Today I’m going to cut everybody some slack. Dr. Hekier and I fuss at many of you for saying that you exercise “because I chase after my grandchildren” which simply ain’t so. But I will allow for the fact that there are some household chores that we (all of us) really probably need to do at one time or another that actually can be counted as exercise.
All of the following can be considered equivilant to a “moderately” strenuous exercise. What does that mean? A brisk walk (15-17 minute miles), pick-up basketball, riding a bicycle at a pace that allows you to carry on a conversation – all of these are “moderate” exercises. For a woman who weighs 140 lbs, an hour of doing any of the above would burn roughly 370 calories per hour. To get a rough estimate of how much you would burn doing these exercises, divide your weight by 140 and multiply that answer by 370. It’s not superscientific, but it will give you a rough estimate of the calories you’re burning per hour. Men weighing 170 lbs will burn around 470 calories doing the same activities for an hour (sorry ladies, they’ve got more muscle than we do so they burn more calories per hour).
So back to everyday stuff that’s the same as moderate exercise: washing and waxing your car (by hand, not in a drive-through carwash), raking leaves (’tis the season again), washing windows, and even walking up stairs (‘tho you can do this for about half the time to burn the same number of calories). Other possibilities depending on vigorously you pursue them: weeding, mowing the lawn with a push mower (not a riding lawnmower) or spring cleaning the house (like scrubbing baseboards, vacuuming every square inch of floor, scrubbing tiles).
If you find it hard to stick to a fitness program, consider any of the above for 30-60 minutes as a reasonable substitute. Exercise is movement and getting your heart rate up, so to quote a famous shoe company, “Just Do It.” You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars per year to join a fitness club (although we highly approve of that if you then actually go to said fitness club regularly) – if you just can’t make it to the gym, wash your car. You’ll be healthier and have a shiny car to boot 
25. September 2009 at 8:55 pm
OMG!!!! I was just sitting here catching up on my blog reading and I came across this one. I’m sitting here thinking that this blog is going to give me yet another excuse not to have to go to a gym or hit the pavement in tennis shoes. Then I read it all the way to the bottom and I can’t help but think……WHY WOULD I DO THAT????? I mean really…..why in the world do I want to hand wax my car instead of getting out for a walk to clear my head, or wash and wax my car instead of learning to do the salsa (alone in my house with no one watching), or PUSH MOW?????, let me get on a bike and see if I can make it around the block. Now dont get me wrong, I love a shiny car, and a manicured yard is all the rage these days. But sometimes we need to step back and remember…..we had kids to mow the yard and wash the car….how else are they going to earn extra money….it’s our job to learn how to do hip hop abs if for nothing more than to be able to get our kids to behave by threatening to actually perform for their friends. What could be more satisfying than that?? Thank you though Dr. Keilin for taking the time to do the math for those that would rather scrub their floor than to RUN in the other direction when they see a mop.
26. September 2009 at 9:49 pm
It has been scientifically proven that caloric expenditure is increased when someone other than myself mops my floors at my home. We look forward to helping you achieve and maintain your weight loss goals
6. October 2009 at 10:22 am
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lori’s comment!! I am now motivated to learn Hip Hop Abs!! Ha!
6. October 2009 at 1:55 pm
The motivation for learning Hip Hop Abs is the dude that leads the class… hawt!!