How to Stay Active During Haze Season: Safe Exercise & Weight Loss
The sky has been grey long enough to push me to write this post. The air doesn't feel right, no matter how much I hope. My usual outdoor runs are out of the question, and suddenly my entire exercise routine seems to be gone. And there's probably a high chance I am not the only person feeling the haze-induced frustration and defeat.
If you're trying to lose weight, it's easy to feel anxious and disappointed. You're moving less, spending more time indoors, and wondering how long you can keep this up before losing all your progress.
Perhaps you've considered replacing your walks with indoor workouts. But what if you live in a small space and don't have access to the gym? What if (like me) you're not a big fan of the treadmill or have pets treating mat workouts like their playtime? 😆
Here's the good news: you don't have to choose between exercising as usual and doing nothing at all. You can adapt your routine without abandoning your goals.
While working on my own routine I came up with an approach to movement during a haze episode, to will help to protect your health and keep your habits going until conditions improve.
1. First, understand when it's safe to exercise
Let's start with something more important than your step count: the air you're breathing.
Haze contains airborne particles that can irritate your eyes and respiratory system. Exposure can also worsen existing conditions, including asthma. Exercising outdoors increases your breathing rate, which can increase the amount of polluted air you inhale.
That's why continuing your usual outdoor workout isn't necessarily the best choice when air quality deteriorates.
Check Malaysia's official Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) before planning outdoor activity. Follow current public-health advice, pay attention to your symptoms and remember that people with respiratory conditions may need to take extra precautions.
When official advice warns against exertion, pollution levels are severe, or you develop respiratory symptoms, skip outdoor exercise and don't chase your usual activity targets. Rest is a perfectly reasonable choice. If you feel well and your indoor air is reasonably clean, you may choose a few minutes of gentle movement. If indoor air is also poor, don't assume that exercising inside is automatically safe.
If you experience wheezing, chest tightness, unusual breathlessness or persistent coughing, stop exercising. Follow your asthma action plan if applicable and seek medical advice when needed. Severe or persistent breathing difficulty requires urgent medical attention.
Your workout plan should respond to the conditions, not override them.
2. Do you really need to replace every missed walk/run/swim?
No.
When your usual outdoor activity disappears, it can be tempting to recreate it indoors, minute for minute. But you don't need to replace every walk with an equally long workout.
Your priority is to establish what movement is safe and manageable under your current circumstances.
If you normally walk for 30 minutes but conditions aren't suitable, you might choose a few short sessions of gentle movement on a suitable indoor day. On a poor-air day, you might do no deliberate exercise at all. Neither situation requires a punishment workout later.
Remember that physical activity includes more than formal exercise. Standing up regularly, moving around your home, and doing everyday tasks all contribute to your overall activity. These movements won't necessarily replace a longer walk in terms of energy expenditure, but they can help you avoid spending the entire day sitting.
Start where you are rather than trying to recreate the routine you had before the haze.
3. Five ways to stay active during haze in a small space
You don't need a home gym, expensive equipment, or a treadmill to maintain a movement habit. (Although it would be nice to have a penthouse with a room big enough to fit it all 😂.)
When indoor activity is appropriate and you feel well, you can try the following options:
Option 1: Indoor walking
Walk around the available space in your home, or march gently on the spot. Every step counts. You're not trying to set a walking marathon record here; you're simply trying to stay active.
Keep the route clear, especially if you share your home with pets or have furniture close together. Avoid complicated movements or walking backwards when space is limited. (You'd be surprised how many times I accidentally walked into one of my cats! Don't worry though, they're perfectly fine and safe 😅. If you have a cat (or a few) at home, you will understand how common that is.)
Option 2: Movement snacks
No, not actual food snacks. We're trying to stay away from them, okay?
Instead of scheduling one long workout, spread movement throughout the day.
For example:
Five minutes of easy walking in the morning.
Five minutes of standing movement in the afternoon.
Five minutes of gentle mobility in the evening.
That's 15 minutes of movement without needing to set aside a full workout block.
On a "yellow day" (meaning an unhealthy AQI reading), keep the intensity low. On a very poor-air day, skip deliberate activity if conditions or symptoms make it inappropriate.
Note: Sometimes being indoors doesn't mean the air is automatically cleaner than outside. With no air purifiers, or some AC units pulling the air from the outside, certain places may not be ideal for an indoor workout.
Option 3: A short strength circuit
If your indoor environment is suitable, a simple strength session can help maintain muscle and support your longer-term fitness goals.
