Forget the gym this January, here’s 9 DIY tasks that will get you into shape

 

Firstly, we’d like to apologise for our rather lengthy hiatus, we’ve been rather busy with our sister website, Christmas Trees and Lights. However, it’s now 2015 and we’re back.

Having recently endured the unpleasant experience of visiting a gym in January, we wondered if it was possible to get the same level of workout by completing some simple home and garden tasks. Well, not only is it the perfect way to workout and get some of those jobs done, we discovered it’s rather relaxing too.

• Digging / shovelling

Leave the machine bench press for dust this New Year, as you dig for victory. By preparing your ground for spring sowing, it’s likely that you’ll lose the obligatory Christmas half-stone in no time at all.

Oh, and if the weather becomes frightful this season, you can burn over 243 calories by just shovelling snow for 30 minutes.

• Planting

Even during the coldest month of the year there’s still plenty of things to plant. For an early crop of strawberries, plant them now and leave them under cover. Similarly, leeks, onions and lettuce can be sown into their boxes. You can probably burn around 160 calories for 30 minutes work.

• Weeding

Tone up your upper body and increase your strength by spending an hour weeding your garden or cleaning out your pond. You’ll burn about 350 calories per hour, and that’s the equivalent to a rather rigorous kettle bell session.

• Chopping & stacking wood

If you’re planning on keeping yourself cosy and warm this winter with your very own wood burning stove or chiminea, then chopping and stacking wood is an excellent way of working out. You can easily burn over 300 calories from a half hour chopping session, to which stacking the wood within your log store is equal to a 45 mins aerobic session.

• Power-washing

Okay, it may not be old fashioned elbow grease and scrubbing, but a rather demanding power-washing session cleaning your fence or driveway will scrub over 300 calories off your waist.

• Removing Wallpaper

If staying warm and dry is more your thing, then how about a spot of decorating this January. Not only will you test your patience, but you can still burn over 300 calories and strengthen your upper body at the same time.

• Painting

If removing wallpaper is a little too intricate, then a course of painting will certainly do you, as well as your walls, the world of good. Did you know that every hour spent painting will burn over 350 calories? You’ll certainly do more stretches, squats and reaches than you would down at the gym.

• Moving furniture & Hanging artwork

Planing on moving some furniture and hanging a few pieces of artwork this January? Well, for these two DIY activities combined you’re likely to burn 250 calories for just 30 minutes grind. easy-peasy.