‘Embracing Soft Girl, Low-Impact Workouts Helped Me Embrace My Plus-Size Body, Too’

If there was ever a reason to skip the 7 a.m. HIIT class, this is it.

The fitness industry and its influencers have long preached toxic ideas of what a cardio workout needs to look like in order to “count”: that you have to burn a certain number of calories, feel breathless and uncomfortable, and end your session dripping in sweat, to name a few.

But that’s not reality, says Olivia Bethmann, CPT, a trauma-informed certified personal trainer and creator of &Strength. 

“Sometimes people have an all-or-nothing mentality with movement, but that’s totally not the case,” Bethmann says. “I want people to remember that it doesn’t have to be like this intense 30-, 45-minute session. And that means doing this gentle movement in a cozy way in their home, whether it’s 15 or 20 minutes, it still counts, and it’s still really amazing for your physical and mental health.”

One way you can treat your body to movement when high-intensity training just isn’t in the cards? Try a cozy cardio workout. 

The benefits of cozy cardio and gentle movement

The definition of cozy cardio varies from person to person. But to Bethmann, it’s essentially movement performed in a safe, comfortable setting. “I associate cozy cardio with feeling safe and the ability for our bodies to fully relax,” she explains. “It’s more about supporting our nervous system and really creating an environment that isn’t triggering or isn’t extremely harsh to ourselves.”

Boutique fitness studio environments are often equipped with bright lights or ear-piercing music—but these aren’t essentials to a heart-pumping workout, Bethmann says. There isn’t one “right” way to move. “The fitness industry has made a lot of rules on how people should move when, in reality, you know your body best and know what it likes to do,” she says. 

In some cases, that might mean accruing a mile or two on a walking pad or flowing through a bodyweight circuit in your living room rather than attending a HIIT class. “Moving at home in a comfortable space and cozy clothes where you feel safe is really good for our mental health—and that also greatly impacts our physical health,” Bethmann adds.

Grueling burpees, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks are usually the first to come to mind when you think of at-home cardio. But in reality, any type of movement—including resistance-training moves—can get your heart rate up, depending on how you program it into a workout. And that means it can contribute toward your quota of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week (linked with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and other health benefits), as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

For a cozy cardio workout, you might do an exercise for one minute, rest for 30 seconds, and then switch to the next movement. “It’s not in a high-impact type of way. It’s not in a speed way,” Bethmann says. “This allows you to go at the speed and pace that makes sense for you. It’s that repetitive movement that can then start to get our heart rate up.” Plus, opting for resistance-style moves gives you the perk of building muscular endurance and strength. 

How to prep for a cozy cardio workout

Regardless of the exercises you’re including in your cozy cardio workout, Bethmann suggests incorporating all five senses into the experience. Here are some of her favorite ways to hit all the boxes, but feel free to make the set-up personalized to you and what brings you joy. 

• Sight: Set up your space with artwork you enjoy, your favorite colors, or natural elements, such as flower arrangements plants. Keep the lighting dim and cozy, and place flameless candles on the floor surrounding your mat for a warm glow. 
• Smell: Light your favorite candles that are perfumed with relaxing scents.
• Sound: Play music that’s supportive of your emotional state. Bethmann enjoys folk music and similar chill genres, but you may prefer something different. Loud, thumping, high-tempo tunes probably aren’t the best for a cozy cardio workout.
• Taste: A glass of cold water is always a go-to beverage for a workout, but you can also sip on a cup of tea or another beverage that puts you in a good mood. 
• Touch: Slip into clothes that are breathable and feel like a warm embrace. The last thing you want is the waistband of your leggings digging into your hips and your sports bra constricting your breath. 

Once you’ve set the mood, gently prep your body for the workout to come, starting with some breathwork. Spend a few minutes practicing diaphragmatic breathing or three-part breathing, intentional breathing practices that help to bring you into the present moment and calm the nervous system, Bethmann says. 

Then, perform a few rounds of dynamic warm-up movements. Bethmann suggests cat-cow and quadruped thoracic motion to open up the upper back and warm up the spine; a half-kneeling hip flexor stretch to warm up the hips after sitting for prolonged periods; arm swings and hamstring sweeps; and heel drops, a grounding exercise. End with a few air squats or squat jumps to start bringing the heart rate up.