A basic circuit might include:
Chair (or air) squats
Wall (or regular) push-ups
Standing hip hinges
Calf raises
Gentle alternating knee lifts
Using small dumbbells, kettlebells, or resistance bands if your fitness level is adequate
Come up with a list of exercises you enjoy and can do easily. Start with one comfortable round and rest as needed. You don't need to turn it into a high-intensity circuit or work until exhaustion.
The workout should suit your abilities and current physical condition. Stop if you experience pain, dizziness, or respiratory symptoms.
Option 4: Gentle mobility
Not every movement session needs to feel like a workout.
Shoulder rolls, ankle circles, comfortable stretches, and easy changes of position can help you break up long periods of sitting.
This is particularly useful when you're working from home or spending more time indoors than usual. Think of it as maintaining a connection with your body rather than trying to burn a particular number of calories.
Option 5: A short favourite-song session
If formal workouts feel unappealing, put on a favourite song and move gently for its duration.
Step from side to side, march in place or move your arms comfortably. Dance if you like!
Keep the intensity appropriate for the conditions. On a poor-air day, you don't have to do even this.
The point isn't to find a clever way to force yourself to exercise. It's to make appropriate movement feel accessible when you can do it safely, and to stay active during haze season.
Note: If poor air persists for several days, you may need to pause, and that's fine. The World Health Organization recommends that adults work towards 150–300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week, alongside muscle-strengthening activities on at least two days. These are longer-term guidelines, not a requirement to meet your usual exercise targets during a haze episode.
4. Don't make up missed workouts when the haze clears
Imagine that you've missed four days of exercise because the air quality was poor. Or even worse, four weeks. Then, one morning, the sky clears.
It's tempting to squeeze in an extra-long workout, increase your step count dramatically, and try to get back on schedule immediately. I sure thought of it already.
Resist that urge. You don't owe your body four extra workouts. Instead, start with comfortable movement that's adequate to your current fitness level. Then return to your next planned workout, shortening it if necessary. Gradually restore your normal routine according to your energy, recovery, and the air quality.
There's no need to double up, train harder to compensate, or eat less because you were less active. The goal is to return to your routine without creating another problem in the process.
If you've been unwell or have experienced worsening respiratory symptoms, seek appropriate medical advice before resuming exercise.
What happens to your weight-loss progress if you move less?
This is often the real worry behind the frustration.
When you exercise less, your total daily energy expenditure may decrease. Depending on your eating habits and overall activity, that can affect your rate of weight loss. But a temporary reduction in exercise does not automatically mean you've gained fat or undone your previous progress.
Weight fluctuates for many reasons, including water retention, digestion, and changes in routine. A higher reading after several less-active days doesn't tell you the whole story.
Instead of trying to compensate with extra workouts or drastically reducing your food intake, focus on the parts of your routine you can still manage.
Keep your meals reasonably consistent.
Include satisfying, nutritious foods.
Maintain your sleep routine as best you can.
Do appropriate movement when conditions allow.
Give yourself permission to rest when they don't.
You may find that your rate of progress changes temporarily. That's not the same as losing all your progress.
Weight loss is influenced by your overall habits over time, not by whether you complete every planned workout in a particular week.
5. The bigger lesson to learn from haze: your routine needs a Plan B
The haze is an obvious example of something you can't control. But the same challenge appears in everyday life.
You get sick. Work becomes overwhelming. Your schedule changes. Your usual exercise environment becomes unavailable.
If your routine only works when everything goes according to plan, every disruption becomes a reason to stop.
A more sustainable approach includes alternatives from the beginning. Your Plan A might be an outdoor walk. Your Plan B might be a short indoor movement session. Your Plan C might be rest when neither is appropriate. All three have a place in a realistic routine.
This is not about lowering your standards or abandoning your goals. It's about learning to respond to changing circumstances without turning one missed session into a completely abandoned plan.
Consistency doesn't mean doing the same thing every day. It means knowing how to adapt and return.
And that skill is useful long after the haze clears.
Build a routine that works with your real life
I believe that knowing what to do is only the beginning. The real challenge is turning that knowledge into action, then building habits that can survive real life.
If your routines tend to fall apart when circumstances change, start by identifying what's getting in your way.
Click here and take the free CORE Roadblock Finder to identify the obstacles making your routine harder to maintain and find a more practical way forward.
And if you're ready to work on building sustainable habits around your fitness and weight-loss goals, explore CORE Self-Paced.
You don't need a perfect week to make progress. You need an approach that helps you keep going when your week isn't perfect.
Health note: This article provides general information, not individual medical advice. Follow current local air-quality and public-health guidance. People with asthma or other respiratory or cardiovascular conditions may need additional precautions during haze episodes.
Comments