What Is ‘Cozy Cardio’ — and Does It Really Have Health Benefits?

A new fitness trend is taking over social media promising a gentler alternative to heart-pumping, sweaty workout sessions. So-called “cozy cardio” encourages people to engage in low-impact exercise from the comfort of their own home. Paired with comfy clothes and a relaxing environment — think dim lighting, candles, and soft music — the goal of cozy cardio is to make exercise enjoyable and accessible for all.

But just how effective is cozy cardio and can it actually improve health? We spoke to experts in the fields of cardiology and sports medicine to get the lowdown on the latest social media exercise trend.

Cozy cardio was coined by TikToker Hope Zuckerbrow who regularly posts videos of her morning exercise routines. These sessions typically include a low-impact activity like walking at a gentle pace on her walking pad, lighting candles, having a tasty drink like a protein coffee, and switching on her favorite comfort show or romcom in the background.

Others on social media have followed suit, posting their own cozy cardio routines and encouraging others to partake in this kinder, slower approach to exercise. And it’s working — the #CozyCardio hashtag currently has more than 37 million views on TikTok.

Of course, popular trends on social media don’t always translate to actual health benefits. But fitness experts say this is one trend they can get behind.

“There are lots of ways to exercise that do not include the typical ‘burpee’ routine,” says Shelby York, a sports medicine physical therapist at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “The key is that you are choosing exercises that can help you achieve the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise and two days of strengthening per week. As someone who does not regularly follow TikTok trends, this is one I very much support.”

Before getting into the potential benefits of cozy cardio, it’s important to understand the difference between low-impact and high-impact exercise, as well as what we mean by intensity level.

“Moderate-intensity exercise gets your heart rate up and you typically breathe harder but are still able to talk,” says Jessica A Hennessey, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. “Low-impact is defined as exercises which do not put significant strain and weight on your muscles and joints during exercise. Moderate-intensity exercise can be low-impact!”

Low-impact exercises include walking, cycling, rowing, swimming, elliptical, yoga, and Pilates. Depending on the equipment you have at home (and if you’re lucky enough to have a swimming pool), you can make any of these activities part of your cozy cardio routine.

In contrast to low-impact exercise, high-impact exercise, such as running or jumping, puts more stress on the joints.

“High impact exercises can help with bone density, but if you aren’t strong enough to tolerate the exercise, it can cause pain to the bones, muscles, and connective tissues,” York says.

And the good news is low-impact cardio can have many of the same health benefits as high-impact cardio, she says.

Research published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that walking 10,000 steps per day — a great low-impact option — is associated with a lowered risk of dementia, heart disease, cancer, and death. What’s more, even a lower step count was associated with some benefit. Every 2,000 steps reduced the risk of premature death incrementally by 8 to 11 percent, up to approximately 10,000 steps a day, the study authors reported.

In another study, published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, researchers analyzed 33,060 runners and 15,045 walkers (with moderate-intensity). They found that both groups had reduced risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol over a six-year follow-up.

Low-impact workouts can also torch calories. According to Harvard Health, similar amounts of calories can be burned with certain high or low-impact exercises. For example, 30 minutes of moderate cycling burns the same amount of calories as high impact aerobics.

“Intensity, as in how hard you’re working, is a better metric of ability to burn calories,” Dr. Hennessey says. “You can be high-intensity and still low-impact when you’re vigorously riding a stationary bike or increasing your speed while swimming. If you’re starting with lower intensity, you will need more time to have the same amount of calories burned.”

Anyone can reap the benefits of cozy cardio, but it can be particularly helpful for those just starting out on their fitness journeys, experts say.

“Cozy cardio is a great initial way to get moving,” Hennessey says. “Gym anxiety and time crunches are all real reasons, among many others, for patients to avoid exercise or prioritize other things besides exercise. This approach helps exercise become something one looks forward to by adding touches that make it ‘cozy’ and ‘comfortable.’”

But even the most avid runners or bootcamp enthusiasts can benefit from cozy cardio.

“Anyone who regularly does exercise also needs recovery days to allow the body to relax and adapt to the higher intensity work,” says Heather Milton, exercise physiology supervisor at NYU Langone’s Sports Performance Center in New York City. “Taking cozy cardio days can be a good strategy to ensure those recovery days take place.”

Cozy cardio can also be helpful for those who have decreased exercise tolerance, Milton notes, including people going through chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation, as well as those who have bone injury or severe cardiac disease.

Cozy cardio — with its emphasis on exercising in a relaxing environment — can also come with the added benefit of stress relief, which can have a major impact on heart health.

“Stress affects your well-being indirectly by contributing to poor health behaviors, like smoking, overeating, and poor sleep,” Hennessey says, “and also directly by increasing your blood pressure and heart rate as it invokes the fight-or-flight response.”

A study published in JAMA Network Open determined that high levels of stress is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and death from any cause.

“Positive psychological health is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease,” Hennessey says. “Exercise is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Put them together and you’re getting both of those benefits in half the time.”