12 Indoor Exercises to Avoid the Cold 🥶
Movement is essential to health! If you don’t want to brave the cold and don’t have a gym membership, here are some things that anybody can do in their own living room:
🔹 Jump Rope
🔹 Push-Ups
🔹 Jumping Jacks
🔹 Squats
🔹 Run in Place
🔹 Free Weights
🔹 Skip
🔹 Dance
🔹 Stretch
🔹 Shake
🔹 Yoga
🔹 Push-Ups
Health is not hard. You just have to commit.
You've got this! 🙌
Should I exercise when I’m stressed?
There are a lot of mixed messages out there, so let’s look at some facts.
Intense exercise causes a temporary increase in stress hormones BUT:
✅ The cortisol spike during intense exercise reduces the cortisol response to subsequent stressors in life AND
✅ Exercise releases endorphins, which naturally combat stress AND
✅ Regular exercise over time supports a healthy cortisol rhythm.
Some exercises, like yoga and tai chi, combat stress by putting the nervous system into a more parasympathetic state.
So, for most people, exercise helps to combat stress.
Exercise only becomes a problem when it’s extreme and intense—particularly in people who are already stressed by other things in life.
It’s all about looking at the big picture!
🚴♀️ Good news for Weekend Warriors!
A new study in JAMA found that more physical activity—even if concentrated into 1-2 days per week—benefits cardiovascular health ❤️
Researchers looked at data from nearly 90,000 adults (average age 62) in the UK Biobank.
When looking at cardiovascular outcomes, including heart attacks and strokes, physical activity concentrated into 1-2 days per week was equally beneficial as the same amount of exercise spread throughout the week.
The takeaway?
👉 Regardless of your schedule, everyone can find ways to benefit from exercise!
Find what pattern works for you. Trust you’re doing a good thing for your health.
When do you like to exercise? Are you a Weekend Warrior—yes or no?
Khurshid S, Al-Alusi MA, Churchill TW, Guseh JS, Ellinor PT. Accelerometer-Derived “Weekend Warrior” Physical Activity and Incident Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA. 2023;330(3):247–252. [link]
👇Have you heard?
🤸♂️ Exercise can change your gut microbiome 🚴
A new study of middle-aged adults in Canada (just regular people—not athletes) found that exercising 150+ minutes per week had a positive effect on the gut microbiome.
Most people focus on foods to support a healthy gut. This study shows that exercise works too 🙌
What’s even more exciting is that a healthier gut microbiome could translate into better:
✔️ Skin
✔️ Mood
✔️ Digestion
✔️ Metabolism
✔️ Brain Health
✔️ Immune Function
✔️ And Overall Health
This study showed that the gut microbiome responded more to a longer duration of exercise, whereas the exercise intensity didn’t matter.
Like this post ❤️if it motivated you!
Shah S, Mu C, Moossavi S, et al. Physical activity-induced alterations of the gut microbiota are BMI dependent. FASEB J. 2023;37(4):e22882. [link]
Do you ever skip exercise because you don’t have time? 👇
A new study in the European Heart Journal found that all you need is 8 minutes!!
How is that possible?
The study looked at data from fitness trackers worn by more than 71,000 people in the UK and followed their health status (tracking heart disease, cancer, and deaths) for about 6 years.
📋 That’s a lot of data 📋
Compared with no exercise, they began to see health benefits at just 15-20 minutes per week of vigorous exercise.
2 bouts per day of 2 minutes of vigorous exercise was associated with 35% lower deaths from heart disease.
👉 The optimal amount of vigorous exercise was 54 minutes per week (8 minutes per day) 👈
More than 8 minutes per day and the benefits plateaued.
If you’re wondering why this sounds a bit different than the typical recommendation to exercise 30 minutes at least 5 times per week, it’s because the 8 minutes we’re talking about is VIGOROUS rather than moderate exercise.
Vigorous Exercise Means:
✅ Heart rate above 77% your max (if you’re wearing a fitness tracker)
✅ Breathing too hard to have a comfortable conversation
✅ It could be dancing, running, biking, lifting weights, or anything that gets you feeling breathless
I have nothing against a long walk or bike ride, but if you’re crunched for time, this study is fabulous news.
Let me know in the comments—have you ever tried short bursts or exercise instead of long? 👇
REFERENCE:
Ahmadi MN, Clare PJ, Katzmarzyk PT, Del Pozo Cruz B, Lee IM, Stamatakis E. Vigorous physical activity, incident heart disease, and cancer: how little is enough? [published online ahead of print, 2022 Oct 27]. Eur Heart J. 2022. [link]