7 Easy Exercises to Support Liver & Gut Health

With so many resources at our disposal, picking the right wellness routine can feel overwhelming. There are thousands of influencers trying to sell their exercise plans, while online trainers give conflicting information that provides your brain with a workout in itself. It can be confusing and downright discouraging to sift through all the data, let alone develop a workout routine! Not to mention the fact that we all have very different health goals to consider before we select and implement a new regimen. Some are looking to hit weight goals, while others may want to optimize the wellness of key organs and biological systems.

So what about those of us out there looking to support our liver and gut health? The liver and gut are big players for our immunity and whole-body detoxification. Keeping them strong makes for improved overall wellness!

But are there certain workouts that we should include to best support the liver and gut? What makes them better than other exercises? And, most of all, how can we make them part of our daily routines?

What Really Encourages Gut & Liver Wellness?

It might help to know that there are exercises recommended for supporting a happy and healthy liver and gut! While this fact shouldn’t discourage engagement in activities targeted toward other goals, it can still be helpful to examine all the options and incorporate various types of workouts to boost overall health. After all, a well-supported liver and strong digestive system are important no matter what stage of wellness or life you’re in!

So what does aid the liver and gut the most? The main kind of exercise recommended for reversing fatty liver disease and fostering ideal liver and gut health is moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (1).

Aerobic exercise is any kind of rhythmic or repetitive exercise that engages large muscle groups (2). Walking, cycling, and swimming are all common aerobic activities. For these to be at a moderate intensity, it’s key that your heart is pumping more than normal, but that you can still keep up a conversation without getting too out of breath (1). 

Resistance training, also called strength training, is another recommended option. Resistance training includes using weights, resistance bands, or even your body weight to cause the muscles to contract (3). Common exercises include squats, push-ups, and other forms of weight training. These exercises can be done both at the gym and at home, making them versatile and easy to include at any point during your fitness journey!

The Science Behind the Benefits

But how do these exercises work to serve our well-being? Clinical studies have shown that introducing aerobic exercise can increase fatty acid oxidation, thereby lowering liver fat, and reduce damage to liver cells (4). Similar to aerobics, resistance training helps to reduce liver fat by affecting the liver’s metabolism (5). 

Aerobics and resistance training also support the gut by regulating the digestive system. Increased activity promotes regular bowel movements and relieves stress, which can improve overall digestion. These exercises help to balance the gut microbiome, making it more effective and thereby elevating your gut’s well-being (6).

Additionally, aerobics and strength training combined make for a great balanced exercise regimen by giving your muscles the chance to recover from targeted workouts with more movement-based aerobic sessions.

Integrate Exercise with Ease 

Overall, aerobics and resistance training are great methods of exercise that not only support liver and gut health specifically, but they also give a helping hand to your overall health! Best of all, moderately intensive exercise and resistance training can be simple and done at home. This means that adding them to your daily routine is often easier than other intensive workouts!

Here are just a few ideas of how to incorporate them:

1. Take a brisk 30-minute walk after dinner.

2. Pair exercises with resistance bands during a quick work break.

3. Opt for the stairs whenever you can.

4. Cycle to work if you live close enough.

5. Practice squats or jumping jacks while watching TV.

6. Perform calf raises while waiting in line.

7. Integrate fun activities like swimming, dancing, and sports into your daily routine. Have friends or family join you for double the fun!

At the same time, it’s important to keep in mind that exercises are most effective when done consistently! If taking it a little easier at the beginning helps build a lasting habit, then that will make more of a difference for your liver, gut, and general health in the long term. The Plug Drink and The Plug Pills also make for the perfect liver- and gut-healthy companions on your wellness journey!

A Journey Begins

No matter where you’re at in your journey to better health, remember that it is actually a journey! While there are many milestones for us to hit and strive toward, we must also continuously evaluate our goals and readjust accordingly. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself this year, PlugFAM! We know that you’ve got this — and we hope you bring us along for the ride.

Bibliography

1. Exercise for fatty liver disease has benefits beyond weight loss [Internet]. Liver Foundation. 2023 Oct 22. Available from: https://liver.org.au/news/exercise-for-fatty-liver-disease-has-benefits-beyond-weight-loss/#:~:text=To%20reduce%20liver%20fat%2C%20it%27s,been%20shown%20to%20be%20beneficial 

2. Aerobic Exercise [Internet]. Cleveland Clinic. Updated 2025 Dec 22. Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7050-aerobic-exercise 

3. Resistance training by the numbers [Internet]. Harvard Health Publishing | Harvard Medical School. 2021 Mar 1. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/resistance-training-by-the-numbers 

4. van der Windt DJ, Sud V, Zhang H, Tsung A, Huang H. The Effects of Physical Exercise on Fatty Liver Disease. Gene Expression [Internet]. 2018 May 18;18(2):89-101. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5954622

5. Medeiros DG, Ferreira LF, da Silva Lamp J, Telles da Rosa, LH. The impact of resistance training in patients diagnosed with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a systematic review. European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology [Internet]. 2025 Feb;37(2):129-136. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/eurojgh/fulltext/2025/02000/the_impact_of_resistance_training_in_patients.2.aspx 

6. Reddy GN. How Exercise Helps Maintain Liver and Digestive Health [Internet]. Digestive & Liver Disease Consultants, P.A. Available from: https://gimed.net/blog/how-exercise-helps-maintain-liver-and-digestive-health