So let's say you like to workout for 30 minutes a few times a week, but experts say you need to do it for 60 minutes, how do you find the time?  Spring Cleaning could be your answer!  Actually you can take any of you routine tasks and use them to get a little exercise, but Spring cleaning it top of mind right now so why not make the most of it.

As you might have guessed, you don't get exercise benefits by strolling around with a feather duster.

"Intensity is the key," says Debbie Mandel, MA, a trainer and author of Turn On Your Inner Light: Fitness for Body, Mind and Soul. "I always say gyms should have classes where women are pushing a vacuum cleaner or wiping down the mirrors!"

It's also important to work quickly. "To get more benefit, speed up the time in which you do something," says Mary Findley, a former professional housecleaner who now owns Mary Moppins, a mop-manufacturing company in Eugene, Ore.

But here's one case where efficiency is not a good thing. More steps and more movements are what you're after. So forget that cleaning-product caddy organizer people always recommend you carry around. If you have to walk extra steps to get the broom, that's golden.

Here are some other tips for making housework a workout:

* Put on some fast music -- rock and roll, salsa, whatever you like. This helps you pick up speed, Findley says. A bathroom should only take 20 minutes to clean, she says. So get moving!

* Whenever you're doing chores, tighten your abs. This prevents you from slouching.

* Stretch extra-high to knock down those cobwebs or prune that limb. You should feel it along your side.

* Strive for large up-and-down movements. When cleaning a shower door, for example, make big circles. "I am a trainer and I feel like my arm is about to fall off!" exclaims Mandel.

* Carry heavy baskets of laundry or supplies up from the basement, if your conditioning allows.

* Climb on a stepladder every chance you get. "What's the difference between this and a step class?" Mandel asks.

* Scrub floors on your hands and knees. And get on your hands and knees to pull out all that dust and clutter hiding under the bed.

* Do lunges while vacuuming (keep toes pointed straight ahead, and don't bend your knees further than 90 degrees). You'll feel it in your thighs.

* When putting away dishes, face forward and twist to reach the cabinets.

* In the garden, lunge toward weeds. "Some of them have roots 5 feet long," Mandel says. "Those'll give you a workout!"

* Pruning requires forearm strength (and helps develop it). It also requires reaching on your toes -- like a calf raise, Mandel says. So volunteer for this chore, and don't be afraid of thicker or higher branches.

* Pouring mulch or fertilizer from a heavy bag requires a squat. Remember to use your legs, not your back.

* Wielding a weed-eater is like fencing, almost. Pull in those abs and pay attention to your form.

* If you have area rugs, beat them using a clean broom rather than vacuuming. This means more steps to get outside and more exercise for your arm muscles.

See more tips and find out how many calories you can burn via Spring Cleaning Calorie Burn.

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