I recently found an old issue of Health magazine in the dentist’s waiting room that claimed “rolling on a new coat of paint burns 204 calories an hour.”
Maybe that explains why my husband — the designated roller (I generally handle the trim and cutting-in) — is tall and slim even though he eats ice cream almost every night while I drink tea. According to the magazine’s numbers, a three- to four-hour rolling session could burn 600–800 calories. That sounds impressive. I’ve never been a regular at the gym, but I remember clinging to the treadmill at a steep incline and desperately trying to hit 250 calories before I was allowed to stop. My gym visits were sporadic at best — a few trips in college when a friend’s membership let me tag along — so I’m no exercise expert. I’ll concede that cutting in probably doesn’t use as much of the body as rolling does, though climbing a step ladder to paint the top of a room always leaves my calves sore the next day.
Painting isn’t exactly a workout on the level of a boot camp, but I’ll take any extra movement I can get.
On that note, I’m in the middle of a long painting project, so it might be a few days before I have full after photos to share. To avoid teasing you, I’ll just say what I’m working on: the living room beams (we mentioned our plans briefly here). I’m experimenting with a few finishes — a gray-washed look, a stain-like finish, and a more opaque matte option — and we’ll decide which we prefer as the process unfolds. I’ll probably be the one making the final call while John watches Clara and mind the blog. That’s the plan for this Friday (and the weekend too). By the time I’m done, I joke I might be so skinny you won’t recognize me. Har har.
Here are some preliminary photos from the early stages; I’ll share more details and progress shots as the project continues.
Since painting might not burn as many calories as the magazine suggests, I’ve been wondering about demo work — my other favorite job. How many calories does swinging a sledgehammer or prying with a crowbar burn? (Of course not in flip-flops — there was a quick shoe change before I helped demolish a medallion in our old backyard a few years back.)
I suspect demolition would be a far more intense workout than painting. Now that sounds like a gym class I’d actually attend regularly: Sledgehammer Aerobics. Who’s in?