#StayHome Workouts: How To Wash Your Car and Burn Calories At The Same Time
People are struggling to find ways to keep fit nowadays, being unable to visit their usual gyms, workout studios, or even neighbourhood fitness corners due to the coronavirus. As social-distancing measures leave most Singaporeans hunkered down at home.
If you’re busy with a full-time job, it was probably never easy to find the time to either wash your car or keep fit. So in this article, we will reveal how you can kill two birds with one stone -- washing your car can actually be a highly effective at-home workout routine! Learning and adopting these tips and tricks could be useful for when isolation measures ease up and you return to work!
1. Wrist and Forearm Strengthening
Most car-washing procedures require repetitive hand motions, which may get tiring and boring. Instead of focusing solely on cleaning, keep in mind that you are also taking the opportunity to strengthen your wrists and forearms! The thought could make the entire process of car-washing more fun and engaging.
Scrubbing your car’s rims with a wheel cleaner brush is an example of a wrist and forearm strengthening exercise you could do while washing your car. By stretching and exercising the muscles around your wrists, washing your car rims will keep your wrists strong and flexible, avoiding stress injuries.
Do remember to rinse away as much dirt and brake dust as possible before cleaning your car’s rims. There are a plethora of rim cleaning agents in the market, some of which may contain chemicals that are unsuitable for your specific rim surface. You may choose to either contact your manufacturer for more information on what chemicals are safe for your rim or use regular car wash soap!
2. Biceps, Triceps, and Shoulder Strengthening
Cleaning the body of your car requires larger scrubbing and out-reaching motions that will strengthen opposing muscle groups in your arms and upper body. An exercise or training regime that targets opposing muscle groups refers to a workout that will train both the front and back parts of one particular area of the body.
Instead of wondering if every aspect of your car’s body has been scrubbed equally clean, try creating a structured program to spice things up. For example, you could do 3 sets of 20 clockwise scrubs on one side of your car, switching over to anticlockwise scrubs on the other side.
Remember to start from the top of the car and work your way to the bottom to avoid bringing dirt and grime back up to the parts you’ve already cleaned. In addition, be sure to use plenty of soap, be it applying it directly to the car surface or onto your mitt. Although more friction may imply more resistance, potentially increasing the intensity of your workout, let’s try to have enough lubrication to rub off dirt without causing any scratches!
Moreover, you may want to use a car window cleaner for your car’s windows -- normal glass cleaners may damage your car window’s tint. After you’re done scrubbing every last inch of your car, hose your car with clean water and then wipe it down with a microfibre towel. Microfibre towels are not only softer but more absorbent than normal towels, lowering the risk of you scratching your car while drying it. Some car owners have the habit of leaving their car to dry by itself, thinking it’d be a great idea given Singapore’s sunny weather. However, this will leave unsightly water spots on your car!
3. Quadriceps, Hamstrings, and Glutes Strengthening
If even light aerobic exercises such as walking or stationary cycling can improve blood flow and leg strength, washing your car will certainly be an exercise that will fire up your lower-body muscles! Constantly having to squat and stand upright to scrub all the hard-to-reach areas of your car will strengthen leg muscles we use in our daily activities, making everything from walking up stairs or lifting heavy objects easier.
We also suggest that you adopt a two-bucket wash. Using a single bucket would mean soaking your mitt into water containing the same dirt you just washed off your car, making the whole process of car-washing redundant. Use one bucket for water only (rinse bucket) and a second bucket for your soap mixture (wash bucket). Be it carrying these buckets to and fro the tap, or simply going the extra mile to do a couple of stationary squats with the buckets near your car, there are many opportunities to squeeze in a quick workout while washing your car!
Innovative Ways To Workout While Washing Your Car
The best at-home workouts don’t necessarily require a ton of expensive equipment -- or any equipment as a matter of fact -- other than your own body weight and some tools to wash your car! Staying healthy and keeping fit while being quarantined is very doable and we hope our article has shown you how exercises can be incorporated into basic daily activities!
When preparing to wash your car, ensure that you have the proper soap mixtures to wash your car’s windows, tyres, and body. One type of soap is not necessarily adaptable to wash your entire car! Your carwash mitt is also important as normal sponges can be harmful to the paint. Consider purchasing a microfibre cloth, which will be much gentler on your car and effective at absorbing water.
DirectAsia would also like to take this chance to urge everyone to turn this season of challenges into opportunities – opportunities to not only keep fit but stay safe and protected.
Aside from our 1-month free car insurance promotion (tip: promotion ends 30th June 2020!), we offer consistent straightforward and hassle-free services at competitive prices, making the process of being covered easy and efficient! Be it an enquiry with regards to car insurance or for a consultation, don’t hesitate to visit our website to get the assistance you need!
