Vacuuming is a fact of life. As always, we have been looking at ways to make vacuuming a bit more ‘fun’. We think this exercise will help vacuuming be done in a trice.
This exercise is designed to work your core, quads, and glutes whilst adding levers and working on balance. Who knew vacuuming could be so hard!!
Equipment
Vacuum cleaner – for the purposes of this exercise we used a canister version but the exercise works perfectly well with a cordless or upright machine.
Technique
As with all exercises preparation is key so, you will need to do a bit of warming up first. We also recommend you either do this barefoot or in trainers.
Stand with your feet hip width apart, pull your tummy in and pelvic floor up. Draw your shoulders back and down and try not to arch the spine.
Bend and straighten your knees whilst rolling your shoulders forward and back to loosen up the joints.
Extend one arm straight forward and back, making sure you don’t twist the torso. Repeat on the other arm.
Take your left foot back making sure your feet are still hip width apart. Bend the right knee so 
you are taking a small lunge. Keep your abs and pelvic floor engaged. You should feel a nice stretch in your left hip joint while working the quads on the right.
Change leg!!!
Repeat until you feel warm, gradually increasing the depth of the lunge but always making sure the knee of the forward leg remains in line with the ankle. We have found there’s less pressure on the forward knee if you take the other leg back rather than lunging onto the front leg.
Now you are ready to work with the equipment. Remember, safety first – don’t trip over the wire
Grasp the equipment firmly and repeat from 3. We think it’s a really good idea to train both arms to vacuum – you never know when you might need it.
You can make this exercise harder by bending forward at the same time (looking under beds/chairs) but this is the advanced version and requires great core strength to protect the back.
Make sure you replace equipment safely when the exercise is complete. Make a cuppa and sit in your beautifully vacuumed room feeling justifiably pleased with yourself!!