Exercise often falls to the wayside in busy lives, and can be difficult to pick up again.

If you’re having trouble fitting enough physical activity into your life, there’s a solution.

Pair your exercise with chores, and you’ll be able to trick yourself into getting more active.

Chores always need to be done, so you may as well make them even more productive! Try the following chores to sneak in a workout that won’t feel tedious or difficult:

Vacuuming and mopping

This one’s easy – it’s something you probably do every week anyway. By completing a full lunge each time you push the vacuum or mop forward, you’ll get a serious workout. After each lunge, bring your legs back together. You’ll be engaging your abdominal muscles as well as the muscles in your lower body.
Calories burned: Four per minute. Keep it up for at least fifteen minutes, and you’ll have burned a cookie’s worth. Plus, you’ll have sparkling clean floors.
Wiping counters and surfaces
Wipe all the surfaces and counters in your house while sneaking in some exercise. Between your bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom, you probably have plenty of surfaces. Try standing on one leg while you wipe, alternating each time you change location. You’ll barely notice you’re doing it, as you’ll be concentrating on your chores.
Calories burned: Wiping your surfaces will burn four calories per minute.

Cleaning windows
Make those windows sparkle – and work out while you’re doing so. By reaching up on your toes to clean, you’ll be stretching your legs. You’ll also be giving your arms a workout by keeping them above your head for extended periods.
Calories burned: With this exercise, you can expect to burn 150 calories in half an hour.

Moving furniture
Do you need a change of scenery in your home? Why not spend a few hours rearranging some of your furniture? You don’t need to go to the gym to lift weights – you’ll be building up your strength while moving things around. When you lift, your legs and hips will be doing most of the work. Make sure you stretch before and after you lift anything.

Calories burned: Moving heavy furniture is one of the best ways to burn calories. In one hour, you can burn more than four hundred. You could even help a friend out with moving house – you’ll get a real workout out of it.

Scrubbing the bath
You probably won’t need to clean your bath all that often. However, when you do, you can count on burning some serious calories. Work your arm muscles by putting extra strength into your scrubbing.
Calories burned: Scrubbing soap scum from your bath for 15 minutes will net you a loss of 90 calories.

Washing the car
Don’t take the easy way out and bring your car to a car wash. Wash it by hand and start your exercise for the day. Starting your workout outside is sure to get you in the right mood for the rest of your chores. Many people find it very relaxing and satisfying to care for their car and watch it get cleaned, too.
Calories burned: Giving your car a thorough wash will burn about 150 calories.

Cleaning your house has never felt so productive! By doing movements you’d be doing in the gym, you can make your next cleaning routine work for you. It’s easy to sneak exercise into tasks you already need to do. If you want to seriously reap the benefits, commit half a day to your cleaning. This way, you’ll get the full workout experience.

Written by Harper Reed. Harper is an aspiring creative writer who has penned articles for numerous blogs and local sites such as Hercules Gazebo. She loves classical music, coffee, snuggly pillows, and Netflix! She resides in Auckland, New Zealand. Discover more of her written work on her personal blog.