Get Moving With a Spring Cleaning Workout

Want to achieve maximum efficiency? Scrub the floors and do some strength training at the same time.

This month, we’re challenging you to do some spring cleaning while sneaking in a full-body workout. You’ll be scrubbing a floor, so you’ll need a bucket filled with water and cleaning solution, and a rag. The challenge is to clean an entire room without allowing your knees or butt to touch the floor. Crawling variations and deep squatting are two strategies you can use, but feel free to get creative with ideas of your own.

Muscles worked: All of them! Deep squatting targets your quads, glutes and hamstrings, while crawling with knees elevated (hovering just above the ground) targets your lower body as well as your abs, shoulders and arms.

How it helps your running: Deep squatting improves mobility and flexibility, which can reduce your likelihood of injury. Holding up your bodyweight while crawling improves core stability, builds full-body strength and improves endurance.

Learn the basic moves:

Foot-hand crawl
Start on hands and knees with your toes tucked under, then lift your knees barely off the ground. Lift your left hand and right foot off the ground and move them forward. Then move your right hand and left foot. Continue alternating sides as you move across the room, keeping your back flat and knees low to the ground. Reverse the movement to go backward.

Deep squat
Next, see how deeply you can squat. If you’re having trouble getting low to the ground, you can widen your stance and/or keep your heels slightly lifted. The more you practice, the closer you’ll get to having heels down and narrowing your stance.

Now make them functional
Start by squatting near your bucket full of sudsy water and get your rag ready. Use a combination of mostly foot-hand crawling and deep squatting to make your way across the floor. If your legs get tired, you can alternate between hovering with your knees above the ground and sticking your butt up in the air. Or come up to standing and use your feet to slide the rag across the floor. Backward and side lunges work well for this.