How to put the LEAN in your Spring Clean

It’s that time of year again, folks- the big Spring clean. Finding the time to clean (which seems like a never-ending task) and keep your body fit might seem impossible, especially on top of all the other things you have to do. But it doesn’t have to be. Kill two birds with one stone with our lean spring clean how-to list below.


1. Dance off the dirty. Turn on fast-paced music while you clean to help you pick up the speed, break more of a sweat and possibly burn more calories while doing your chores.

2. The walking vacuum lunge. Implement walking lunges while you vacuum each room to give you that extra burn in the thighs and glutes. Keep proper form, make sure your core is engaged and your knees are kept directly above your ankles. Also, try to save this chore for last, and vacuum all the rooms at once so that you burn a steady amount of energy.

3. Sweep and squat. While working your arms and abs with sweeping or mopping, why not add some leg movement by simply bending your knees to a squat exercise. This is especially useful when trying to reach the dusty, dirty corners and hard-to-get areas of your floors.

4. Circle reach. When dusting, washing windows, showers or mirrors, use large circular movements while washing away to maximize the motion and really put your arm muscles to use. Also, don’t forget to switch arms so that both are getting and equal workout.

5. Step it up. Use a stepladder as much as you can when taking care of those cobwebs, or dusting the hard-to-reach places. Strive to climb up and down several times throughout the process.

6. Dish it out. Attempt calf raises while washing your dishes. When loading or unloading dishes, perform a twist and reach move, to work your core a bit more.

While these exercises won’t transform your body overnight, they will give you a nice, moderate workout. In order to know you are reaching the desired intensity of activity for health benefits, pay attention to your breathing. You should be breathing faster than you usually do when cleaning. Also, try to keep up each activity for at least 10 continuous minutes. Every little bit adds up, so keep these in mind each time you clean.

Written by:
Amanda Taylor
Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living

[image: flickr/stephcarter]