Many people think of yoga as just gentle stretching and meditation, not a serious workout for burning calories. But the truth might surprise you! While yoga certainly brings mental calm, it's also a powerful way to engage your body.

Yoga is a fantastic blend of strength, flexibility, balance, and endurance. Experts estimate that an hour of yoga can burn anywhere from 180 to 600 calories. This wide range depends on the style; intense types like Bikram or power yoga will burn more than a gentle, restorative class. To maximize calorie, burn, choosing specific poses is key.

Yoga For Weight Loss

Harvard Health suggests that yoga can help you manage stress, lift your mood, reduce emotional eating, and build a supportive community. All these benefits can be incredibly helpful for both losing weight and keeping it off.

Beyond these mind-body benefits, yoga can also help you burn calories and build stronger, more toned muscles. It might even reduce joint pain, making it easier for you to be more active every day. These are just a few of the many ways yoga can support your health journey.

Plank

This pose is a calorie-burning powerhouse because it forces all your muscles to work against gravity. To burn even more, try lifting one foot slightly off the mat. The longer you hold it – from 30 seconds to five minutes – the more calories you'll melt away.

Chair Pose

Chair pose gets your body's largest muscles, the glutes, working hard, which automatically burns lots of calories. It's a safe and effective move for everyone, regardless of their yoga experience.

Chaturanga (Low Push-Up)

Chaturanga is like holding the bottom of a push-up. When done correctly, it engages most of your major muscle groups. Your core, legs, and arms all work to maintain a perfect 90-degree bend in your elbows. It's a challenging pose that requires focus and control, even for advanced yogis.

Wheel Pose

Wheel pose is an advanced backbend that opens your chest and stretches the entire front of your body. It deeply engages your legs, glutes, shoulders, arms, and even your heart and lungs. You can boost your heart rate even more by doing this pose in a heated room after a good warm-up.

High Lunge

You've probably seen High Lunge in other workouts because it's a full-body move, especially effective for your glutes and quads. This pose also builds strength and requires balance. Any time you add balance to a pose, your body has to work harder, leading to more calories burned.

Sun Salutations

Sun Salutations are a sequence of 12 flowing poses that get your heart pumping. They engage your abs, glutes, calves, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. This series combines breath with movement, energizing, strengthening, and stretching your muscles, while also boosting blood oxygen and strengthening your lungs.

Dolphin Pose

Dolphin pose is similar to downward dog but with your forearms on the mat. It's fantastic because it both strengthens your arms, core, and legs, while also stretching your shoulders and chest. Having your forearms down fully engages your triceps too, making it a powerful pose for overall body engagement.

For people who suffer from migraines, even normal activities like concentrating on work, holding a conversation can be difficult. These are things we do not think twice about, however, simply going through these can be a major task for people who suffer with migraines.

So, what about exercising? It is an activity that requires a lot of movements, some of which require you to do movements that jerk your body like jumping jacks. Is it safe for people with migraines to work out? According to Dr Sudhir Kumar, a Hyderabad-based neurologist, the answer is yes.

Getting regular physical activity is hugely helpful for people who get migraines because it can often make your headaches happen less often and feel less painful when they do occur. While a super-hard, intense workout might seem like it would only make your head hurt more, exercising smart and making it a habit can be a very effective way to prevent future migraine attacks. However, there are some things you need to keep in mind before doing so.

How to Exercise Smartly to Prevent Migraines

To get the most benefit from working out and avoid accidentally causing a migraine, people need to be mindful of five simple rules:

Be Consistent, Not Extreme

It's the steady routine that pays off. Doing regular exercise at a medium effort level (moderate intensity) helps keep migraines away. On the flip side, sudden, super-tough, or "all-or-nothing" workouts—like running a marathon with no training—can shock your system and easily trigger an attack. The goal is to build a steady habit, like a morning walk or a bike ride a few times a week, rather than pushing yourself to exhaustion once a month.

Figure Out Your Personal Triggers

Everyone is different, and certain activities might be a trigger just for you. For instance, some people find that lifting very heavy weights causes a headache, while others get one from running outdoors on a very sunny day or simply forgetting to properly warm up their muscles. The best way to understand these unique headache causes is to keep a diary of your headaches and write down what you did right before the migraine started.

Watch the Clock (Timing Matters)

Doing a very intense workout right before bed, late in the evening, can make it hard for you to fall asleep or get good rest. Poor sleep is a well-known migraine trigger, so late-night intensity can create a double problem. To protect your sleep, it's generally best for migraine sufferers to plan their workouts for the morning or during the day.

Pick the Right Environment

Your surroundings can put stress on your senses. To avoid this sensory strain, choose a workout spot that is comfortable. Cool, well-aired rooms with soft lighting are much better than places that are hot, stuffy, or have bright, intense lights that can make your head ache worse.

Try Adding Mind-Body Activities

You can actually increase the headache-fighting power of your physical activity by adding calming practices. Things like yoga, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness meditation are great because they help you manage stress and relax tight muscles in your neck and shoulders, both of which are common contributors to migraine pain.

Do Aerobic Exercises Help Migraines?

Dr. Sudhir explains that scientific research has repeatedly shown that regular aerobic exercise—that's any activity that gets your heart pumping, like brisk walking, cycling, or swimming—is highly effective. The recommendation is to aim for a moderate effort level, for about 30 to 40 minutes, three times a week. In fact, some studies suggest that doing this type of exercise consistently can reduce the frequency and severity of migraines just as well as certain preventive medications. The very best approach combines this steady cardio with gentle strengthening and stretching exercises for your neck and shoulders.

