YouTube workouts break a sweat
With the closures of gyms, home YouTube workouts are on the rise and their momentum shows no signs of stopping. Their accessibility and preplanned structure makes it a great option to those looking to exercise in quarantine. However, the fitness content on YouTube is heavily saturated, making it overwhelming to try and find a good fit. Because of this, I have gone through and tried workouts from the top channels to decide which is the perfect one for me.
It goes without saying that Chloe Ting is currently the queen of at home workouts. She features a variety of no equipment videos that line up with her free programs, which can be found on her website www.chloeting.com. Her programs are structured well and fall in the beginner-intermediate difficulty range, and the majority, if not all of her content features low impact exercise alternatives for certain moves in the videos, making it ideal for a variety of ability levels. In my opinion, her HIIT workouts are the most intense but extremely underrated. The only main downside to Ting is that the music she plays is extremely repetitive and can get annoying over time, but this isn’t an issue a pair of headphones cannot solve. I definitely recommend her programs if you’re looking for a well structured, exercise regimen that can easily be adjusted to your abilities.
Lilly Sabri has been gaining popularity at this time as well, and for good reason. Her videos have a simple, Chloe Ting-esque feel to them but are arguably more difficult and intense, with an intermediate-advanced difficulty level. Like Ting, she also has an array of programs, although you have to sign up for her email newsletter through her website www.leanwithlilly.com. Her positivity in her videos is motivating and helps you push through, and her videos are so diverse that there is something for everyone.
Like Sabri, Cassey Ho of the channel Blogilates, who has been popular on fitness YouTube for a while now, has an extensive assortment of exercises for just about everything. Her workouts are definitely on the beginner-intermediate difficulty range, but there is no shortage of videos, especially if you get bored easily. The moves in her videos are pilates driven, hence the name, and she speaks to you throughout the entire video, which can be a positive or negative aspect depending on what you like.
Madfit has many typical videos you would see on other channels, but she also has multiple dance workouts, with music ranging from Taylor Swift to seasonal music to compilations of TikTok music. Her dance videos are primarily cardio over strength training, but this makes it ideal for those of all abilities. The best part of the dance videos is that if you mess up, you can just move on with the workout without stressing too much over proper form. This was definitely one of my favorites, as they get you moving without even realizing you’re exercising.
Although Daisy Keech is not necessarily a fitness youtuber, she is definitely worth mentioning as her workouts have gone viral and have gotten hundreds of thousands to millions of views each. As of now, she only has four at home workouts on her channel, but all four of them are intense and incredible for strength without equipment. She takes basic moves, many of which are reminiscent of Chloe Ting’s most popular moves, and combines them into supersets with more reps and shorter breaks in a well thought out order to create the most optimal workout. The workouts themselves range from about 8-12 minutes, which is great if you have a shorter attention span.
Caroline Girvan is another fitness youtuber, whose growth in popularity can be attributed to her 50 day Epic workout series, and with good reason. She released two videos a day for 50 days for the program, one of which was a beginner workout and the second being an intermediate/advanced workout. Both are great options depending on your skill level and give you a satisfying daily workout if you’re interested in a daily program. The only downside, however, would be that the intermediate/advanced videos require equipment, which most of us do not have at home.
It is important to note that we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, so if your self care during this time involves a workout, there are many great options for you on YouTube. However, you should not feel pressured to do so if it will do you more harm than good. The most important thing is to take care of yourself, drink water, wear a mask and stay healthy.
