10 Amazing Yet Mundane Things Your Body Considers Exercise
Exercise is usually tiring and exhausting. We don’t always have the energy for that level of effort. Sometimes though, everyday activities can effortlessly benefit our health. Here are 10 mundane things your body considers exercise.
They are a great way to boost physical health without too much work since they are activities we do anyway. Keep reading to find out what 10 mundane things your body considers exercise and how to make these activities a little bit more intense for an extra boost in overall health and wellness.
10 Mundane Things Your Body Considers Exercise
Without further ado, here are 10 mundane everyday things your body considers exercise. Plus, find out how to make these things even better for you by adding a little bit of intensity.
1. Shopping
Think of going to the mall on a Sunday and spending hours window shopping. Think of all the times we go grocery shopping and we’re lifting gallons of milk, juice, flour, and other staples into our shopping carts. A lot of everyday activities related to shopping include movement that your body considers exercise. I don’t know about you, but lifting two boxes of 12-pack soda cans is work for me. Buying bread flour and hauling it up into the cart and down into the car is an effort that strains my muscles. Well this one may not apply to online shopping, many forms of in-person shopping whether it’s for pleasure or nourishment, can be considered an everyday workout. Make this a little more intense by bringing a tote bag and loading it with a lot of things. This makes the journey from the car to your home shorter yet heavier.
2. Taking the Stairs
If you’re ever in a building and need to go up more than one floor, it is common for us to choose to take the elevator. I don’t trust elevators. Once I saw someone get stuck in an elevator for hours and I’ve never since been the same. That works just fine for me since I opt to take the stairs. Taking the stairs is a great way to add a little more movement into your everyday life. Take the stairs whenever you have the chance. If you have an apartment complex or a two-floor house, take the stairs up and down for fun, just to add a little more intensity.
3. Cleaning the House
Spring is here and personally, for me, that means spring cleaning, that special time of year where I really get every corner, nook, and cranny of my home. Even everyday maintenance cleaning can have a great effect on physical health. Sweeping the house, mopping the floors, or dusting, are all easy ways to include exercise and movement into your daily life. Whether it’s polishing mirrors, washing the floor, or scrubbing, it’s one of those mundane things your body considers exercise.
4. Dancing
When you dance to a fun beat, you barely notice that you’re doing work. It’s an amazing form of cardio that can have great cardiovascular benefits which can extend your life and decrease your chance of disease. I used to hate cardio, especially since I hurt my Achilles tendon and couldn’t run anymore. This even made it difficult to walk around the neighborhood, since my foot would start hurting and I would be miles from my home. Dancing in the privacy of my bedroom was a game changer though.
5. Organizing
Sometimes, clutter occurs. That comes with the territory of having a home. Maybe we bring in the mail and leave it on the table, maybe we forgot to put away some groceries, or maybe a lot of junk and toys get scattered around the floor from family gatherings. It’s normal for us to organize in such cases. We may not know it but organizing is an amazing movement that requires us to reach, stretch, bend, and move our bodies in beneficial ways. Organizing the house is a great way to get your steps in and boost mobility without even realizing it. Start organizing the house and to make it a little bit harder, organize one room, then organize the one on the other side of your home. This will boost your steps easily and can help you break down the work into smaller, more manageable increments.
6. Taking Care of Kids
If you have kids, you may have gotten used to the chaos of the day. Whether it’s cooking, feeding, or playing, it’s all effort. Even just picking up your kid and holding them is a movement that causes your muscles to work and activate. It’s a great way to sneak in some physical activity into your already hectic and busy day. Don’t have kids? Well, taking care of your pet is also a form of everyday movement your body may consider exercise.
7. Doing Laundry
We probably do laundry once or twice a week, depending on the size of your family, the amount of clothes, and a bunch of other factors. Doing laundry is effort and work. It consists of collecting all the articles of clothing, looking around the house to see if there are any that fell on the ground or in a corner, and piling it all into a washing machine. Maybe you even have to hand wash some articles of clothing. Next, it’s probably throwing them in the dryer or maybe you hang them out to air dry. No matter what your laundry process is, we have to acknowledge that this is a common activity that can make us really feel it in our thighs. Even having to fold or hang and reorganize all the clothing is a part of the workout.
8. Redecorating
If you’ve ever tried to redecorate any sort of space, you’ll know it’s much easier in The Sims than it is in real life. In real life, we have to push around furniture, move picture frames, rearrange carpets, etc. This is a form of physical activity that can even make us break a sweat, depending on how much we move around. Pushing and pulling our forms of exercise that work different muscles and can be very beneficial to our physical health. Plus, redecorating a space can help improve mental wellbeing, as it can boost our mood and decrease visual clutter.
9. Gardening
Gardening is one of those calm cottagecore hobbies that have both physical and mental health benefits. Crouching down, digging holes, planting and replanting, watering, and picking all involve movement that can be very beneficial. You don’t even have to be good at gardening to do it. I love gardening, well my green thumb isn’t too green, but it’s still a fun activity that can help me get a bit of fresh air and fresh herbs into my meals.
10. Walking the Dogs
I guess this one’s very self-explanatory, yeah it deserves to be included. Walking the dog is usually seen as a chore, maybe it’s just a way to treat your furry friend. However, it is a great example of a mundane thing your body considers exercise. You have to do it, but it’s great for physical health and getting your steps in. Along that vein of thought, how many steps should we be aiming for in a given day? Do we really need to hit 10,000? Check out this complete guide to your daily step needs here.
The Takeaway
It’s great that mundane things that we do every day can be considered a workout. By including these activities and acknowledging that they have benefits to our health, it makes them more enjoyable to do. Mundane things your body considers exercise are simple, chores, yet they contain a vast and underappreciated well of health. Next time you’re doing one, stop for a moment and thank yourself because your body sure is thanking you for the movement.
Remember that health comes from within. Eat nutrient-dense meals, exercise when you can, at least 3 times a week, and take care of your mental health. Daily habits become the building blocks for emotional, mental, and physical health. Take care of your gut health too! Learn everything you need to know about gut microbiota today for free here.
