If you’re anything like me, you’d rather binge watch the latest show than get up and workout. I am definitely the odd one out in my family. My mom has been a dancer her whole life and recently, she and my father have taken up running. On purpose! They tried to get me into it too, but I was glad to stay at home, curled up in bed with a book. It’s not like I never tried sports when I was a kid, but the only thing that I was ever remotely interested in was yoga. My brother, on the other hand, excelled at every sport he played. So, you can imagine how I stuck out like a sore thumb.
When I came to college I signed myself up for a couple of yoga classes at our gym. One thing led to another and I ended up going to Pilates and Cardio Dance as well. I genuinely started developing an interest in some of these fitness classes. But right when I was finding my groove, COVID struck and we were forced to quarantine in our homes. That’s when I turned to Youtube.
Last summer my mom introduced me to the world of fitness Youtubers and, while I did a couple of workouts with her, it was only this year that I really dedicated myself to it. I tried a bunch of different fitness styles and these are the four channels I have come to depend on for my fitness activities. All of these channels have options for workouts ranging from 10 minutes to an hour so you can squeeze in a workout whenever you have the time.
- MadFit
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MadFit by Maddie Lymburner is my go-to for most of my daily workouts. She has a mix of strength and HIIT workouts that are sure to make you feel the burn! Having a background in dance, Maddie posts ballet and other dance related workouts as well, with workouts built around some really popular music. She also has low impact and apartment friendly workouts for people who are stuck at home (which is really everyone right now).
- POPSUGAR Fitness
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Before I start this one, I have to say that I absolutely detest anything cardio related. But Popsugar has gotten me to occasionally do some cardio activities. If I ever feel like breaking out in a sweat, I turn to Popsugar’s Cardio Dance and Kickboxing workouts. They have some really great cardio exercises with celebrity trainers who provide modifications for those days when you just need to take it easy.
- Blogilates
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Blogilates by Cassey Ho is one of the most popular Youtube Fitness channels. Cassey specializes in Pilates workouts, specifically POP Pilates. Her workouts are intense and I have definitely felt sore the days after I’ve done her workouts. They are hard-core pilates workouts, with a lot of them being isolated workouts where she focuses on a specific part of the body for the entire duration of the workout.
- Yoga With Adriene
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I’ve been doing yoga since I was a kid and I lost interest in it for a while when I started doing strength training workouts. But Adriene Mishler reminded me of why I love yoga. Her videos are calming and relaxing while still being intense. Some of her videos have had me breaking out in a sweat with just yoga. Recently, I did one of Adriene’s 30 Days of Yoga challenges and it was one of the best things ever. It was a perfect mix of strengthening, balance and flexibility. If you’re ever interested in giving yoga a try, this is the place to go.