Fitness
Lazy exercise is still exercise. How to make the most out of your workout by doing the least.
There are some people who can’t get enough when it comes to exercise — the ones who are up at the crack of dawn for a jog, who squeeze in a class during their lunch break and prioritize boot camps over brunch on the weekends.
And then there are the rest of us. We know we need to exercise — for at least 150 minutes per week, plus two days of muscle-strengthening activities, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — but we don’t necessarily want to. Or maybe we struggle to find the time (not to mention the energy), get easily bored or feel out of our element (and out of shape) at the gym.
Enter: lazy exercise. Yes, there are ways to incorporate movement and exercise into your life without doing the whole no-pain-no-gain thing, or pushing yourself too far out of your comfort zone. Here’s how.
Focus on getting more steps in
Many people aim to walk 10,000 steps per day. Though you don’t actually have to hit this specific number, you can at least focus on beating your weekly average step count (which your smartphone or fitness tracker can measure). Walking comes with all sorts of health benefits, and it’s a simple way to ensure you’re spending less time sitting around (which is not so great for you).
The good news about people who dread exercise? Walking is pretty low-key and easy to work into your day. If you hate how much time exercise takes in your busy life, try getting in some extra steps while you’re busy doing errands (like, say, at the mall); sneak in some laps while your kids play at the park; walk to the store to grab stuff for dinner instead of taking your car; or take work phone calls while pacing around your office.
Try a micro exercise class
Does a 45-minute class feel like too much of a time commitment? Kira Jones Matousek, founder and CEO of the fitness app Cacti Wellness, tells Yahoo Life that her app features short workout videos — all under 20 minutes — in order for people to build exercises into their life in sustainable ways.
“My big mindset around wellness and working out is that it’s all about consistency and building habits that you can actually stick to,” Matousek says. “If you’re more likely to do 10 minutes of core every day than going just once a week to a really hard workout class, when you are then sore and don’t have the energy to go back … then it becomes a lifestyle.”
Look for apps or YouTube videos that offer shorter workouts that are simple to squeeze in — like when you need a break between Zoom meetings or are waiting for your dinner to cook.
Pair your exercises with something cozy — or fun
TikToker Hope Zuckerbrow introduced the world to “cozy cardio” when she shared her morning routine, which includes waking up early, making herself a fun beverage (like a protein coffee) and then using a walking pad while watching her favorite TV show. Zuckerbrow didn’t even change out of her fuzzy socks in order to get her steps in.
Research says that associating walking with something that makes you feel good (like, say, watching the latest episode of Vanderpump Rules) is an example of pairing — and it can help the habit stick. So, if you can only catch up on your reality TV drama when you’re on the walking pad, that might just be the incentive you need to keep it up.
Work out while you work
If much of your job is answering emails and Slack messages, consider doing it from a treadmill, says Matousek. She says you should walk at a pace where you are putting a little effort in, but can very comfortably keep up a conversation. “Then up the incline a little bit,” she says. Doing so is a “sneaky way to recruit your muscles,” such as your glutes, calves and posterior chain. Since you’re likely focused on sending out emails and communicating with co-workers, you might find that the workout (and work day) flies by.
Indulge in some “exercise snacking”
You don’t need to do a formal workout class in order to benefit from this form of “lazy” exercise. Try what’s called “exercise snacking,” which are short bursts of activity throughout your day. Maybe that means a few rounds of push-ups in between meetings, and then a couple of sets of squats when your day is done.
These exercise snacks can spike your heart rate (important, considering how we do need those 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week) but they’re way easier to fit into your life than a sustained cardio workout.
While you may not feel like you’re getting a full workout in, these snacks add up, breaking up sedentary time and helping you burn calories and build muscle.
Try the “Lazy 45” circuit
Sometimes, you find yourself in the gym with almost no motivation to move your body. David Mason, sports coach and founder of travel fitness website Barbells Abroad, tells Yahoo Life that when he feels that way, he aims for the “Lazy 45,” in which he picks three or four different cardio machines (like the stair climber, elliptical, treadmill or rower) and switches them up every 10 to 15 minutes. “The beauty is if you’re feeling a little sluggish, the time slots are short enough to know each one is almost over as soon as you start,” he explains.
Lie down
Exercise that involves standing up? Don’t bother on extra lazy days. If you want to relax while still working out, why not aim for a mat workout instead?
Maeve McEwen, director of programming and head trainer at Pvolve, tells Yahoo Life that getting closer to the ground can encourage you to connect more with your muscles and overall feel more supported. Plus, McEwen says you can also “use props like the wall, balls, pillows or the ground to help alleviate fatigue and support your form,” she says.
There are a bunch of different workouts that involve lying down, including mat Pilates and stretching. Matousek’s Cacti Wellness has a side lying series, in which participants use resistance bands for leg exercises. “You can put your head in your hand, and it’s not going to make it less of a workout for your lower body,” she notes.
Sneak in lazy exercise into your daily activities
You don’t have to plan for lazy exercise all the time — which makes it the most convenient of all. Just tweak your basic routine to be a tiny bit more active or challenging. Here are some examples:
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Take the stairs instead of the elevator
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Use a resistance band to do some thigh work during a long work meeting
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Make your chores more active, like putting some extra muscle into scrubbing your bathtub
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Carry your kid’s backpack while walking home from school (it’s basically rucking)
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Balance on one foot while brushing your teeth or cooking
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Play an active video game
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Add wrist or ankle weights while walking the dog
🏋🏽♀️ Fitness
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — 8News got a visit from two special guests Friday to learn about the benefits of Pilates and try out some beginner moves.
