If you find you don’t often have enough time to hit the gym due to an overwhelming list of chores piling up, you may be in luck. This is because you can actually burn heaps of calories by carrying out many common types of chores. Keep reading to find out more:
1. Gardening
Calories burned in an hour: 272
Gardening is an excellent way to burn some calories quickly, especially when it comes to weeding which clocks in at 306 calories an hour. Garden for a couple of hours to burn off that 2-scoop hot fudge sundae with whipped cream (550 calories) you had for dessert.
2. Tidying Up
Calories burned in an hour: 238
An hour of bending to pick up things on the floor, reaching into cupboards and tidying the house can easily get you into shape. An single hour of tidying up will burn off the equivalent of a small portion of McDonald’s fries (230 calories).
3. Vacuuming
Calories burned in an hour: 238
Get out your vacuum cleaner and instead of focusing on a single room, why not do your whole house, instead? One hour of vacuuming will burn off the equivalent of a whole slice of chocolate cake (235 calories).
4. Mopping
Calories burned in a half hour: 119
Mopping can work your legs and strengthen your arms. Although you probably won’t end up mopping for a full hour (238 calories), a half hour can work off those pretzel sticks you ate as you were watching TV (110 calories).
5. Taking Care of Kids
Calories burned in an hour: 204
If taking care of your kids or grandchildren involves getting them dressed, helping them take a bath, and even spending time playing with them, then you’re doing your body a lot of favors at the same time too. This is because an hour of babysitting can burn around 204 calories, which is more than a single slice of pepperoni pizza (180 calories).
6. Mowing the Lawn
Calories burned in an hour: 408 with a hand mower
Mow the lawn by riding atop a power mower and you’ll end up burning around 170 calories. Mowing by walking with a power mower will allow you to burn around 374 calories an hour, while using a hand mower will let you burn a staggering 408 calories, almost as much as a large bag of potato chips (425 calories).
7. Washing the Dishes
Calories burned in a half hour: 85
Well, you’re not going to fully transform your body by simply washing dishes, but you will burn enough calories to burn off a single homemade chocolate chip cookie (80 calories).
8. Shoveling Snow
Calories burned in an hour: 476
Shoveling snow sure is hard work, but it’s also the king of chores when it comes to burning calories. That’s because an hour of shoveling snow is enough to burn off a whole slice of apple pie (411 calories).
9. Doing the Laundry
Calories burned in an hour: 68
Like with washing dishes, doing the laundry isn’t going to have a massive effect on your waistline, but it’s still enough to burn off 3 Hershey’s kisses (66 calories).
10. Painting a Room
Calories burned in a hour: 306
If you’re into DIY, then your body is probably fitter then the rest of us. This is because an hour of painting a wall will burn off around 306 calories, equivalent to the amount of calories found in 2 regular slices of garlic bread (300 calories). Refinishing furniture or laying a carpet will yield similar results.
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