Summer has to be the most active time of the year, with so many chores to be done and opportunities to get outside and enjoy the warm weather. While you’re busy taking advantage of the season, you can also burn off excess calories, helping to speed up your progress toward your weight loss goal. Here are nine popular warm weather activities that kick up your metabolism while you go about your days—no visit to the gym required.
1. Mopping the Floor
The minute the weather turns warm, cleaning tops the “to-do” list in many homes. When you get out the bucket and mop, and move at a steady pace back and forth across the floor, you’ll torch calories plus tone your arms and strengthen your core muscles as your metabolism heats up.
Calories burned: 330 per hour
2. Dusting and Vacuuming
Wiping down your furniture, shelves and decorations gets rid of dust and potential allergens. It also keeps you moving around, bending and stretching as you go. Pushing the vacuum not only removes dirt and other debris from your carpets and floors, it activates your back and leg muscles and cranks up your internal calorie-burning engines.
Calories burned: 160 per hour
3. Ironing
Smoothing wrinkles and pressing creases into your clothes and linens is steady, methodical work you do while on your feet. That effort leads not only to a pile of well-maintained laundry… it can lead to a pile of sweat as well! Try ironing a week’s worth of clothes all at once, then hanging them where they can’t be wrinkled again. You’ll be thanking yourself on those busy weekday mornings, and your waist line will thank you, too!
Calories burned: 150 per hour
4. Painting Walls
When a room in your home needs a fresh coat of paint, there are many tools to work with and tasks to do, from moving furniture to reaching with the roller brush. All of those add up to significant calorie-burning that helps you end up with a fresh look, too.
Calories burned: 350 per hour
5. Mowing the Lawn
Walking back and forth as your power mower cuts the grass keeps your yard looking neat and your body, trim. You don’t get the same benefit from a riding mower, but you can really amp up your calorie burning by using a mower powered only by your legs.
Calories burned: 330 per hour
6. Gardening
Digging, raking, pulling weeds and other gardening tasks get you outside in the fresh air and sunshine and fire up your metabolism as you beautify your yard.
Calories burned: 340 per hour
7. Washing the Car
Sure, you can go to the drive-through car wash, but rinsing, scrubbing and drying your own vehicle is pleasant on a warm day and it burns calories while you’re at it. Vacuum and polish the interior to get the maximum benefit.
Calories burned: 330 per hour
8. Playing in the Yard With the Kids
Taking the kids to play in the backyard is an easy way to burn a few extra calories. Have a swing set? A sliding board and jungle gym helps the kids burn off energy and stay active. The little ones will love for you to join in and you’ll remember what fun it is to play as you turn up your metabolism.
Calories burned: 300 per hour
9. Riding a Bicycle
Pedaling around on two wheels with the warm breeze in your face is a simple joy that can bring you back to carefree childhood days. Skip the skintight clothes and hunched over posture and just ride for fun (with or without kids). While you pedal and smile, your body torches a whole lot of calories.
Calories burned: 400 per hour
*Calories burned are the average for a 155-pound person, based on a report from the Harvard University School of Public Health.
