Ever wondered how the ubiquitous maid who barges into your room at six in the morning and is done with her chores even before you heave yourself out of bed manages to stay so fit? In fact, when was the last time your family employed a maid who was overweight?

It doesn’t require any more than basic cognisance to figure out that the secret to the domestic help’s fitness lies in the very nature of the work she does. And though social conditioning has long rendered household chores rather unbecoming of the lord and lady of the house, experts maintain these basic activities are a wonderful way to keep fit, if not shed a few unwanted calories.

Of course, that doesn’t go to say that sweeping the floor is a better alternative to sweating it out in the gymnasium. “But it’s a much better choice on an individual’s part than preferring to lead a sedentary lifestyle,” says Delhi-based fitness instructor Rahul Narang. “And considering that people these days have a tight schedule and very little time in hand, the non-intrusive nature of household chores makes them a more time-friendly option than gymming.”

The first step towards institutionalising household chores as an exercise regimen for the urban populace was perhaps taken by American writer Randi Hacker in 1994. In her book, How to Live Green, Cheap and Happy, Hacker propounded the concept of the earth gym workout, which considered simple day-to-day activities as physical exercises. In other words, it required an attitudinal change from avoiding domestic tasks to actually looking forward to using the body to perform them routinely and staying fit in the process.

The trend caught on in the US, but it’s just about beginning to hit Indian shores. “These days, we have begun working out exercise programmes which combine both working out at the gym and performing daily chores at home in equal measures,” says Narang. “Designed primarily for people who have very little time to spare, this programme needs one to attend the gym only three days a week. The remaining days, they work out at home,” he adds.

To begin with, the earth gym workout requires people to perform routine tasks such as sweeping and mopping the floor, dusting the house, gardening and weeding, taking the staircase instead of the elevator or even walking to the grocery store instead of driving to it.

Considering that most people in cities lead rather hectic lives, chores such as these increasingly tend to be passed on to domestic helps. But if performed consciously, these exercises can certainly make a difference. And earth workouts do have their advantage over conventional exercises. “For people above 30, gruesome exercise regimens can often invite physical health hazards,” says Delhi-based trainer Amit Sharma. “Hence activities such as brisk walking, which are of a cardio-vascular nature, can help keep most office-goers fit.”

However, not everyone agrees with the idea. Gaurav Sharma, a fitness trainer for Reebok, says the main glitch with earth gym workouts is that the body adapts to the activities in the long run. “Since the body becomes aware of the exercises becoming part of its day-to-day life, it attunes itself and expends fewer calories over time,” he says. “And since these activities cannot be performed beyond a certain threshold, they get more and more ineffective in course of time,” he points out.

Nevertheless, Sharma says that earth gym workouts are a good way to put an end to a sedentary lifestyle and get going. “And after a few months, when the body has attained a certain level of fitness, people have the option of going to a gym and following a proper regimen,” he says.

Calorie Counter

The following chart is an indication of the average number of calories burnt per minute by engaging in light activities. The figures, however, may vary according to individual body weight or the speed and effort at which the activities are performed.

Washing and mopping: 2.2

Walking (5 kmph): 3

Walking (7 kmph): 4.5

Walking (9 kmph): 9

Cycling: 3.5 to 8

Gardening and weeding: 5

Light exercise: 2.5

Golf: 2.5

Homework

The advantage of an earth gym workout is the easy availability of equipment such as grocery bags, mops, dusters and gardening tools. This saves one the trouble of purchasing advanced training equipment.

The workout schedule can be accommodated within the framework of one’s daily life, and hence it saves one the time that would otherwise have to be devoted to training sessions at the gymnasium.

It trains the body for useful, daily and practical activities, as opposed to gym sessions, where the exercise regimen doesn’t complement one’s day-to-day activities. Bench press, for example, is not something one does normally in course of the day.

By ensuring that people do the chores themselves, the earth gym workout also helps to inculcate a strong sense of self-reliance among its practitioners.