The number of calories burned during sweeping is influenced by various factors, including body weight, activity intensity, and sweeping duration. Sweeping typically falls under the category of light to moderate physical activity and contributes to calorie expenditure, although it may not be as significant as more strenuous exercises.
On average, a person weighing around 150 pounds (68 kilograms) can burn approximately 100 to 150 calories per hour while sweeping. It’s worth noting that individuals with a higher body weight tend to burn more calories during this activity.
To make sweeping more effective in burning calories, consider the following tips:
1. **Increase Your Speed:** Sweep with increased speed and energy, maintaining proper form. This can elevate your heart rate and add an aerobic element to the activity.
2. **Engage Your Core:** Tighten your abdominal muscles consciously while sweeping to improve stability, posture, and give your core an extra workout.
3. **Incorporate Lunges or Squats:** Alternate between lunging forward or performing squats during your sweeping routine to engage your leg muscles and intensify the workout.
4. **Add Arm Movements:** Extend your arms fully and use deliberate sweeping motions to work your arm and shoulder muscles, providing upper-body toning.
5. **Introduce Intervals:** Alternate between faster, more intense sweeping and slower, controlled sweeping to vary the intensity and increase calorie burn.
6. **Use Ankle Weights:** Consider wearing ankle weights to add resistance and make the activity more challenging, particularly for your leg muscles.
7. **Increase Duration:** Aim for longer sweeping sessions to boost overall calorie expenditure.
Calories Burned While Vacuuming
Vacuuming, when performed for about half an hour, can burn approximately 80 calories for a person weighing 175 pounds. Vacuuming engages the muscles of the core, upper body, and legs. Research conducted in 2019 suggested that vacuuming is physically demanding, particularly for the arm muscles. It found that lifting the vacuum cleaner is more intensive than typical push and pull movements. You can also engage your leg muscles by vacuuming in a squat position or on your tiptoes.
Calories Burned While Dusting or Scrubbing
Dusting is a less intensive activity than scrubbing. Dusting can burn about 159 calories per hour. The number of calories burned during scrubbing depends on the intensity and difficulty level of the task. Heavier scrubbing, such as washing windows, can burn around 318 to 378 calories per hour. To prevent strain, it’s advisable to perform gentle backbends every 15 minutes during these activities.
Calories Burned While Making a Bed
Making a bed, though considered a minor task, can burn some calories, albeit not a substantial amount. Spending 30 minutes making beds can burn approximately 80 calories. However, making a bed for about five minutes burns only about 13 calories.
Calories Burned While Mopping
Mopping is a more intense activity compared to sweeping. Mopping for an hour can burn around 318 calories. It engages your core, triceps, biceps, and shoulders.
In conclusion, while household chores like sweeping, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing, making a bed, and mopping can contribute to calorie expenditure, they should be combined with a well-rounded approach to physical activity, a balanced diet, and a healthy lifestyle for effective weight management and overall health. For those seeking higher calorie burns, activities like running, swimming, jogging, or weight lifting may be more suitable.
