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We think of a workout as being a trip down to the gym using exercise bike, rowing machine, weights, swimming and aerobics, but really, anything that makes your body exercise and burn calories is a workout. Here’s our housework workout for you, so you can do your exercise and get the housework done at the same time (how good is that! Get fit and get the place clean and tidy all at the same time!).

This list gives you an idea of how many calories you might burn off doing different cleaning activities around the home. It’s based on being a woman of around 35-38 who stands approx 5’5” tall, and weighs around 12 stone, and it is just an approximation. Obviously if you weigh more or less than this, it won’t be truly accurate, but it’s a good guideline to get you started! The figures given are assuming you did each activity for 1 hour, so if you’re only doing 15 minutes of something you’ll need to adjust it accordingly!

Vacuuming – 195 calories
Dusting & polishing – 175 calories
Painting indoors – 65 calories
Gardening & weeding – 300 calories
Mopping floors – 195 calories
Washing the windows – 180 calories
Ironing – 115 calories
Washing the car – 235 calories
Walking up and down the stairs at a moderate pace – 510 calories

Now, comes the interesting bit. Normally, we try to make cleaning tasks as easy on ourselves as possible while still getting the job done, but if you want to give yourself a really good work out, then you can try changing a few little things and you will make the workout a little bit more thorough.

If you normally buy a spray bottle of polish, try getting a solid bees wax one instead, the extra elbow grease you’ll use working it into the furniture and getting a really good shine will help work those arm muscles and help you eliminate the old bingo wings!

Instead of using the old mop and bucket to clean your hard floors, why not get down on your hands and knees and give it a really good scrub. Pushing a scrubbing brush back and forwards while held in both hands and kneeling – moving from the middle instead of just your arms will work your upper legs and tummy muscles.

Cook up a storm – instead of going for simple things out of a packet, why not make it yourself, kneading bread, beating eggs, peeling and chopping vegetables, and rolling out pastry are all going to give you far more of a work out than just taking something from a packet in the freezer and plonking it on a baking tray!

Plan your housework so you have to alternate being up and downstairs (get that stair movement in!), strip the beds upstairs, put the washing on downstairs, remake the beds upstairs, then down again to clean the kitchen floor, and back up to vacuum the bedroom. Phew! You’ll soon work up a sweat running up and down, but think how good your legs will look afterwards!