8News anchors Autumn Childress and Delaney Hall were joined by Laura Mae Harper and Angie Madison with Point and Flex Pilates. The studio, which opened on Sept. 3 last year, offers a variety of classes, ranging from beginner to intermediate and advanced.
“We went through years of teaching at other places and developed this beautiful studio for them and this community, and we’re super excited about it,” Harper said.
For more information, visit Point and Flex Pilates.
Like every piece of gear you wear on your body day in and day out, fitness trackers are incredibly personal. The right tracker for you should be comfortable, accurate, and tailored to your lifestyle, including your preferred workouts and health goals. Do you bike, row, or strength train? Do you run on trails for hours at a time, or do you just want a reminder to stand up every hour? Do you want to wear it on your wrist or your finger, or tuck it into your sports bra?
No matter what your needs are, there’s never been a better time to find a powerful, sophisticated tool to help optimize your workouts or jump-start your routine. We test dozens of fitness trackers every year while running, climbing, hiking, or just doing workout videos on our iPads at night, to bring you these picks.
Our top choice for most people is the Garmin Vivoactive 6 ($300), which works well with Android and iOS, but we also vouch for the latest Oura Ring 5 ($399) and the budget-friendly Google Fitbit Air ($100). For more wearables, check out our guides to the Best Smartwatches, Best Smart Rings, and Best Sleep Trackers.
Jump To
Best Fitness Tracker Overall
Garmin makes some of the most accurate fitness trackers on the market, and the Vivoactive 6 is the best midrange option for most people. It strikes a solid balance between smartwatch features and fitness tracking, with support for both iPhone and Android users.
Why WIRED recommends: The Vivoactive 6 is accurate, comfortable, and packed with useful wellness features without feeling overwhelming. It uses Garmin’s proprietary algorithms to power features like Morning Report and Body Battery, which provide daily insights into your sleep, recovery, and readiness. It also has built-in satellite connectivity and GPS, so you can track outdoor workouts without bringing your phone along. There’s also incident detection, which alerts emergency contacts if it detects a serious fall.
Garmin’s biggest advantage remains its free Connect platform, which enables health and fitness tracking without requiring a subscription. The company also continues to add new software features through regular updates without putting them behind a paywall.
The trade-offs: Garmin launched Connect+, a $70-per-year subscription with extras like live tracking and access to Garmin’s AI-powered Active Intelligence. Former editor Adrienne So doesn’t think most people need it, but it’s worth noting if you’re looking for a completely subscription-free experience. The Vivoactive 6 may also feel like overkill for casual users who only want basic activity and sleep tracking.
Fitness
Why this unexpected exercise is most effective for building arm muscle in your 50s – and how to do it properly
When it comes to building strong, defined arms, traditional fitness advice will usually point you toward endless sets of bicep curls and tricep extensions. But according to Dr Stacy Sims, a leading women’s exercise physiologist specialising in perimenopause and menopause, isolation movements like these aren’t necessarily the most effective. Instead, she advocates for one functional compound movement: the farmer’s carry.
Speaking on podcast A Life of Greatness, when host Sarah Grynberg asks how to get arm muscles like Dr Sims, the 51-year-old explained: ‘In order to get shoulders like this, heavy farmer’s carries. I’ve been travelling so much this year, and I haven’t been in the gym being consistent with all the push presses and Olympic lifts that I love to do, but what I have been consistent in doing is heavy farmer’s carries.
‘It’s good for grip strength, learning how to walk properly, core strength, shoulders – so if there’s one move everyone should do, it’s heavy farmer’s carries.’
The magic of the move lies in its ability to engage your biceps, triceps, shoulders, forearms and hands all at once. And because your arms are working continuously to stabilise heavy loads against gravity, the exercise activates the deep muscle fibres that don’t fire up as efficiently in single-joint arm movements, like bicep curls. Here’s how to do it with proper form, plus how heavy to lift and a workout to try, straight from Dr Sims.
How to do a farmer’s carry
- Standing with feet hip-width apart and weights at the outside of the ankles, hinge your hips back and bend the knees, keeping your back flat.
- Tighten up your lower back and abdominals before reaching down to grab the weights.
- After gripping the weights, begin to stand tall by driving your heels into the ground, maintaining a tight form. Once you reach full standing position, tighten your armpits and make sure your shoulders are pulled back to activate the muscles in the rotator cuff area.
- Finally, begin to take small steps forward, maintaining a strong grip and form. If you’re returning in opposite direction, set the weights down, turn around, and then grab the weights again before walking in the opposite direction.
Set/reps for results: Aim for three sets. Try timing your farmer’s carry for 25 to 30 seconds or go for 10 steps forward and back.
Form tips: Start out with a light weight to ensure you don’t end up leaning too far forward or towards one side. Make sure to keep your back straight for safety. When it comes to moving, small strides will do. They’ll keep you balanced as you increase your weights.
How heavy to lift
As for what “heavy” means to Dr Sims, she says: ‘How many people have heard that you should be able to farmer carry 75% of your body weight for a minute? That is made up from bro science. It’s a good metric but there’s no science behind it. So, a heavy farmer’s carry is you have two very heavy dumbbells by your side and you’re walking back and forth.’
Here’s a weight guide to follow:
- Beginners: 2x 4-6kg
- Intermediate: 2x 8-12kg
- Advanced: 2x 12-20kg
Farmer’s carry workout
Dr Sims shares a descending ladder workout to try.
- 500m ski
- 500m heavy farmer’s carry
- 400m ski
- 400m heavy farmer’s carry
- 300m ski
- 300m heavy farmer’s carry
- 200m ski
- 200m heavy farmer’s carry
- 100m ski
- 100m heavy farmer’s carry
‘If you really have anything left in the tank after this workout, you go back up in 100m,’ she adds.
One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.
Get the plan
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
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