Strength training becomes increasingly important as people age, but many older adults make the mistake of training only the muscles they see in the mirror. According to Marfred Suazo, a New York City, based fitness professional known as “Fonz the Trainer,” who spoke to Fox News, targeting overlooked muscle groups is the key to moving well, staying pain-free, and living independently.

Suazo, who has trained thousands of seniors, shared with Fox News Digital which areas of the body matter most as we get older, and why focusing on them builds true longevity.

Moving Beyond “Mirror Training”

“Most people train what they see in the mirror, chest, arms, quads, and maybe abs if they’re feeling ambitious,” Suazo told Fox News Digital. “That’s what I call mirror training.”

While this type of workout may boost appearance, Suazo explained it leaves people unbalanced, with rounded shoulders, tight chests, and sore backs or knees.

“If you want to age strong, pain-free, and confident, you need non-mirror training,” he said. “That means working the muscles you don’t see but feel every single day.”

Zone 1: Power Zone — Glutes and Hamstrings

These muscles form the foundation of movement, helping with sitting, standing, climbing, and protecting the lower back.

“Your glutes and hamstrings give you the power to move with confidence,” Suazo said. He recommends deadlifts, hip thrusts, and single-leg bridges. “Control the movement, squeeze at the top, that’s where the real work happens.”

Zone 2: Posture Zone — Upper and Mid-Back

Strengthening the back keeps the body upright and breathing freely. Without it, posture often collapses into a slouch as people age.

“A strong back pulls your shoulders into alignment,” Suazo explained. His go-to moves include bent-over rows, cable rows, and bodyweight rows. “Pull through the elbows and picture yourself standing taller with every rep.”

Zone 3: Stability Zone — Core and Obliques

The core isn’t just about six-pack abs, it’s about stability and spine protection.

“True core training teaches your body to brace and protect your back during daily life,” Suazo said. His favorite move is the Paloff press: anchor a band, press it straight out, and resist rotation. “It’s simple, but it trains real-world stability.”

Zone 4: Mobility Zone — Shoulders and Rotator Cuff

Shoulders are involved in almost every upper-body movement. When they’re weak or stiff, everything else suffers.

“Healthy shoulders are a must if you want to keep training for decades,” Suazo told Fox News Digital. He suggests face pulls, rear delt flies, band rotations, and controlled overhead presses. “This combination keeps shoulders strong and mobile.”

Zone 5: Grip Zone — Hands and Forearms

Grip strength is directly linked to independence as people age, yet it’s often one of the first things to decline.

“Grip strength makes a difference in every other lift and in everyday tasks,” Suazo said. He recommends farmer’s carries — aiming to carry about 70% of body weight in total — as well as simple hangs from a pull-up bar.

A Simple Routine to Start

For beginners, Suazo suggests a quick non-mirror workout:

• 3 sets of 8–10 deadlifts
• 3 sets of 10 Paloff presses per side
• 3 farmer’s carries for 30–45 seconds each
• A short walk to finish
• Training for Longevity, Not Just Looks

Suazo emphasized that safety and form come first, especially for older adults. “Controlled movement matters more than how heavy you go,” he said. Warming up, progressing gradually, and listening to the body are essential.

“Non-mirror training is how you stay strong, upright, and pain-free,” Suazo added. “When you train the muscles behind you, the ones in front look and perform better too.”

What is an exercise that not only needs minimal equipment, but is also the most accessible for everyone, no matter how young or old they are? It is walking. Not just by fitness coaches, but also healthcare professionals, walking is regarded as one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy.

If you are looking to lose weight, but are worried about committing to a gym membership that you may not be able to finish, then you do not need to worry about elaborate home workouts, all you need is a pair of shoes and time to take a powerful stroll. But did you know, you could maximize this time and make your walking more efficient? Not only will this allow you to make the most of your time, but it will also help you lose weight easier?

According to fitness coach Dan Go, you can make your walks far more effective. He's developed a set of simple "cheat codes" that can help you burn more fat, significantly boost your energy levels, and even add years to your life. It's often seen as a simple, low-impact activity, that is easy to adjust to your levels of fitness. These small adjustments to your walking routine can lead to truly massive results.

7 Walking Tricks To Help You Lose Weight

Japanese Interval Walking

Forget boring, steady walks. This method involves a powerful rhythm: walk fast for three minutes, then slow for three minutes. Repeat this for 30 minutes. This style of walking is scientifically proven to burn more fat and significantly boost your fitness more effectively than a constant pace.

Walk on an Incline

Adding an incline to your walk, either on a treadmill or a hill, dramatically increases your calorie burn. A 5% incline can boost your burn by 50%, and a 10% incline can double it. It’s also gentler on your joints and works your glutes and hips more.

Walk After Meals

Just a short 2-5 minute walk after eating can make a huge difference. This simple habit helps lower blood sugar spikes by about 30%, which means you'll have fewer cravings, steadier energy, and your body will be less likely to store fat.

Try a Fasted Morning Walk

Walk before you have breakfast. When you walk on an empty stomach, your body is more likely to use stored fat for energy. Doing this outside also helps set your natural body clock and gives you a refreshing boost to start your day.

Walk While You Work

For those with a busy schedule, a treadmill desk is a fantastic solution. You can get in thousands of steps while you're at your standing desk. This lets you multitask and be active during meetings or while you're working on tasks.

Pyramid Walking Intervals

This method is a great way to improve endurance and burn fat. Start with an easy 5-minute warm-up, then gradually increase your speed and incline every 10 minutes. Finish with a four-minute push at your toughest pace before a cooldown.

Rucking

Turn your walk into a full-body workout by wearing a backpack with 5-10% of your body weight. This simple addition helps you burn more calories, while also strengthening your legs, core, and bones simultaneously for a more challenging and effective walk.