The weeks before Spring Break seem to bring out the inner Jillian Michaels in many college girls. At the Rec, there’s a perpetual line for any elliptical or treadmill and there are never enough mats in the girls’ locker room. And with the recent snow, sometimes trekking over there just doesn’t seem worth it.
Luckily, a great workout can be had in the comfort of your dorm room, sorority basement, or apartment with a number of great fitness blogs, channels, and websites. Here’s 5 great free online resources as evaluated by HerCampus CU!
5. Muffin Top-Less
Savannah Neveux went through college like many girls, drinking and not eating as healthy as she should. As her website says, “I sat up out of bed one morning, the rolls of my beer gut smushing together. With my head pounding against my skull and my skin tingling from dehydration, I realized.. I can’t do this anymore. So I decided to ditch the booze and the crazy, college, party-girl lifestyle and get fit!”
Neveux has since dedicated herself to a life of total fitness. Now a fitness model, she follows a strict regimen of clean eating and intensive workouts. On her website, she features the “Muffin Top-Less Meal Plan” which can help people introduce eating-clean to their diets.
Her website also features a wide variety of workouts ranging from beginner to extreme. Many can be done without equipment and she even has an exclusive “Dorm Room Cardio” one that doesn’t make as much noise!
4. Pinterest
If you don’t have a Pinterest account, you should probably stop reading and make one. Like, right this second.
Founded back in 2010, Pinterest was started as a photo-sharing website to create “inspiration boards.” The plethora of categories allows you to customize your boards and follow others with similar interests. While you can go on for cooking or crafting, Pinterest is a great resource for fitness tips.
Searching a term like “At Home Workout” brings up a ton of different workouts that don’t require a gym. Whether you’re looking for yoga, cardio, weight training, HIIT, or anything else “fit” you can certainly find it on Pinterest.
The great variety on the site allows you to switch up your workouts, preventing exercise boredom and allowing you to try new things. If you’re embarrassed to try a new exercise at the gym, your house can also be the perfect place to give it a go. No one’s looking but your cat and it’s judgmental anyways. Get on Pinterest and get yourself some new workouts!
3. DailyHIIT/BodyRock.TV
If you worry an at-home workout would be less intense than at the gym, look no further than DailyHIIT. Formerly BodyRock.TV, DailyHIIT features a new high-intensity interval training video each day.
The site recommends following the free weekly workouts but you can mix and match videos depending on your preference. Each day features a different “type” of HIIT designed to target different muscle groups. HIIT workouts last 12 minutes but push you to your max. If you have a short break between classes, doing a quick HIIT video could be an effective way to burn fat all day long.
Older workout videos are still at Bodyrock.TV. These are more varied and less HIIT-focused but deliver a great workout that is typically equipment-free.
2. Fit-Bottomed Girls
If Pinterest is the Google for your fitness needs, Fit-Bottomed Girls should become your new Facebook. Whether you need exercise advice, healthy meal tips, playlist suggestions, or equipment reviews the FBG’s are your girls.
The ‘Cardio’ section of their Workout page offers a huge variety of indoor workouts, focusing on bodyweight exercises and little use of equipment. The contributing writers also share their experiences with many exercise programs and “crazes,” offering a sane opinion on whether or not you should give it a try.
A great feature of their blog is the ‘Fit Journey’ page. You can choose your fitness level as Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced and read tips geared toward that level. If you’re feeling confident, try the workouts for the next step up. If it’s too hard, go back down a level. FBG makes customizing a workout easy.
1. Blogilates
Ever been to an exercise class and felt like the teacher was yelling at you specifically? Maybe you felt so ashamed for not being able to do a move you just didn’t go back. As founder of Blogilates, Cassey Ho does a 180 on the traditional fitness-teacher stereotype.
Each month, Cassey releases a calendar with specific videos to watch every day. Each video lasts between 5 to 25 minutes and are geared towards different functions. While no one is monitoring your performance on these videos, Cassey’s energy practically radiates through the screen. Her excitement for you makes you go the extra minute in your plank, even if you feel you might die.
With over a hundred videos, it’d be difficult to get bored while doing Blogilates. A personal favorite video is her PopCardio Gangnam Style. Like all of her videos, you’ll work up a sweat an