Ready to turn your spring cleaning into a calorie-burning workout? You’re already doing it—you just didn’t know it. Working out doesn’t have to only happen in the gym to count. You can get a great calorie burn and strengthen your muscles just by giving your house the once over.

Here’s a fun Monday through Friday “workout plan” you can apply to your Spring-Cleaning Checklist. On most days, you’ll be focused on a specific area of the body (upper or lower); however, most spring cleaning is going to work your whole body in some form or fashion. By the end of the week, you’ll definitely be ready for spring break!

And, while you’re busy having fun with this, don’t forget to throw on some upbeat music or a great BioTRUST podcast as you clean your way to lean!

Spring Cleaning Workout Routine

Monday

On Mondays, we’ll work upper body. Yes, your lower body can join in on the good times as well if you throw in some squatting down and up or walking up and down the stairs repeatedly. But today, we’ll focus on mostly scrubbing motions and overhead arm movements to focus on the arms, chest, and back.

Scrubbing—scrubbing the bathtub, the floors, and your toilets can burn over 250 calories an hour. You might be righthanded, but now is the time to train that left hand to pick up some of the slack (and vice versa). Try to use both sides of the body equally as you scrub those areas clean.

Prune the bushes and trees—this will require some great arm strength and will work your core at the same time. Plus, your landscaping will look amazing. You can burn upwards of 500 calories an hour if you keep up the pace! (Just remember to stay safe!)

Tuesday

You can’t just let your upper body have all the fun and benefits. It’s time to engage your core and that lower body as well.

Gardening—as you bend to weed and pick vegetables, practice lunges and squats for a whopping 241 calories burned per hour. And when you’re ready to mix it up, try lifting bags of dirt, baskets of produce, or other heavier objects by doing stiff-legged deadlifts. That is, bend forward at the waist and tip back at the hips to pick up the weight. Remember to push forward through the hips as you straighten up again. If you really want to crank it up, do lunges as you walk with the basket or bag in your arms.

Vacuuming—yes, you can get a nice arm and leg workout vacuuming if you do it right. Try taking large lunge steps forward and backward as you vacuum the floors. Not only will your glutes and thighs thank you, but your arms will as well. Plus, vacuuming packs a punch at 236 calories per hour.

Wednesday

On Wednesdays, we’re back to upper body movements, mostly focused on the arms.

Dusting—go around the house and either take down all the pictures or dust them in place. Make sure you get up on your toes to hit those top edges of frames where the dust likes to collect. Don’t forget to find all those hard-to-reach surfaces and use lots of back and forth arm motions to burn 165 calories an hour.

Windows—you knew it would be on the list! At 229 calories an hour, you can probably find a few windows that could use some Windex (or, better yet, a more natural cleaner). Start with your right hand and use small circular motions to clean. Double back with your left hand to do the same.

BREAKING: The 3 Exact Nutrients Your Body Needs to Lubricate Your “Tin Man” Joints

Thursday

Organize the Pantry—squat down every time you lift something off a shelf or get up on your tip toes to work your calves when reaching up onto higher shelves for items. Take everything out of the pantry, clean it thoroughly, and then put everything back all while burning 344 calories in an hour.

Power Wash—is it time to power wash the house or fence, or maybe both? Clean up with over 200 calories burned per hour.

Friday

Yes, one last push for the week before your spring-cleaning break.

Loading and unloading the dishwasher—this is not limited to spring cleaning but can still be added to the list. Squat down to put dishes in the dishwasher and do another squat every time you grab items out of it as you empty it. (This also works with laundry. Squat to pull out one item, stand up as you fold, and then squat down again to get the next item.)

Mopping—like with vacuuming, mopping burns around 250 calories per hour and you can intensify the burn by squatting to wring out the mop and lunging as you move the mop across the floor.

More Spring Cleaning Workout Ideas

• Carry groceries into the house, preferably up the steps (537 calories/hour).
• Move furniture around and then move it back it again (415 calories/hour).
• Polish those freshly scrubbed, vacuumed, and mopped floors (322 calories/hour).
• Change the sheets on all the beds (236 calories/hour).
• Squat down and stay in a squat as you clean all the baseboards in the house.
• Rake the lawn (292 calories/hour).
• Plant flowers (306 calories/hour).
• Dust all the ceiling fans (201 calories/hour).
• Change the air filters (200 calories/hour).

Start all over again in the garage (priceless).

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