Watching television is fun, but it can make you sick. Being a couch potato can lead to serious health problems, including neck strain, tight hips, and an increased risk of colon cancer and heart disease. Fortunately, there are couch potato exercises you can do while you’re watching television.

Finding time for exercise can be difficult as the average American has a packed daily schedule—sleeping for 6 to 7 hours, commuting to and from work for nearly an hour, working for 8 hours, doing domestic chores for 3.5 hours, and enjoying television for 4.5 hours. All of this takes up about 23 to 24 hours per day. Fortunately, you can reconfigure some of your television time into a calorie-burning session with the right tips.

Couch Potato Exercises to Do at Home

Listed below are a few ideas for couch potato exercises.

• Commercial break exercises. The best way to start exercising is to better utilize the commercial breaks. Every hour of television has roughly fifteen minutes worth of commercials. Do quick exercise bursts during the commercial breaks. For instance, during one break do jumping jacks and during the next commercial break try walking lunges. These exercises will get your heart rate up and stretch your legs.

• Sitting yoga. Need a good, long stretch after a tough day at work? Try seated yoga poses. The bound angle pose with stretch your hips. The full boat pose works your core and stretches your limbs. And the wide-seated forward bend pose will elongate your spine and stretch your groin muscles and hamstrings.

• Floor exercises. Want to do something more extensive than yoga poses when you watch television? Skip the couch and do floor exercises instead. While you watch your favorite show you can do crunches, leg lifts, and push-ups. This workout will strengthen your abdominal core, your arms, and your legs.

• Get on your feet. The best way to stay active while watching television is by staying on your feet. Try squat jumps, wall sits, and calf raises. Your legs will get a thorough workout. You can also lift weights. Try extension exercises for your triceps, as well as bicep curls, dumbbell rows, and lateral arm raises. It will be beneficial for your arms.