Zen and the Art of Vacuuming
A couple of months ago we took in a feral kitten we had been feeding (along with her sibs and mom) since she was a few weeks old. It was an unusual decision for us, since we have never had a pet, we prefer dogs, and the Lovely Mrs. A. has a cat allergy. Nevertheless, we grew greatly attached to one of the brood who, unlike her family, was completely comfortable with our presence at all times and allowed herself to be handled without complaint. We named her Zen for her calm demeanor, and we have all adjusted to the new situation nicely.
The Lovely Mrs. A.’s allergy requires medication on her part, and frequent vacuuming of the house on my part. Which brings me to my point: Does vacuuming count as cross-training?
Perhaps the act of vacuuming itself wouldn’t qualify, but it also involves lifting and moving furniture, repeated bending over for hard-to-reach areas, and wrangling the cat because she’s afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Add all that on to the repetitive aerobic motion, and working over the cat condo with the brush, and I think it beats 30 minutes on the life cycle or a couple dozen sit-ups.
Throw in window washing and carrying the groceries in from the car and you could probably give up running entirely. And you would save on apparel, too.
Awww how sweet! I vote vacuuming gets xtraining points for sure! In a related note my roommate’s dog attacks our vacuum cleaner so it’s always hilarious to vacuum.
I’d vacuum in my singlet and racing shorts.
First off, hell yes it counts as cross-training.
Second, them is some serious ghetto speakers in the background. Do fireworks come out the sides or something?
Well, what is your pace?
It’s a JVC HX-D77 and would blow out the walls at full volume. I save it for when the neighbors are too noisy and I blast “Largo al factotum” at them.
“Vacuuming”? What is this “vacuuming” of which you speak?
Congrats on the unintentionally acquiring a kitten. She’s such a cutie!
Vacuuming definitely counts as cross training. Hell, all cleaning does judging by the the layers of clothes I keep having to chuck off (my house is freezing) whilst cleaning.
Zen is so cute!! My cat was supposed to be temporary, too … that was 11 years ago.
And yes, vacuuming = cardio :)