“The whole thing is, we don’t want to go into these states of intenseness,” she explains. “We want to move into these nervous system states in a controlled space. So this is starting to get our heart rate up a little bit, telling our bodies, ‘Okay, we’re getting ready to move a little bit more and to get into it.’”

Once you’re feeling warmed up and in a good headspace, you’re ready to kick off your cozy cardio workout. 

“Moving at home in a comfortable space and cozy clothes where you feel safe is really good for our mental health—and that also greatly impacts our physical health.” —Olivia Bethmann, CPT

A 20-minute cozy cardio workout that works your entire body

This cozy cardio workout, programmed by Bethmann, is easily adaptable to your current wants, needs, and abilities. “All of these [exercises] will definitely get your heart rate up into that cardio type of fashion but aren’t extremely intense,” she says. “There’s not a lot of jumping or skipping or things like that, [which] may be too much for the nervous system.”

Bethmann demonstrates some of the exercises with dumbbells, which bumps up the intensity and challenges your muscular endurance and strength, but you can use items around your house to get the job done, including water bottles or cans, she says. You can do all of the movements with just your body weight, too.

To do the workout, perform the first exercise for one minute. Take 30 seconds of rest, then move on to the next exercise. Take this at your own pace; the quicker you perform the movements, the more of a rise in heart rate you’ll experience. 

“[The] benefit of doing [the exercise] for one minute is that you can decide your speed as well as weight intensity,” Bethmann explains. “Repetitive movement supports our nervous system and allows us to move our minds toward how the movement feels rather than understanding what we’re physically doing.”

Perform this circuit twice for a 20-minute cozy cardio workout, but you can do more (or fewer) rounds depending on how you’re feeling. 

1. Overhead march

Holding your arms above your head as you march, bringing your knees up to your chest one at a time, is a great full-body exercise, Bethmann says. It picks up your heart rate, challenges your balance, tests your core, and works your shoulders, especially if you’re holding onto weights.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms raised above your head, palms facing in toward one another. Your biceps should be in line with your ears. You can hold weight or perform this with just your body weight. 
2. Engage your core by bracing as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach. This is the starting position. 
3. On an exhale, shift your weight into your right foot, lift your left foot off the floor, and drive your left knee up to your chest.
4. On an inhale, reverse the movement, lowering your left foot to the floor and straightening your left leg. 
5. Repeat on the opposite side. 

Repeat, alternating sides, for 1 minute. 

2. Air squat with alternating kick

This cozy cardio workout move works double-duty as a lower-body exercise—challenging your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and more—and a balance exercise, thanks to the combination of the squat and single-leg kick. For an added challenge, hold onto two dumbbells at your sides, as if you’re carrying a suitcase, Bethmann suggests. 

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands in front of your chest. Engage your core by bracing as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach. This is the starting position. 
2. On an inhale, send your hips back as if you’re sitting on an invisible chair, then allow your knees to bend to lower your butt toward the floor. Continue lowering into your squat as far as comfortable. 
3. On an exhale, press into all four corners of your feet to straighten your legs and return to standing. 
4. Quickly kick your left leg out in front of you, driving your left foot up toward the ceiling as much as comfortable. 
5. Reverse the movement, bringing your left foot back to the ground, then immediately drop into your next squat. 

Repeat, alternating kicks, for 1 minute. 

3. Alternating reverse lunge to biceps curl

The combination of a reverse lunge and a biceps curl gives you a cozy cardio workout move that tests your lower and upper body in one fell swoop.

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms hanging at your sides. You can hold weights or perform this with just your body weight. Turn your palms to face forward.
2. Engage your core by bracing as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach. This is the starting position. 
3. On an inhale, take a step back with your right leg. Then, bend your left knee to lower your body toward the floor until both of your knees form 90-degree angles, or you’ve lunged as low as comfortable. Simultaneously, curl the dumbbells up toward your shoulders, keeping your elbows tucked into your sides. 
4. On an exhale, press into your left foot to rise up out of the lunge, bringing your right foot to meet your left and simultaneously straightening your arms. 

