As the pandemic continues to turn people away from the gym, many are using YouTube fitness influencers to keep in shape. Not only are a lot of these workouts great for target area exercises, but you can also try new workouts without paying for a class.
My own workouts mostly consist of these videos since they don’t take up too much time. So for seven days, I tried to try out a new fitness influencer on YouTube and give a small review of each one.
- Chloe Ting
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Chloe Ting started her YouTube channel back in 2011, however it wasn’t until 2017 that she began to focus all of her content on fitness. Fast forward to the summer of 2020, her Two-Week shred challenge went viral after it gained popularity on Tiktok.
The video “Do This & Get Fit” is great for beginners since it has rests in between exercises. This video does not leave you very sweaty, but it gets the job done, and you’ll be out of breath halfway through. Ting also features challenges and target workout videos that have dumbbells or low intensity variations.
- Pamela Reif
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Another very popular fitness YouTuber during quarantine, Pamela Reif has great target area workouts that leave you sore the next day. Her leg workouts include lots and lots of squats, so beware.
I used resistance bands to copy Reif, but this workout can be done without extra equipment. I also enjoyed how she talks you through the exercise and gives you tips along the way to make the workout more effective. If you’re looking for videos that are less focused on cardio or full body then I highly recommend Reif’s.
- Kayla Itsines
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This one will give you a sweat! Best known for her app Sweat with Kayla, Kayla Itsines has amassed about 12.6 million Instagram followers and is featured on YouTube channels like Women’s Health. Itsines is geared towards more for people who don’t enjoy 30 second intervals and like circuit workouts.
At first I thought it wasn’t that hard of a workout, until I realized I had to keep doing the same circuit until time ran out. It was instant regret when I realized that it would be more difficult than I anticipated. Her videos are great in terms of variety and difficulty level for beginners or people looking for a challenge.
- Blogilates
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In 2014, The Wall Street Journal considered Blogilates one of the highest-ranking fitness channels on YouTube, and six years later, that rings true. Cassey Ho has tons of videos on her channel for a wide variety of target areas like your glutes or full body.
This channel makes you break a sweat, but her flawless form is more distracting than the pain. Her transitions are so clean and beautiful it really doesn’t feel like a grueling workout. The music choice in this video deserves a gold star because of its very catchy pop music which is always nice to workout to.
- Whitney Simmons
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Another popular fitness influencer, Whitney Simmons has close to 2 million subscribers on YouTube and also a collaboration line with GymShark. In the video she goes at a fast pace, but this pace is offset by the 20 second rests in between each exercise. There also isn’t much variety in terms of exercises, and I personally did not find it to be as high intensity as I would have wanted. If you are looking for a workout that keeps you on your toes with minimal or no breaks in between, I would skip out on Simmons’ videos.
- Natacha Oceane
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First starting out her YouTube channel in 2015, Natacha Oceane is a lifestyle and fitness influencer, with most of her content focused on vlogging and the occasional fitness video. I enjoyed that the exercises were apartment friendly because I would not want to annoy the downstairs neighbors with thumping noises.
This workout is kind of difficult to follow because it’s fast-paced, and I had trouble figuring out the exercises which took away time from the workout. However, it does give you a sweat, and changing up the pace every once in a while will be good for variety.
- Yoga With Adriene
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Adriene Mishler is a top yoga instructor on YouTube with 8.58 million subscribers and millions of views. She has a big variety of yoga videos and even features her dog Benji, who often just lounges in the background.
I found the yoga extremely relaxing without the distraction of music in the background. Throughout the video there are pilates exercises mixed in with the meditation part of yoga. While the purpose of the video is to help you meditate, it is great for stretching and also targets certain muscles in the abs and legs.
Whether it’s yoga or a HITT workout, getting active when you’re tied to your house is free and rewarding. Working out has never been easier thanks to the amazing fitness YouTubers who put together these videos.
Photos: Her Campus Media