It might not be your first choice of activity, but doing housework can sure make you work up a sweat. Between rearranging the furniture to reach dust that’s collected in quiet corners and the endless scrubbing of surfaces, deep-cleaning requires some serious stamina (don’t get us started on the core strength required for vacuuming staircases).
It’s not impossible to experience DOMS a day or two after a particularly gruelling house-cleaning sesh, nor is it unreasonable for your body to crave a rest. But can doing housework provide the same health benefits as a workout?
We often hear that all movement counts – whether deadlifting or dancing in the kitchen – so, we asked the experts: does housework count as exercise?
Does housework count as exercise?
“Housework can be hard work and requires strength and robustness,” says James Dabbs, founder of Dabbs Fitness. “There is also a mobility and stretching element to some aspects of housework.” Lifting, carrying, squatting and reaching overhead are all movement patterns you’re likely to do as part of a strength training workout and are often required for doing housework too. So, in theory, at least, the basic foundations of cleaning aren’t too dissimilar to those a trainer might programme for a gym session.
While doing housework will absolutely count as physical activity every time you do it – regardless of whether it’s a bathtub scrub or a quick kitchen refresh – it’s the intensity level that will determine if it counts as exercise, says Aimee Victoria Long, PT and founder of Omni Wellness. “Right now I’m moving house and my strain each day is the same as the days I do workouts,” she says.
“Obviously, you don’t move house every week but, more often than not, you clean your home once or twice a week. About 60 minutes of cleaning would be roughly equivalent to a 20-minute low-impact workout.” Activities like scrubbing, vacuuming and lifting all require energy from the body, just like bodyweight workouts do, she says, so there are absolutely physical benefits to be had by keeping on top of the cleaning.
That’s not to say, however, that it’s always a good idea to treat housework as a workout – particularly if you’re working towards a fitness goal. The reason for this is that there’s much less structure to a cleaning sesh (unlike a workout, where exercises, load, etc will all be cherry-picked to help you achieve your goals).
Housework, Dabbs says, can help you reach many more dynamic positions compared to, say, running or walking. “You will build strength from heavy carrying and gain mobility from stretching to clean surfaces up high or down low. Being on your hands and knees may also improve your core strength.”
“60 minutes of cleaning is roughly equivalent to a 20-minute low-impact workout.”
That said, it’s no substitute for programmed workouts. “Like walking, housework is good exercise and will maintain an element of health, but it shouldn’t replace exercise,” says Dabbs. “A 20-minute full-body workout will be a lot more effective than simply doing the housework, and this shouldn’t be substituted.”
The biggest problem with housework being your only form of exercise, Dabbs says, is the risk of injury. “One of the benefits of going to the gym is that you can strengthen your body to protect yourself from the rigours of life,” he says. “If you don’t go to the gym but are constantly bent over a vacuum cleaner, for example, you may develop a bad back. You can protect your back in the gym by building the strength in your core and glutes.
“From a technique perspective, learning to carry heavy things in the gym with good form will lessen the load on your joints when performing similar movements at home with better technique. Lastly, being outdoors is vital for our mental and physical health. If you’re not out and exercising because you’re always inside the home, you will suffer both mentally and physically. Simply getting out for a walk will help your mental and physical health a lot.”
It’s absolutely OK, according to Long, to count a deep-cleaning session as a physical activity: “Just don’t become reliant on it as you can’t use methods like progressive overload to help elevate your fitness gains.”
Bottom line? All movement – including doing housework – counts. But, it’s important to get a variety of cardio and strength training into your routine to reap the many health benefits.
Image: Getty