You might ask me, "What could that possibly be? "
Well, that is information concerning all the benefits we can realize from everyday house cleaning.
We generally look at this as a chore we have to drudge through but, I want to suggest that we can transform that drudgery into an aerobic workout.
Why not? Let's think of the benefits of all that work and make it into an activity we can enjoy.
I am going to show you four different aerobic exercises you can do as a part of your regular house cleaning. Maybe you already do these but don't realize it.
Aerobic Floor Moping
Many of you may have floors that you have to sweep and mop. Sweeping and mopping are two very good aerobic exercises. You might try using additional ankle weights and a workout suit to do this in. It will increase the intensity of the exercise and help burn more calories in the process. Remember you want to increase your heart rate during these exercises for a period of at least 5 minutes to get the real value out of it. Vigorous sweeping and moping in intervals of 5 minutes with a 2 minute slow down for a total of 20 minutes will give you a decent beginning to your aerobic house cleaning session.Aerobic Floor Drying
Once you have swept and mopped your floor you can really put a kick into the session by doing an aerobic floor drying exercise. This can be done in several ways. The first is using a floor towel and your feet to do a series of left and right sweeping motions with your legs. This really can be a good warm up for those hips and legs that may be getting a little flabby. Make sure you get your heart rate up there for the 5 minute period and follow with the two minute slow down. Then repeat this at least one more time.
(See pictures below)
Aerobic Floor Drying - (Alternate Style)
Next you can do the alternate aerobic waist bend and really work out those abs for a more intense workout. Once again put some kick into your session by bending and stretching those abs. Start by stretching out and pulling back then moving from side to side. A good workout should again, raise your heart rate for about 5 minutes and then a 2 minute slower period followed by another 5 minute period of workout. Repeat that exercise and then move on to the last session. This last session will help you through the cool down stage but still be targeting the abs, arms and leg muscles.Aerobic Clothes Ironing
This last exercise will target some key areas you may be neglecting in your daily workout. We want to begin our cool down period but not so fast that all your muscles seized up and cause you to go into convulsions. We just want to keep that heart rate up a bit and let our body progress into a graduated rest. Ironing is one of the best ways of accomplishing that. It helps to keep us in the motion of exercise but allows that gradual slowing down into the end of the exercise session.Think about the previous steps in this aerobic exercise process and try to evaluate if there are any areas you may have missed during the workout. Make the necessary adjustments in your mind for the next time. Then give yourself a treat to a large glass of water and proceed into the last of your aerobic work out.
Aerobic Dog-Tired Resting
By this time you should have worked out every major muscle group in your body and you should be really feeling the burn. This last period of cooling down may put you into a horizontal position that we call Aerobic Dog-Tired Resting. Some of you may have gotten into this position earlier without finishing the workout and that is OK. We want to try to step it up a bit the next time. So if you did not finish your total workout today then make the mental adjustment to do so tomorrow. You may want to work into the complete program slowly. This is especially important if you have not been working out or you are not in shape because of previous injury or lack of initiative. We understand that starting an aerobic exercise program is not always the easiest thing to do. So, get up and get started cleaning the house and before you know it you will be expanding your program with your own aerobic twists.I have some additional aerobic exercises I will share at another time. I'm thinking about things like aerobic bed making and aerobic car washing but, we will look at those another day.
Aerobic House Cleaning Benefits
There are many benefits we can realize from all the workouts you have now performed.
- The first and foremost is that your house will be a lot cleaner than before you started. You may have to get into some of those long forgotten areas like: behind the refrigerator and stove, underneath the cabinets along the kick-boards and behind the doors.
- All of your clothes will be finely pressed and creased in all the right places. No more wrinkled socks, shirts, pants or underwear. Your Tee Shirts will benefit from this as well and look neat and proper when you wear them. People will be jealous of how good your clothes look on you.
- Another benefit is that you will find all sorts of change, toys and cooking utensils that have slipped unnoticed into those spaces between the stove and cabinet walls. Who said exercise couldn't be monetarily profitable?
- Remember Huck Finn? Well you can get your neighbors, friends or house mates involved in this program and help them realize the benefits of aerobic house cleaning. You might even start aerobic house cleaning parties in your neighborhood and be the most popular person on your block!
- If you are married, just think of the praise and admiration your spouse will give you when they see the dazzling difference in the appearance of the house. Not to mention the new look you will have from the slimming down and toning up results of the exercises you are doing.
- As with all exercise programs you will find that you feel better about yourself and just plain feel better all around after you have used this program for a few weeks. You will sleep better and have more energy.
- Your health will also improve greatly. Unwanted pounds will be melting off you and your whole internal organ system will improve with the pumping up sessions you are putting it through. Your doctor will be happy as well that he or she doesn't have to treat you for unneeded procedures. It saves him time and worry.
- Your vision for other aerobic cleaning areas will expand as you tire from seeing the same areas cleaned over and over again. You will venture out into unexplored areas like the grill, the car, the garage, the garden and those rose bushes that have gotten out of control. Imagination will flourish and you will be mentally more fit to do the other things of life you have been neglecting.
So there you have it. My aerobic house cleaning program. Let me know how this works for you.
CAUTION: Make sure you check with your doctor before starting any exercise program like this. We don't want you to hurt yourself or end up a statistic on some back page newspaper article.
Good luck and happy house cleaning!
