Doing four or more household chores a day can help you lose weight, tone up, and keep fit and healthy. The key is to take advantage of every movement that you make.
Make a conscious effort to contract your stomach muscles (it's like a stomach crunch without having to do the action of a crunch), keep your knees slightly bent and maintain good posture throughout.
Warm-ups
Put on your favourite music and start with some light housework, such as straightening and picking things up, or dusting for three to five minutes. You know you've warmed up enough when your joints feel looser and your muscles are flexible but you're not breaking a sweat.
Window-washing triceps circles
Target: shoulders and triceps
Do 10 circles to the right, then 10 to the left. This is a great all-purpose cleaning motion. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Do it while polishing furniture or cleaning the bath.
Vacuum cleaner lunges
Target: upper back, legs and buttock muscles
Tense your muscles as far as you can while pushing the vacuum forward , then back again. The vacuum will offer good resistance if it's heavy enough, but make sure that you move slowly enough to get a good stretch.
Ironing
Target: shoulders, arms and buttock muscles
While ironing, squeeze your buttock cheeks together hard for 10 seconds. Do this 10 times every couple of minutes. You'll soon notice a difference in tone. This is because the muscles in the bottom will hold in a semi-flexed position for up to 20 minutes after working the muscle.
Laundry squats
Target: legs, buttocks and thighs
Slowly squat when picking up dirty laundry. Keep your back straight and your heels on the floor. Don’t let your upper back tilt forward. Include one squat for every piece of laundry you put into the basket.
Shelf-organising thigh buster
Target: calves, thighs and buttocks
Step up and down a short stepladder (three or four steps) 10 times, alternating your feet. While you're up there, dust a shelf or two. You can do this exercise while organising your cupboards or rearranging the books in your bookcase.
Washing the tops of your doors and skirting boards
Target: full body
Not everybody has a ladder and bucket, but even stepping up and down on a sturdy chair to clean the patio doors can help. It involves a lot of stretching, and use of the arm and leg muscles.
Scrubbing the floor
Target: arms and tummy
Scrub your sink, bathroom or kitchen floor by hand, not a mop. The harder you work, the better. Push yourself even more by extending your torso and exaggerating your arm movements.
Making the bed
Target: upper body
Making a bed uses up lots of energy. Taking off the sheets, turning the mattress, pulling the sheets straight, and plumping up pillows and duvets are all great calorie burners.
Finish off with a five to 10-minute cool-down, stretching as you reach to put away the dishes or make the beds.
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