Repeat, alternating sides, for 1 minute. 

4. Russian twist

This classic core exercise challenges your obliques and can easily be modified or progressed. The further you lean back into the hinge, the more challenging it will be. For added support, keep your feet planted on the floor. 

1. Sit on the floor with your legs fully extended in front of you, holding your hands in front of your chest. Hold one dumbbell with both hands for added intensity. 
2. Engage your core by bracing as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach. Hinge back from your hips, then lift your feet off the floor, keeping a soft bend in your knees. This is the starting position.
3. Keeping your hips square and body from twisting from side to side, rotate through the spine to the left. Only rotate as far as comfortable. 
4. Then, rotate through the spine to the right, continuing to breathe. 

Repeat, alternating sides, for 1 minute. 

5. Bent-over row to reverse fly

This two-in-one exercise targets your back muscles that support healthy posture and trains them in a functional movement pattern; you use the “pulling” motion in your everyday life, whether you’re picking your dog up off the floor or opening a heavy door. 

1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms hanging at your sides. You can hold weights or perform this with just your body weight. Turn your palms inward so they face each other.
2. Engage your core by bracing as if someone is about to punch you in the stomach. Then, hinge forward from your hips to lower your chest until it’s roughly parallel to the floor. Your arms should be hanging down toward the floor in front of your chest. Gaze toward the floor in front of you. This is the starting position.
3. On an exhale, perform your bent-over row: Drive your elbows back behind you and pull your hands toward your rib cage, feeling your shoulder blades squeeze together. 
4. On an inhale, straighten your arms in front of you to return to start. 
5. Then, on an exhale, perform your reverse fly: Keeping your arms straight but not locked and hands in line with your chest, lift your arms out to the sides and toward the ceiling. Continue lifting your arms until your hands are roughly aligned with your ribcage. 
6. On an inhale, lower your arms back in front of your torso to return to start. 

Repeat, alternating between the bent-over row and the reverse fly, for 1 minute. 

6. Triceps dip

This bodyweight exercise trains your triceps, the muscles on the backside of your upper arms that are responsible for extending your elbow. To spice it up, perform the movement with your hands resting on top of a chair, couch, or coffee table, which allows for a greater range of motion. 

1. Sit on the floor with your feet resting flat on the ground. Lean back and plant your hands on the floor behind your glutes, with your fingertips pointing toward you.
2. Press into your hands and feet to lift your glutes off the floor. Your arms should be straight but not locked. This is the starting position. 
3. On an inhale, bend through your elbows to slowly lower your glutes to the floor. 
4. On an exhale, press into your hands to straighten your arms, lift your glutes, and return to the starting position.

Repeat for 1 minute.

7. Plank get-up

End your cozy cardio workout with a full-body burner: You’ll spend the minute of work alternating between a high plank on your hands and a forearm plank, which challenges all of your core musculature, as well as your shoulders, chest, and triceps. 

1. Start in a forearm plank on the floor: Lie on your stomach with your forearms on the floor and your elbows directly beneath your shoulders. Keep your feet flexed with the bottoms of your toes on the floor. Ensure your elbows are parallel to each other. Engage your core by drawing your belly button toward your spine, tilt your pelvis slightly, and contract your glutes. Press into your forearms and rise up on your toes.
2. Press up onto your palms one arm at a time into a high plank: Your wrists are stacked with your shoulders, legs are fully extended, and feet are hip-width apart. Your back should be flat, forming a straight line from head to heel. Try to keep your body as still as possible, avoiding excessive rotation. 
3. Alternate lowering down onto your elbows one arm at a time and pressing back up onto your palms one arm at a time.

Repeat, alternating which side you lower to the floor first, for 1 minute. 

Cool down

After powering through the cozy cardio circuit one to three times, cap off your workout with a restorative cooldown. Just like your warm-up, Bethmann recommends beginning with two to three minutes of breathwork. This time, focus on holding the exhale a bit longer. “That signals to our body that it is time to fully rest, and now we’re really cooling down and using that breath to kind of help bring us back into that parasympathetic state,” she explains.

Then, spend some time stretching any areas of the body that feel tight. For this workout in particular, you’ll want to focus on the glutes, upper back, and shoulders.