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How to: Add 8 minutes of exercise to your day (without thought!)

by | Jan 28, 2020 | Last updated Feb 15, 2022

relaxing

Author: Alena Mokryzck

You might enjoy watching a TV show — whether it’s a comedy, drama, reality show, or something else entirely — as a way to relax after a long day. With a little creativity, you can fit in some form of movement at the same time!

The average TV show is between 30-60 minutes in length. Most 30-minute TV shows are only about 22 minutes long, though. This leaves 8 minutes that are dedicated exclusively to commercial breaks! For 60-minute TV shows, this same pattern continues meaning that on average commercial breaks make up a total of 16 minutes.

Since you are really there to watch the TV show, commercial breaks are valuable opportunities for you to incorporate some form of movement. What type of movement, though? The good news is that this is completely up to you! You don’t need to own any special exercise equipment, but if you do, that’s great! Also, if you watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or Disney + which don’t have commercial breaks, you can still do this! You could set a timer to act as commercial breaks and exercise then or you could take a longer exercise break in between episodes. 

If you want to exercise while standing, you can do that. If you want to exercise while sitting or while on the floor, you can do that too! Some examples include:

  • Standing exercises:
    • Walk up and down the stairs
    • Jog in place for 1 minute
    • Do 25 jumping jacks
    • Do 20 squats
  • Sitting exercises:
    • Bicep curls – 2 sets of 10 repetitions, using free weights to determine the correct level of the difficulty
    • Knee extensions – 2 sets of 10 repetitions, using ankle weights to determine the correct level of the difficulty
    • Seated marching – do this for 1 minute, using ankle weights to determine the correct level of the difficulty
  • Floor exercises: 
    • Do various yoga poses for 5 minutes
    • Do 10 push-ups
    • Do 10 sit-ups
    • Hold a plank for 30 seconds

These are only a few examples, though. It is important for you to pick a form of movement that is manageable based on where you are in your health journey and what feels right to you!

If you’re looking for more guidance on your exercise routine, sign up for Noom today!