Three weeks ago, my roommate and I were hit with the sudden desire to get in shape. Before we came to our senses, we quickly renounced our former couch potato royalty status and got our butts into workout gear. Having abstained from exercise this whole gruesome winter, getting back into the swing of things proved harder than expected. The school gym seemed smaller and the whole sign-up-for-equipment thing got annoying pretty quickly.
We decided to take our workouts home and consult the magical land of YouTube. I’ve tried a number of workouts from fitness YouTubers in the past with mixed results. Videos like Fitness Blender left me gasping for breath within 10 minutes and my friend seemed to take joy in seeing me seethe at Casey Ho for making her workouts look so easy. FIY: IT’S NOT.
We decided to try some videos from Tone it Up and miraculously, neither of us hated it. Actually, we loved it so much that we’ve done Tone it Up videos exclusively, in addition to cardio at the gym, ever since. Tone it Up is run by personal trainers and best friends Katrina and Karena. They put out a series of YouTube workouts and also run a fitness community that one pays to be a member of, in order to access perks such as nutrition plans. (Disclaimer: neither my roommate nor I have memberships because we ate all our money.) Since we enjoyed the workouts so much and plan on trying out more of their free videos, I’m sharing our top 5 videos.
1) Love your Body with HIIT (high intensity interval training)
This HIIT video is 20 minutes long and makes a fantastic quick workout. We also sometimes do half the video to warm up for the upcoming videos. It’s a guaranteed sweatfest that left my puny arms shaking by the end.
2) Lift & Tone Booty Routine With Katrina
This was the video that made us Tone it Up converts. The video is challenging but doable for two out-of-shape collegiettes – and we totally felt it for the next two days. The best part? It hurt in all the hard to reach places like the backs of the thighs and that pesky area where thighs and booty meet. Perky booty here we come!
3) Bikini series: Bikini Abs Routine
Our third roommate decided to join us in our world of pain. The three of us agreed that abs were the worst. So obviously, we tackled abs. Even though we forwent the recommended weights, we still had to pause multiple times throughout the video to take a breather. It also hurt to laugh for the next two days. We still hate abs.
4) Love your Body Series: Love your Legs and Booty
We’re clearly masochists who enjoy limping around and wincing from aching muscles every we stand up or sit down. This video might look all pink and pretty, but a piece of cake it is not. That move with the ottoman? It kills. All those variations of lunges? You’ll feel it tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. Lesson: it works.
5) Sweet and Sexy Valentine’s Day workout
A full body workout lasting nearly 20 minutes, this video made us kind of hate Valentine’s Day and hearts. The roomie said that she was sore all over the next day but I mainly felt it from the waist down. We both agreed that the burn in our booty must come from drawing all those hearts with our legs.
These are our favourite videos, and we’ve been doing them on repeat. As I’m typing up this article, I still feel the soreness in my butt and wonder if I’ve lost my mind. But honestly? I’m already thinking about which workout I want to do tomorrow. Maybe I’ll even do abs.