Not everyone realizes that moving furniture can be a really effective way to burn calories.
Maybe it’s worth helping someone with a move, or even hiring yourself out to a moving company?
Use this calculator to find out how many calories you could burn by moving furniture:
CalculatorContents
How many calories do you burn moving furniture?
An average person weighing 180 lbs (81 kg) can burn about 497 calories during one hour of moving furniture.
If you move the furniture upstairs, you can extend these results to almost 771 calories which is more, than, for example, riding a stationary bike at moderate speed (~600 calories).
Look at how many calories people of different weights can burn by moving furniture:
| 140 lbs | 170 lbs | 200 lbs | 230 lbs | 260 lbs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 min | 97 kcal | 117 kcal | 138 kcal | 159 kcal | 180 kcal |
| 30 min | 193 kcal | 235 kcal | 276 kcal | 318 kcal | 359 kcal |
| 45 min | 290 kcal | 352 kcal | 414 kcal | 477 kcal | 539 kcal |
| 1 hour | 387 kcal | 470 kcal | 552 kcal | 635 kcal | 718 kcal |
| 2 hours | 773 kcal | 939 kcal | 1105 kcal | 1271 kcal | 1436 kcal |
| 3 hours | 1160 kcal | 1409 kcal | 1657 kcal | 1906 kcal | 2155 kcal |
If you want to see how many calories you can burn based on a selected amount of time and your weight, use the calculator at the top of this article.
5 ways to burn more calories on moving furniture
1. Go up and down the stairs as much as you can
Many of you probably know that walking upstairs can burn a lot of calories. So as you can imagine, burning calories while carrying heavy furniture up the stairs can be even more effective.
If possible, try to move furniture that is on the upper floors (the higher, the better).
However, when you are climbing stairs, take extra precautions to avoid accidents. Be mindful of your surroundings and the items you are carrying to ensure that you do not trip or lose your balance. It is better to be safe than sorry, so take your time and be careful.
2. Be more efficient
It is no secret that increasing intensity allows you to burn more calories.
If possible, try to move faster and lift heavier furniture. Remember though not to exceed your capabilities and maintain a healthy sense of reason.
3. Focus on moving things, not packing them
Carrying things usually allows you to burn more calories than simply standing in place and wrapping them in foil.
If you have the opportunity, try to leave these tasks to others who do not see this work as an opportunity to burn extra calories and focus on moving things. There is a good chance that they will be quite happy that you want to do the hardest part of this job, so it’s a kind of win-win type of situation.
4. Do this more often
It is possible that you came up with the idea of burning calories while moving furniture during your own move.
If you enjoyed this type of activity, you may consider doing it more often. A good idea may be to offer help to neighbors and friends, and even to look for work in a company that specializes in moving, which will not only allow you to regularly burn a significant amount of calories, but also make money from it!
5. Handle the heaviest things
Just like with the speed of movement, whether we lift a heavy sofa or a light night lamp can also have a significant impact on the number of calories we burn.
The more we tire ourselves out, the more calories we will be able to burn. If you are working with others while moving furniture, try to involve yourself in the relatively heavy furniture, and leave the lightest ones to others.
Not only will you burn more calories in this way, but others are probably also grateful to you for it. Again, a win-win situation.
Pros and cons of burning calories on moving furniture
Not sure if you should pick this activity for burning calories? Check this list of pros & cons.
Pros of burning calories on moving furniture:
You can make money out of it. Many people want to pay others to move furniture for them.- Some people find moving furniture really satisfying. If this applies to you, we believe you’ll enjoy the time.
- You need to concentrate, but in most situations not so much that you cannot listen to music or a podcast on one earbud. So you can spend this time even more pleasantly.
You can make money out of it. Many people want to pay others to move furniture for them.Cons of burning calories on moving furniture:
- It’s not the best activity to do often for people who do some kind of bodybuilding. Your muscles may not have time to recover if you move furniture on a daily basis.
- Moving furniture can cause significantly greater perceived fatigue than other forms that provide a similar amount of calories burned (e.g. cycling at a moderate pace).
- It can cause some injuries if you are not careful enough.
It’s not the best activity to do often for people who do some kind of bodybuilding. Your muscles may not have time to recover if you move furniture on a daily basis.How much do furniture movers make per hour?
This depends mainly on your location.
Movers in the United States typically earn around $11 per hour. Additionally, they often receive tips, which can increase their earnings.
If you are not happy with this income or do not want to change your current industry, you could consider finding a part-time job as a mover to do in addition to your regular job. This way, you can earn extra money without having to switch careers.
Calories Burned on Moving Furniture Formula
In case you want to calculate the estimated amount of burned calories shopping, you can use the following formula:
Where:
- CB – Calories Burned
In our calculator, we’ve used these MET values:
| Activity | MET |
|---|---|
| Moving Furniture | 5.8 |
| Moving Furniture upstairs | 9 |
You can lower these values if you think your moving wasn’t too intense, or increase them if it was.