Assessment
Sneak in Exercise During TV Time
Banish your inner couch potato with this mini-workout
VioletaStoimenova/Getty Images
Quick Win
While watching your favorite show, use the commercial breaks to improve your fitness. If you’re streaming, hit pause every 10 or 15 minutes.
Try This Today
- Break 1. Get your blood pumping with jumping jacks or a low-impact version in which you step one leg out to the side with each arm raise. Do two 30-second sets with a break in between.
- Break 2. Strengthen your lower body with 20 modified mini squats.
- Break 3. Work your arms, chest and shoulders with 20 modified push-ups.
Why
Short (10 minutes or fewer) bouts of exercise that get you off the couch throughout the day can improve more than 20 health outcomes, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels. There’s also evidence they may help with “enhancing cognitive performance and preventing declines in brain blood flow,” according to a review of 135 research studies and 27 systematic reviews published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science in 2025. National guidelines advise doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two strength training sessions per week — but you don’t have to do it all at once. Start where you are and work your way up!
More Ways to Benefit
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