Housework can be intense ... in a good way

FORGET the latest highintensity fitness fad – doing housework, carrying groceries and even climbing stairs can be just as effective, experts say.

According to a University of Sydney study conducted by six professors and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, many daily tasks can actually be classified as highintensity incidental physical activities.

High-intensity interval training – short, sharp bursts of activity that use up at least six times as much energy as resting – is all the rage in gyms and fitness classes.

But unstructured activities, such as walking, house chores and climbing stairs, can have the same health benefits, the study concluded.

“The length of each incidental PA bout can vary from a ‘short and sweet’ few seconds, such as climbing a few flights of stairs three to four times a day, to several minutes or even hours of active commuting, housework or shopping,” the study read.

“Besides meeting recommended targets, incidental PA offers opportunities for brief episodes of vigorous intensity PA which, compared with moderate intensity, provides superior ‘per time unit’ health benefits.”

Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis said bringing the principles of high-intensity interval training into everyday life could be the key to helping unfit and overweight people get the exercise they needed to improve their health.

“Regular incidental activity that gets you huffing and puffing, even for a few seconds, has great promise for health,” he told Perth Now.