Not all exercise has to be done in the gym! In fact, many people all over the world rely on doing everyday tasks by hand as a method of both getting things done and staying in shape. Actually, for most of human history nothing ever got done unless somebody did it by hand! This was a particularly good deal for people whose jobs required physical labor, because not only did they get health benefits and a sense of accomplishment from their hard work, they also got a paycheck!

Now, I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with exercising at the gym, playing sports or doing all the other things people do to stay in shape today. Nor do I think those of us who are lucky enough to live in countries with computers, running water, dishwashers and all manner of other modern conveniences should stop using them. However, it’s good to point out that even if you can’t afford a gym membership or a personal trainer you can burn a great many calories all around the house!

This picture was taken a few months prior to the start of my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at that time.
This picture was taken a few months prior to the start of my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at that time.

When I recently lost 159 pounds in 14 months, I supplemented my daily fitness walking with weekly lawn mowing, as well as other yard work, and I am glad that I did! It added variety to my fitness routine and also saved our family the expense of hiring a lawn service. (You can read all about my successful weight-loss program in my upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! You will be able to order this book from Amazon.com and other stores in either late summer or early fall of 2015.)

During the last couple days, I have been working on a few home maintenance projects. Some were pretty simple like climbing a ladder and changing light bulbs, but others took a bit more effort. The one that was both the most rewarding and exhausting was redecorating part of our front yard with chips of sparkling white marble. Between weeding and raking the area where the rock pieces needed to go, carrying the heavy bags to their destinations, and distributing the rock so it would look attractive, I burned a lot of calories and had sore muscles the next day to prove it!

Fitday.com has an article called “Calories Burned Doing Household Chores” that I really enjoyed. I found it both encouraging and inspiring when I realized that whether I spent a day inside scrubbing the bathtub, making beds, vacuuming, and dusting or outside mowing grass, raking leaves, and weeding I would be burning as many calories as I would if I had chosen to spend my time working out in other ways. For example, the article states, “making beds for 30 minutes burns 130 calories, the same number you’d use if you jogged on a treadmill or flat terrain for 15 minutes.”[1]

The article also compared 90 minutes of vacuuming with 15 minutes of kick boxing and 30 minutes of weeding with 15 minutes of weight training. [2] What I liked best was what the author said about leaf raking: “Raking leaves for 30 minutes burns 225 calories. The resistance offered by the leaves makes this chore a type of weight training. Raking leaves tones all the major muscle groups in your body.”[3] I have always hated raking leaves, but this quote put this chore into a whole new perspective! The next time the two big oak trees in my front yard drop leaves all over the place, I am going to go out and deal with them with a smile on my face. At least I will be getting a good workout!

[1] Fitday.com “Calories Burned Doing Household Chores” http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/calories-burned-doing-household-chores.html (accessed 5/25/15)

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid.