From hoovering to playing with the dog – the surprising ways you’re burning 500 calories a day & how to blast even more

IS BEING more active one of your New Year’s resolutions?

You might have had the best of intentions coming into 2024, but it can be surprisingly hard to muster the courage to work out during dreary January.

But that’s not to say you aren’t burning calories on the regular even if you aren’t hitting the gym.

Many of the ordinary activities and household chores you do day-to-day burn more calories than you’d expect, rivalling things like hitting the treadmill or taking a power yoga class.

A study by LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor that monitored the calories burned by 14 participants completing various household chores and yielded some surprising results.

“Traditional sports and exercises burn more calories than daily chores, hobbies and other activities,” the report stated.

“However, the difference between the two might be less than you expect.”

From making your bed first thing in the morning, to hoovering or playing with your dog, here some surprising ways you’re blasting calories.

1. Making your bed

Making your bed in the morning can seem like a nuisance and many of us leave our sheets rumpled till we climb back into them at night.

Would the knowledge that this seemingly simple activity burns calories change your mind about doing it?

According to LloydsPharmacy, making the bed can blast burn up to 249 calories for woman and 295 for men – if you’re at it for an hour solid.

“If you were to spend 10 minutes making your bed every morning, you would burn just as many calories as if you were hoovering the house or going for a quick 10-minute walk,” the report said.

Personal trainer Lauren Knott added: “Making the bed is a great way to start your morning, engaging different muscles and allowing you to get a good stretch in before you start your day.” 

2. Hoovering

Many of us put off pulling out the hoover until we see dust bunnies gathering on the floor.

But this is another chore that can tear through a surprising amount of calories.

The LloydsPharmacy study found that an hour of hoovering burned an incredible 295 calories an hour for men 249 calories an hour for the average female participant.

According to Lauren: “Hoovering can be great exercise. Not only are you burning calories through movement, but you’re also building muscle.

“Every push of the hoover activates the biceps, and every pull activates the triceps, making it a great arm workout.”

3. Carrying shopping

Men participating in the study burned an average of 223 calories an hour during household carrying, while women shed 188.

According to LloydsPharmacy, this can be a great way to activate your core and leg muscles – but make sure you lift with your legs and not your back. 

The personal trainer said: “While not a task you might think about very often, plenty of carrying occurs in our daily activities, from carrying groceries and washing to moving furniture.

“To make carrying more engaging, add squats to give your legs a real workout, or include shoulder shrugs to work your traps,” she suggested.”

4. Gardening

Gardening is a great way to burn calories, get outside, and enjoy the sunshine – if there is any.

But tending to your greenery can also get surprisingly active, depending on the task.

Mowing the lawn for an hour could  burn more calories than swimming breaststroke, according to LloydsPharmacy, as it burned an average of 491 calories for men and 415 for women per hour.

Lauren suggested: “If you want to work out your legs while you mow, add walking lunges to your activity to target your glutes and quads.”

An hour of pruning, repotting, strimming or planting can also get your muscles working, using up 340 calories for men and 286 for women.

“To turn pottering around the garden into a workout, use gardening equipment as weights and add some bicep curls,” the personal trainer suggested.

“You can do this simple exercise with a light to moderate weight and feel the benefits after just a few repetitions.”

To supercharge your weeding, Lauren said you add some squat holds.

“By squatting and holding while you pull weeds from your garden, you work your legs and protect your back since you won’t be hunched over while picking weeds,” she explained.

5. Playing with your kids or pets

Lauren said: “Playtime with your children or pets can be a fantastic bonding experience. Plus, play can burn almost as many calories as an hour of Pilates.

“Running around the garden or the park can be a great way to raise your heart rate and burn extra calories.

“As well as exercising, you’ll make memories and have a lot of fun!”

The study found that, on average, men burn 250 calories an hour playing with children or pets, while women burn 211 calories.

6. Baking

You might not think baking would burn calories, as it usually involves making something indulgent or sweet.

But according to the LloydsPharmacy study, women can burn up to 302 calories in an hour while whipping up a treat, while for men that increases to 357.

But that’s assuming you do things without equipment.

“Baking burns a surprising number of calories and can be a great workout for your triceps,” Lauren explained.

“However, you’ll only be burning those calories if you’re doing everything by hand and avoid electronic mixers.”

7. Moving furniture

As nice as it is to have a new sofa or bed delivered, we all dread the process of moving the old one out and the new one in.

But this dreaded task can actually work as a fully-fledged workout, since it burns so many calories.

This was highlighted in the study, which saw women burn 437 calories in an hour of moving furniture. For men, this number was 518.

Lauren said: “Moving furniture is amazing for your biceps, hamstrings, and quads.

“Just make sure to lift heavy items with your legs and not your back to avoid injury.”

8. Tidying your room

We’ve all delayed tidying our room at some point or other, to the point in which our relaxing haven turns into a pigsty.

If your January blues have meant you’ve put off organising your space for some time, here’s your sign get your room sorted.

The study found that men burned 429 calories per hour and women burned 362 calories per hour while organising rooms. 

Lauren had a tip: “To enhance this task, you can treat smaller objects as weights to perform bicep curls or shoulder presses.”

9. Home repairs

Doing home repairs can be a stressful task, but at least you’re improving your fitness while doing it.

On average, LloydsPharmacy found that women can burn 339 calories in an hour of home repairs, while men can use up 402 calories.

“If you really want to make this into a workout, you can add in some squats or lunges to target your quads and glutes,” Lauren suggested.