GetFit.com.au

Measuring energy: Big C, little C
A kilojoule is a unit of measure of energy. The foods we eat provide energy, which is measured in kilojoules, but can also be measured in terms of the nutritional or "large" Calorie. One Calorie has the same energy value as 4.186 kilojoules (kJ). This should not be confused with the "small" or gram calorie, which is used by scientists to measure the amount of energy required to heat water. There are 1000 (small) calories in one (large) Calorie, which is why it is also sometimes known as a kilocalorie. 4.184 kilojoules = 1 Calorie = 1 kilocalorie = 1000 calories

Life v gym
· To expend the same energy walking as you would on a treadmill, you'll have to slightly more than triple your time strolling. Therefore, a one-hour walk to the office in the morning equals about 20 minutes on the treadmill.

· One hour of master-chef brilliance in the kitchen burns 222 Calories, equalling the energy expenditure of almost 33 minutes of freeweights in the gym, although the muscle activity will not be as localised.

· Cycling on the road gives you the same work-out as on a stationary bike, so take to the bike path. A leisurely pace consumes eight Calories a minute, with added pleasures of sunshine and fresh air. All those hills make it even better.

· Mowing eats up nine Calories per minute - you won't end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but you will break a light sweat. Half an hour of mowing is equivalent to almost 40 minutes of freeweights, but you won't get the same definition.

· Figures used are for an 80-kilogram person, with variables in mass, environment, intensity, frequency and duration all contributing to different results.

Scrub up
Commercial weight-loss programs routinely trumpet the fat-burning potential of brisk vacuuming or mopping. At ACU, Rice often highlights housework as an early goal for clients combating obesity.

"We try and say, look at cleaning your house as a form of exercise, rather than a chore," she says. Exercise Physiology promises that an 80-kilogram person burns off about five Calories a minute cleaning. Even cooking claims 3.7 Calories.

Dig deep
Although gardening won't quite deliver the same benefits as a prolonged work-out - during which you work at 50 to 70 per cent of your body's capacity - getting grubby demands elbow-grease, especially in drought conditions. You can burn more than six Calories a minute trimming a hedge, and nine pushing a lawn mower.

"Again, they're strength-type exercises," says Selig. But, while a gardening session does count as exercise, the professor warns that it probably won't give you the aerobic work-out you get from a solid session at the gym.

Walk proud
Walking is the most obvious form of incidental exercise - and one of the best. Parking one kilometre from your destination is equivalent to spending 10 minutes on the treadmill, says Selig.

"If you were to do (the equivalent of) this 15 to 30 times per week, you would achieve the national Calorie objective of 2000 Calories of exercise per week. Most people who maintain that kind of activity maintain very good fitness and, in lots of areas, it transfers into health," he says.

Be sure to carry your office goods in a backpack to evenly distribute the weight across your spine, and remember that, contrary to the claims of Nancy Sinatra, boots are not made for walking - choose runners or comfortable, sturdy footwear.

For added effort, try heaving your groceries up the hill. Freeweights burn close to seven Calories a minute, according to McArdle, Katch and Katch, although the effects of gym-style bicep curls differ from the benefits of prolonged lifting.

"One is for strength gain, the other one - the carrying the bags - is more for muscular endurance. Both of them are very important," says Rice.

Play up
"I'm bemused that people would have children and then pay someone to be a personal trainer for their children. And, most of the time, the parents need an awful lot of exercise when you look at them," says Selig.

There's no more logical way to gently ramp up weekend activity than running after your kids. Outdoor play with a four-year-old commonly involves a blend of running, hopping, carrying the four-year-old (that's about 16kg of load-bearing over a sustained duration), and perhaps you're even taking the dog out at the same time.

Sources: Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Exercise, Dr Vanessa Rice