Good Question: Are couch workouts worth it?

November 25, 2025 | 5 min read

Regular exercise is one of the most effective drivers of health and longevity. Yet only half of Canadian adults get the 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity recommended by experts to achieve better health and protect against chronic disease.¹

The first move towards activity could begin where Canadians spend about three hours watching TV and digital video content every day²: the couch. Could we add exercise to our chill time?

Couch workouts are exactly what they sound like: simple movements you can do on or around your sofa (some examples are below) while bingeing your favourite show. It’s a trend gaining traction on social media. If you’ve seen these individuals claiming to be crushing calories from the comfort of their living rooms, you might be wondering: Does it actually work?

We spoke with Gilles Beaudin, a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and an expert in physical fitness, strength, endurance, and flexibility with Cleveland Clinic Canada, Manulife’s medical director, to find out whether “couchersizing” lives up to the hype.

Do couch workouts really accomplish anything?

Gilles Beaudin: Any kind of activity in which you work your muscles, however little, is worth doing. Many people think that resistance training has to involve a big, elaborate set-up. But it doesn’t. You can exercise almost anywhere. Now, is a workout done on a couch optimal? No, probably not. But five minutes on the couch is better than nothing. You can still benefit from it.

Couch exercises tend to be functional moves that rely on body weight, which means they can strengthen muscles in your upper and lower body, as well as your core. Done properly, these exercises can increase the mobility of your joints. If you challenge yourself to put four or five different exercises together, you’ll probably feel your heart and lungs working, which means you’ll get cardiovascular benefits, too. And if you’re working hard, you’ll trigger a release of feel-good endorphins.

The human body is lazy. You have to challenge it if you want it to adapt. But your muscles don’t care if you’re lifting weights at a gym, or hauling rocks in your backyard, or using your body weight from your couch. If your muscles are being challenged, you will get stronger.

How can I make couch workouts a habit?

Gilles Beaudin: TV time is full of triggers to help you make time for working out. For instance, you can decide that whenever an ad break comes on, you’ll do 10 squats. Or that you will do a set of push-ups before you press play on the next episode of the series you’re watching. It might take a few weeks to get used to it, but over time those cues will help you get in the habit.

Keep it simple, and don’t worry about doing too much right away—it’s better to start small and build than to start too big and get discouraged. You can always add more time or intensity or reps as your body gets stronger. But if you hurt yourself the first time you do it, chances are you’re not going to want to do it again.

Can couch workouts play a role in encouraging other healthy habits?

Gilles Beaudin: Introducing a bit of movement into a normally passive activity like watching TV is a great way to start a loop of positive habits. The barriers to starting are low and you can feel the benefits quickly. Little gains snowball: You find something that works for you, you start to build success, and you want to do more because it feels good.

Years ago, a man in his mid-30s came to me for advice on losing weight. He’d heard that high-intensity workouts were best for fat loss, but they left him frustrated and in pain. Because he was starting from a place of inactivity, his body wasn’t ready for something so extreme. I advised him to start smaller: Spend 10 minutes on a stationary bike. He did just that and, over time, he started to feel better, physically and mentally. Because he felt more confident, he was motivated to then tackle his diet and apply the information his dietitian shared with him.

Is it ever too late to start a couch workout routine?

Gilles Beaudin: I have clients come to me saying, “I’m too old to exercise.” I say, “No, you’re too old to ignore it.” We all need to keep moving as we age, and once you pass 50, it’s even more important to prioritize fitness.

Many of the so-called advancements of modern life take functional movement away from us. You can get groceries without leaving your house. You can spend your day sitting and staring at a screen. But humans were not designed for inactivity. So we need to go out of our way to fit in movement, especially functional movement—which is relatively easy to do from a couch.

5 couch exercises to try

Ready to give couchersizing a go? “There is so much you can do with your body weight and a couch,” says Beaudin. Here are a few moves he recommends to get started.

The Sofa Squat: Squats engage as many as eight major muscle groups, making them an excellent bang-for-your-buck movement.³ Sit tall at the edge of the sofa, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Stand up with your core engaged and then sit back down (core still engaged!). Repeat a few times. “You can go all the way down and back up again, or go partially down for extra burn,” Beaudin says.
The Divan Dip: Sit at the very edge of a sturdy couch, chair, or ottoman and position your hands, palms down, on either side of your hips. Shift yourself forward a bit and stretch your legs out so your thighs are parallel to the floor (keep your knees bent and feet flat on the floor if you’re not sure how strong you are yet). Raise yourself, ensuring that your weight is on your hands. Lower your butt towards the ground as far as feels comfortable, keeping your back straight and your shoulders down. Then focus on using your arms to push yourself back up. This will work your upper body, especially your triceps.⁴
The Couch Crunch: Crunches are a great way to work your core—the stabilizing muscles in your abdomen, back, and hips⁵—and doing them while lying on the sofa can deliver the same benefits as doing them on a mat, according to Beaudin.

The Downtime Push-Up: Push-ups help develop upper-body and core strength, while also enhancing cardiovascular health and flexibility.⁶ Beaudin says you can easily use the back of most couches to do an incline version of the exercise. With your palms pressing into the couch and your body stretched out at about a 45-degree angle—making sure to keep your core tight to maintain a straight line from your feet to the top of your head— pump out a few reps while your favourite show streams on the screen in front of you.

The Lazy Leg Swing: Couch time is a perfect chance to stretch and work on flexibility, which can improve your mobility and reduce your risk of injury.⁷ Beaudin recommends standing to the side of your sofa and using it for stability as you swing one leg at a time forward and back. This gently stretches and warms up your hip muscles, priming you for other exercises. “The more you swing, the more you’ll improve your balance and your flexibility,” he says.

Note: Consult a doctor or medical professional before beginning any exercise program. If you’re new to working out, consider hiring a personal trainer or coach—which may be covered by your group benefits plan—to learn proper form and technique.

Sources

¹ Participaction: Key Statistics

² Media in Canada: Canadians spend 21 hours a week watching TV and video content

³ Cleveland Clinic: Here’s the Right Way To Do a Squat

⁴ Cleveland Clinic: Should You Try the 7-Minute Workout?

⁵ Cleveland Clinic: Planning To Start Exercising? Start With Your Core First

⁶Cleveland Clinic: Here’s How To Do a Good, Basic Push-up

⁷ Cleveland Clinic: Here’s How Being Flexible Is Good for Your Health

This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose or treat a condition. If you have questions or concerns about your specific situation or are seeking medical advice, contact your medical doctor or your healthcare provider.

Cleveland Clinic Canada:
Manulife is proud to have Cleveland Clinic Canada on board as Medical Director for our Group Benefits operations. Cleveland Clinic Canada has a wealth of global healthcare expertise and shares our goal to help Canadians live longer, healthier, and better lives. Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit organization that has been at the forefront of modern medicine since 1921. In recent years, Cleveland Clinic has worked with progressive companies in Canada and around the world to prioritize the health and well-being of their employees, customers, and communities.