Cozy Cardio Could Actually Change Your Perspective on Exercise

The hottest workout trend on TikTok right now is one that you can do in your pajamas. Not only can you, you’re highly encouraged to.

It’s called cozy cardio, and it’s meant to be the antithesis to punishing, intense workouts that leave you panting and soaked in sweat. A soft girl’s answer to exercise, it’s taking off on TikTok as part of a larger trend that prioritizes slow living and self-care. Think a leisurely pedal on a stationary bike rather than an intense Peloton class, strolling on a treadmill instead of sprinting, or one of TikTok’s other favorite trends, a hot girl walk.

“Cozy cardio is meant to take away the toxic pressure that today’s diet culture puts on exercise,” Hope Zuckerbrow, the 25-year-old TikToker who started the trend, tells Glamour. “Although cozy cardio can be an amazing tool for weight loss, that’s not why I started it. I started cozy cardio to help heal my relationship with exercise. Cozy cardio is meant to bring joy back to movement again.”

Zuckerbrow, who lives in Texas, has amassed nearly a million followers with her videos that preach “romanticizing” exercise and intentional movement. Her favorite way to get in her cozy cardio is to stroll on her walking pad while watching television and drinking coffee, sometimes still in her robe and fuzzy socks.

Zuckerbrow tells Glamour that she first started this routine because her boyfriend used to leave at 5:00 am for work, and she often found herself unable to fall back asleep.

“One morning, after he had left and I had made my coffee and turned my show on, I randomly decided to hop on my walking pad to make the most of my time awake,” she says. “Just like that, cozy cardio was born.”

Last summer she started posting TikTok videos about her routine, and they blew up. Pretty soon other women were following her lead, buying their own walking pads, firing up their favorite shows or movies, and—crucially—not changing out of their big, comfy sweatpants.

They are even adding their own spins, like a virtual fireplace, for max cozy.

For Zuckerbrow, the routine offers more than just a way to pass the time and start her morning on the right foot. As she explained in an early cozy cardio video, she has found it hard at times to find balance and joy in exercise. She tells Glamour that she definitely has a “grind mentality,” which is why taking the pressure off working out has been so revelatory.