Q: Do you think Cosy Cardio is a good way to stick to an exercise routine?
Not enough credit goes to the tens of thousands of fitfluencers and fitness entrepreneurs who continually reinvent the wheel and convince the public they have found something new.
People have been loafing during cardio since time immemorial. It just took a Gen Z to stylise it and turn it into an expression of self-love for it to become an aspirational fitness trend.
It’s also well named. We can imagine what would be next: Soft Strength, Fragile Fitness, Delicate Deadlift, Easy Exercise, Accountable ANC.
For those who are now sold on the concept, Cosy Cardio was created by TikTok sensation Hope Zuckerbrow. It’s about getting cosy and doing cardio in a way that doesn’t make you uncomfortable, surrounded by creature comforts and — bizarrely — without raising the pulse noticeably.
In one of her most famous TikToks, she starts out by keeping the curtains closed just after 5.15am in the morning. She makes protein coffee, inserts a pink straw in honour of Barbie and prepares iced water that she places alongside the coffee on a nice little pedestal to her left. “I’m always afraid to take my vitamin C because it is a literal horse pill,” she says, while swallowing her supplements.
She lights scented candles and creates an ambience that those in my age group would associate more closely with date night. She places a walking pod behind the sofa and scrolls through the channels to find her favourite show. She strolls for what she says is about 40 minutes, covering just more than 2.6km and burning 168 calories. A standard KitKat packs 518 calories, for reference.
If you want to get cosy, get cosy. It’s no-one’s business but your own. And to be fair, despite the acerbic tone that naturally emerges whenever someone implies exercise should take no effort, she is charming. It was enjoyable to watch, she is incredibly likable and it is no surprise she is a superstar in the parallel universe I seldom venture into. She is also doing good, and here’s why.
Fundamental principle
If someone is not moving at all, the concept of cosy cardio is great. It will get them moving, and they are likely to stick to it. You see, cosy cardio doesn’t have to be indoors, it can be a comfortable walk in the park for 40 minutes three times a week. Anything that gets anyone moving should be welcomed.
The difficulty arises once the routine is in place and you want to start seeing results in the form of fitness or fat loss. You will simply have to become comfortable being uncomfortable. Adaptation is a fundamental principle of exercise. You create a stimulus and your body responds and overcompensates by preparing to handle the stimulus or stress more efficiently the next time. Problem is, if you keep the stimulus the same, you won’t trigger any changes in your body.
Progression, then, is another fundamental exercise concept — you must progressively increase the intensity, duration or difficulty of an exercise to keep enjoying improvements.
It is obvious you can’t keep progressing forever, but that is when you change up the exercise routine or back off for a while. If you want to achieve specific fitness goals you have to keep challenging yourself intelligently and safely. If you just want to move then that is fine, it will have positive effects on your mental state and cardiovascular system.
Zuckerbrow, just like many before her and many yet to come, has recognised that most people don’t enjoy exerting effort or taking themselves out of their comfort zones. She has done it in a wholesome, gentle Gen Z way, while Gen X and Baby Boomers used to peddle useless gadgets — “Call 08600 TIGHT ABS to order your very own six pack today!”
The truth, however, is that exercise and gym mimics life in that we only grow and become more resilient when we are forced out of our comfort zones. It may feel like hell in the moment but the satisfaction — and relief — afterwards is priceless.
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