Is housework the best exercise?

[Gershon]

A couple years ago, I was studying the field of Scientific Management,which is doing work in the most efficient manner both for speed and minimizing worker fatigue. Workers should not be worked so hard that the fatigue carries into the next day or over time, the speed and quality of the work would decline. In one of the books I was reading, it said in passing that housework is the best exercise. There was no explanation.

I looked for a book on housekeeping and found The New Housekeeping: Efficiency Studies in Home Management by Mrs. Christine Frederick which was published in 1919. She applied the theories of Scientific Management to housekeeping. As I read the book, I became more aware of how difficult the stereotypical housewife's work was.

I decided to write a book and apply the methods to cleaning my house. The book I published was No Dirt Left Behind: How to clean your house with four natural house cleaners. Learn speed-house cleaning tips. Plan a home cleaning schedule. As a part of my recommended cleaning method, I made checklists to clean everything in my house with the least wasted motion. A byproduct of this is the work is continuous with no pauses to think about what comes next.

Recently, thanks to Vgpedlr and Spiral, I discovered the Maffetone Method of training. To gain aerobic conditioning, a person should exercise to keep their heart rate between 180 minus their age and 10 beats below that. For me, that is a range of 108 to 118. This morning, I decided to test this theory using my Fitbit Surge to measure my heart rate. Here is the result:



My average heart rate was 109 bpm which is in the aerobic range. According to Dr. Maffetone, this means there will be a higher percentage of fat consumed. It's also an effort level a person can maintain for a long time.

During this 42 minutes of exercise, I burned six calories per minute according to the Fitbit Surge. Had I been on the computer, I'd have burned about one calorie per minute. Therefore, I burned an extra 210 calories or so. I realize the numbers are approximate as the measuring device isn't perfect.

As an added bonus, I was warmed up for my morning walk. I had a bowl of oatmeal with applesauce and headed out.

So, is housecleaning the best exercise? It's not the best exercise in terms of constantly staying in the aerobic range, but it is a good exercise. With more practice, I'll be able to stay in the aerobic range all the time. One benefit is many aspects housecleaning are full body exercises.

[nicoles]

What an interesting topic of investigation! I have been thinking a lot about movement vs exercise, in other words, the value of moving more in general as a part of normal life activities, rather than adding exercise as an isolated action into an already busy day, and then sitting around for the rest of the day.

I suppose you could say I am looking at time optimization and maximum physiological impact with the idea in mind that we are optimally movers, albeit leaning towards efficiency for evolutionary purposes.

Anyway, thanks for sharing this! It fits right in to what I have been thinking about.

[Gershon]

Nicoles,

Stay tuned. I will have a series of posts with different titles which will support your hypothesis.

[Gershon]

Comparing Housework to Walking

First, I want to define the best exercise with a simple criteria. The best exercises keep a person's heart rate in the aerobic range which is from 10 beats per minute below up to 180 minus the person's age. For me, this is 108 to 118. My theory is a person can eventually train to continue this level of activity for eight hours a day for six days a week. The seventh day is a day of rest -- not for religious reasons, but many cultures have a day of rest without religious reasons. The type of work doesn't seem to matter as people can work up to this level of activity for highly active jobs. Exceeding this heart rate will require frequent rests and more days off. I have support for this criteria, but that would make this post too long.

Yesterday, I went for a 4.66 mile walk and maintained an average heart rate of 117 bpm. I coincidentally walked with a stride rate of 117 bpm. Here is the chart for my heart rate while walking:



The course was somewhat hilly, but my mind automatically adjusted my stride length to keep my heart rate constant. Interestingly, I've repeatedly noted that an increased heart rate occurs prior to the need to urinate or have a bowel movement. It seems like it takes about 30 heartbeats per minute to push things through.

Here is the chart for 30 minutes of housecleaning this morning. I was cleaning a hallway by scrubbing walls, polishing doors and scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees. I found the effort to keep my heart rate in the aerobic range was more difficult, but it is something I could train for.



Back to the question: "Is house work the best exercise?"

There will never be a definitive answer, but given the criteria of maintaining the heart rate in the aerobic range, it appears house cleaning can be the equal of walking. One advantage to house cleaning is it is a better full body workout. There is another advantage. A person who walks for reasons other than transportation leaves only footsteps behind them. A person who house cleans leaves a clean house behind them.

[Gershon]

Comparing House Cleaning to Cooking

This evening, my son and I cooked Mexican Pasta. This is a fairly complicated recipe which involves dicing peppers and onions, sauteing them, cooking pasta, and mixing several ingredients in a specific order. We worked together to make the meal. I cooked the pasta and measured the ingredients, so they would be easy for my son to mix. I also kept everything clean along the way, so after dinner all we had to clean was one pot, a couple plates and some silverware. It took 27:20 to make the meal.

Here is the house cleaning chart from earlier:



Here is the chart from cooking:



The charts are virtually identical. Keep in mind, this is what I call "aerobic cooking," since I filled in any rest spaces with cleaning.

I'm starting to get the idea here. A stereotypical housewife who spent eight hours a day working would burn about 2,880 calories while doing housework. This is about the same as a person who runs about 15 miles at about 10 minutes a mile. My admiration for the stereotypical housewife continues to grow. Maybe she wouldn't have been in the mood to go for a jog with her husband after supper. Either way, she was in incredibly good shape. Maybe this is the reason women used to live longer than men.