During spring break, I got an email from the university that would change my lifestyle for months back in March. The school was switching to remote learning for the rest of the school year. Automatically, there was a rush of all different kinds of emotions: How would I juggle two science laboratory classes online? When was I going to move out of my dorm? How will my online classes work?
About a week into remote learning an additional question came to mind: how would I stay active during a stay-at-home order? When I could safely be on campus, I participated in group fitness classes a couple of days per week: TRX, HIIT, and Core, cycling, etc. Plus, I would walk all around campus for classes and meet up with friends.
With that thought in mind, I knew I had to find a way to get moving around. First, I tried doing some basic exercises: a certain amount of jumping jacks, mountain climbers, etc. However, I got pretty bored and would lose count on how many repetitions I completed. It was not fulfilling.
One day, I decided to search for HIIT (high-intensity interval training) on Youtube. To my surprise, there were a ton of videos. Since then, I do YouTube workouts to satisfy my fitness needs in the comfort of my home. In no particular order, here are my favorite fitness YouTube channels that I have grown to love:
- Popsugar
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Popsugar was the first Youtube channel I used to do a home workout back in March. The channel offers a variety of workouts that all ages and fitness levels can do. From cardio dance to strength training, they all get your heart pumping. My favorite workouts have been the 30-minute HIIT cardio workouts. They usually have three instructors, one of them being the host talking for most of the session.
All three do the workout and guide you through it. The moves are easy to follow along. Since they are doing it with you, you don’t feel as alone while time passes by. The majority of them are no-equipment workouts so you don’t have to worry about having weights or resistance bands. The workouts range from 5 minutes to an hour. The best part, they’re all free! - Pamela Reif
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If you want to challenge yourself, check out Pamela Reif’s Youtube channel. She’s the real deal. In my opinion, her workouts are quite advanced because there aren’t breaks during them.
Like Popsugar, she offers a variety of workouts: abs, HIIT, dancing, etc. She doesn’t talk during the workouts, but she always has a great music playlist to keep you going. The moves are super simple like jumping jacks and, again, they’re all free! - Sydney Cummings
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Sydney Cummings is a great fitness trainer and motivator. She posts full workouts from strength training to equipment-free fat-burning workouts. At the beginning of every workout, she says thank you for showing up, how she’ll always be with us during the workout, and just to give it our best. This always resonates with me because she cares about all the people who click her videos. She does the workouts as well so we’re in it together. She posts daily workouts so there’s always something new.
- MadFit
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Maddie Lymburner, known for her Youtube channel “MadFit”, offers all different types of workouts. However, I only do her cardio dance workouts. The cool and engaging thing about MadFit is that she has categorized her dance videos.
For example, she has a 2010’s dance workout with songs including “On The Floor” by J-lo and “Don’t Call Me Up.” The moves are easy but get your heart rate up. I love them because it’s like I am having a mini dance party. They’re so fun to do!