Are you too busy to fit in exercise into your daily routine? Are you a couch potato who hates exercising? Do you think you don’t need to exercise? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may not have heard the news: Not exercising is actually worse for your health than smoking, diabetes, and heart disease, according to a new study.
Of course, we all know that exercising makes you healthier. But who would have guessed that not exercising is actually worse than smoking? In fact, according to a CNN article, Dr. Wael Jaber, senior author of the study and a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, deemed the study results “extremely surprising.”
Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!
The revelation that not exercising is worse than smoking and having diabetes and heart disease comes from a recent study published in the journal JAMA Network Open that sought to uncover the answer to the question: “What is the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and long-term mortality?”
The study results were loud and clear. Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!
Dr. Jaber told CNN that “being unfit on a treadmill or in an exercise stress test has a worse prognosis, as far as death, than being hypertensive, being diabetic or being a current smoker. We’ve never seen something as pronounced as this and as objective as this.”
There’s an easy solution for those who live a sedentary lifestyle: regular activity and exercise.
Easy Exercise Options to Get You Moving
You can actually start exercising at or around your house without much time or effort. So, for busy individuals or people who just don’t like to exercise, the following easy workouts are great for beginners, including dancing, online workouts, chair workouts, and walking.
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Just Walk!
Did you know that a 30-minute walk is a great way to exercise? Start your walk at a relaxing pace for about five minutes. Then increase your speed for the next 20 minutes. Finish off your walk with a final five-minute cool-down speed. Fit in your walk after lunch or dinner.
Do a Chair Workout
You can do a chair workout to exercise, which is great if you aren’t able to get out much or if you aren’t able to stand for long periods of time. All you need to do is grab a sturdy chair and workout at an easy pace for about 10 to 15 minutes multiple times each week. Check out these quick chair exercises you can do at home.
Dance, Dance, Dance
Dancing is actually a really good form of exercise. And you can do it at home by yourself, with your kids, or with your significant other! For a good workout, get your grove on for about 15 to 30 minutes at a time. And don’t worry about your neighbors seeing you through the window; they’ll probably want to join you!
Participate in Online Workouts
Thanks to today’s online-connected society, you can take advantage of online workouts from the comfort of your own home. No need to go to the gym if you don’t like that scene. Just turn on an online workout on your computer or TV and exercise. Checkout these 50 free online workout resources.
The Best Home Cardio Exercises
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Other cardio exercises that are great to do at home include jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, jugging in place, doing kickboxing, and doing exercises like burpees, squat jumps, and bear crawls. For instructions on how to do these exercises, check out Verywell Fit.
Source: CNN