Housework workout

Nicki Waterman, The Sun's fitness expert, shares her tips on how housework can help you to get in shape.

Performing four or more household chores a day can help you lose weight, tone up, and keep fit and healthy. The key is to take advantage of every movement.

Make a conscious effort to contract your stomach muscles (it's like a stomach crunch without having to do the action of a crunch), keep your knees slightly bent and maintain good posture throughout.

Warm-ups

Put on your favourite music and start with some light housework, like straightening and picking things up or dusting for three to five minutes. You know you've warmed up enough when your joints feel looser and your muscles are pliable but you're not breaking a sweat.

Window-washing triceps circles

Target: shoulders and triceps

Do 10 circles to the right, then 10 to the left. This is a great all-purpose cleaning motion, and the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Do it while polishing furniture or cleaning the bath.

Vacuum cleaner lunges

Target: upper back, legs and buttock muscles

Put some muscle into pushing the vacuum forward as far as you can, then back again. The vacuum will give you some good resistance if it's heavy enough, but make sure to move slowly enough to get a good stretch.

Ironing

Target: shoulders, arms and buttock muscles

While ironing, squeeze your buttock cheeks together really hard for 10 seconds. Do this 10 times every couple of minutes and you'll notice a difference in tone in no time at all. This is because the muscles in the bottom will hold in a semi-flexed position for up to 20 minutes after working the muscle.

Laundry squats

Target: legs, buttocks and thighs

Slowly squat when picking dirty laundry up, keeping your back straight and your heels on the floor. Don't let your upper back round forward. Include one squat for every piece of laundry you put into the basket.

Shelf-organising thigh buster

Target: calves, thighs and buttocks

Step up and down a short stepladder (three or four steps) 10 times, alternating your feet. While you're up there, dust a shelf or two. You can do this exercise while organising your cupboards or rearranging the books in your bookcase.

Washing the tops of your doors and skirting boards

Target: full body

Not everybody has a ladder and bucket to hand, but even stepping up and down on a sturdy chair and cleaning the patio doors can help. Think of all that stretching and use of arm and leg muscles.

Scrubbing the floor

Target: arms and tummy

Whether it's the sink, bathroom or kitchen floor, ditch that mop and scrub by hand. The harder you work, the better. Push yourself even more by extending your torso and exaggerating your arm movements.

Making the bed

Target: upper body

There's no doubt making the bed is tiring. Taking off the sheets, turning the mattress, pulling the sheets straight, and plumping up pillows and duvets are all great calorie burners.

Finish off with a five to 10-minute cool-down, stretching as you reach to put away the dishes or make the beds