Daily Physical Activity: What Counts as Exercise?
When do everyday tasks count as exercise?
Daily physical activity is essential for good health and the prevention of chronic disease. Exercise is one category of physical activity, and refers to activity performed for the purpose of improving fitness and athletic performance. But physical activity also includes some activities of daily living, such as walking errands, and household and yard-care tasks.
When do these tasks count as exercise? This seemingly simple question is hard to answer, because the answer depends on many factors. Here are some of the things to consider when you are trying to figure out how much physical activity you get out of daily life.
How intensely do you exercise?
As you can imagine, the number of calories burned during household activities varies greatly, depending upon how vigorously a person works. Vacuuming is a good example of an activity that may or may not count as exercise, depending on the intensity with which it is performed. Do you move quickly or slowly? Do you go after the cobwebs on the ceiling, reaching or climbing a ladder? Do you crouch down to get dust balls under furniture?
The same goes for washing the car or scrubbing the bathtub. These tasks performed slowly still burn more calories than you would expend watching television or sitting quietly. But the intensity may not be great enough to help with weight control, prevent high blood pressure or confer the other health benefits that require moderately intense physical activity.
For the activity to “count” as exercise, you should feel like you are exerting yourself somewhat, or even somewhat hard. Your breathing should get a little faster, and you should feel warmer, maybe even start sweating. Activities that feel fairly light when performed for a few minutes become “aerobic,” and are helpful when performed for a total of at least 30 minutes.
What’s your current level of physical fitness?
If you are really out of shape and have been fairly inactive for a long time, then even vigorous vacuuming counts as exercise. Your cardiovascular system will find activities, such as washing windows, scrubbing floors and raking leaves, challenging.
The bad news is, if you are in pretty good shape, you have to work harder before daily activities, like washing your car, count as exercise. Because your fitness level is already fairly high, your cardiovascular system is more efficient, and it doesn’t have to work very hard during most household tasks. These tasks will still burn calories, but they won’t help you maintain your cardiovascular fitness.
Will your activities lead to injury?
If you are considering performing household activities you haven’t previously performed, be sure they are safe for you. Some activities may favor one side of your body, like shoveling snow and raking leaves. These activities can also be strenuous, even though they do not look all that hard. People with back problems should be careful not to lift heavy loads, or work in positions requiring the torso to twist and bend over at the same time. If in doubt, check with your doctor. Start with short periods of light loads.
Can you walk more?
Walking is one of the most beneficial of daily activities. If performed at a brisk pace, it has tremendous health effects. Look for opportunities to walk errands, and extend the walking you already do on a daily basis. Several short walks during the day add up to a significant amount of exercise. No time for a long walk? Try 15 minutes during your lunch hour, 15 minutes during a break, and then another 15 minutes before or after dinner. And take the stairs as often as possible.
Addressing health and fitness goals
Busy people are happy to hear that daily activities can count toward their exercise time. However, some health and fitness goals really require additional activity. For example, if you want to lose weight, lower high blood pressure or control type 2 diabetes, you may need at least one hour of moderate-intensity exercise a day. And most people will find that strength training has a greater, more balanced effect than lifestyle activities for toning muscles and improving balance and musculoskeletal strength. FM
By Barbara A. Brehm, Ed.D. Professor of exercise and sport studies at Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
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