Tag Archives: cardio

My 3 Favorite YouTube Channels for At-Home Workouts

If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you’ll know I’m no stranger to the at-home workout. I LOVE working out for free in the comfort of my own home. There are just so many resources out there on YouTube to help facilitate your fitness journey. (You can even create your own challenges to help stay on track and keep things interesting!) Now, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we are all spending a little more time indoors and a little less time in public classes and gyms. Luckily, I already had honed in on my YouTube go-tos long before the term “social distancing” was a part of our collective consciousness. If you’re new to the at-home workout, I’d love to share my three favorites with you —

For CARDIO –

My favorite channel when I want to raise my heart rate is BODY PROJECT. Their holistic exercise routines typically combine HIIT cardio, low impact resistance training, pilates, and boxing. The routines are fast paced and energetic and the teachers are so adorably motivational (and adorably British!).

Want to try a Body Project video out?

For STRENGTH –

My favorite channel when I want to work my muscles is SYDNEY CUMMINGS. Sydney is a certified personal trainer who uploads a new workout on YouTube every single day at 5 am. And these aren’t your typical 20 minute for my YouTube audience but ya gotta pay for the better videos…nope. These workouts are long and actually pack a punch.

Want to try a Sydney Cummings video out?

For YOGA –

My favorite channel when I want to practice yoga will come as no surprise to anyone … YOGA WITH ADRIENE! If you haven’t tried out a yoga flow with Adriene yet I really don’t know what you’re waiting for. I typically do one of her videos 3x a week and she has become such a calming and important presence in my life.

Want to try a Yoga with Adriene video out?

What’s your favorite YouTube channel for workouts? Share them below! I’d love to try out your recommendations as we continue this period of self-isolation. xoxo

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Full Week of [FREE] Workouts

Hey guys! Welcome back to the blog! Today’s post I wanted to do a diary-style “workouts of the week” post. So I’m going to be sharing with y’all the workouts I did starting last Thursday through yesterday. Lately, I’ve been working out Sun-Wed and Fri with Thursdays and Saturdays as a rest day since those tend to be more naturally active days for me in regular life (housework, errands, walking places, etc). This week was a little different as I had moved my rest day to Tuesday in an attempt to listen to my body.

A few things to note, this is probably the first year since she started doing them that I didn’t complete Yoga with Adriene’s 30-day challenge in January. I’ve just been feeling more cardio and strength workouts lately with yoga only once or twice a week. BUT – I will certainly get to all those January videos over the course of the next few weeks. And because I’m all about syncing up my workouts to my cycle, being in the menstrual phase this week was the perfect time to get a jump start on that. More yoga and no strength was in the cards for this week!

Ok, enough yammering. Let’s get to the workouts —

Thursday 1/30

Yoga

Usually I do yoga on Tuesdays but I wasn’t feeling anything but a hot water bottle that day. Usually I do cardio on Wednesdays but I settled for a 20 minute stretch routine. Now, we’re to Thursday and my body is finally ready to get on the mat and work out some kinks. It feels good to have a structure but then allow myself to veer off the railroad tracks to do what’s best for me.

Friday 1/31

HIIT Cardio

I’ve really been trying to do more cardio in 2020 since I feel like my job is soooo sedentary. I also find myself craving that post-run feeling… but I just hate running. This sounds crazy but running allows too much thought. I’d much rather this very motivational British dude yell things at me while I “monkey see, monkey do” and turn off my brain for a bit.

Saturday 2/1

REST DAY

Sunday 2/2

Yoga

I did Day 1 of HOME on Jan 1 and then decided, you know what, this isn’t for me this year. But I felt called to bang a few out this week. So this is what I delved into today…

Monday 2/3

Yoga

…and continued this day…

Tuesday 2/4

Yoga

and this day. Anyone else feel like they may accidentally join a cult if Adriene started one? Because I’m solidly in that camp.

Wednesday 2/5

HIIT Cardio

Ok, quickly realizing this week of workouts was a little repetitive. What can I say? Yoga with Adriene and Body Project are my current jam. My favorite channel for strength training at the moment is Sydney Cummings. (I think I’ll do this one tomorrow.) She is an absolute beast and puts up a new workout every single day and a lot of them are on the longer side.

So, that’s a week of workouts with me! What have your workouts been looking like lately? Have any channels I should check out? Leave ’em below! 

P.S. Looking for a way to get motivated about working out? Try making a fitness challenge!

5-Week Home Workout Challenge (Week 5!)

So excited to report that I completed this 5-week challenge!!!

Before embarking on this journey, I was feeling a little bit in a workout rut. I was doing my nightly exercise but they were nothing to write home about…or frankly, get excited about. I’m happy to say switching it up and trying out lots of different videos, styles, instructors, and channels was exactly what I needed.

If you’re feeling similarly, why not give it a try! You now have 35 workouts queued up and ready to go. OR you could create your own playlist with the videos that suit you best.

Tuesday:

A little back hygiene in the first few days of ANY work week is always a good thing for me.

Wednesday:

That kneel to squat with knee drive!? A doozy!

Thursday:

Ok, I will be returning to this channel. Usually overly motivational instructors annoy me but I was really feeling this guy.

Friday:

A quick but effective booty and thigh barre routine.

Saturday:

Couldn’t help myself with this one. So dorky but so fun. And if you REALLY commit you can feel like you’re in a scene from Mamma Mia!

Sunday:

And one more dance power walk for good measure. LOL!

Monday:

And to round things out, some Yin Yoga! My favorite way to really get in there with the stretches!

And that’s a wrap!

I’ll start slowly adding videos to a new playlist for a future challenge, but for now I’ve settled on a workout schedule going forward that looks a little something like this —
Monday – Yoga, Tuesday – any video from my playlist, Wednesday – Fitness Blender, Thursday – Yoga, Friday – a sweat set on Fitness Marshall, Saturday – Yoga, and Sunday – Walk + FemFusion

Do you have a favorite workout channel on YouTube?

5-Week Home Workout Challenge (Week 4!)

workout wk4

What’s that you say? You’re ready for another week of at-home workouts courtesy of the interwebs? Well, I’ve got just the thing for you!

It is STILL super hot where I’m at, and I’m trying not to get down on myself so much for not getting outside much. It is just. so. stifling. (and humid and bright and BUGGY!) It’s weird that I used to think of these types of workouts as being a good resource to bust out in the dead of winter. But now that I’ve clocked quite a few years in the southern reaches of the U.S., I can say they are, without a doubt, my SUMMER WORKOUTS. Especially for the dog days we’re in right now.

Tuesday:

You may or may not know this about me, but Keaira LaShae is my workout QUEEN. I’ve discussed my favorite of her workouts HERE.

Wednesday:

Ok, indulge me for a moment. THIS is why I love YouTube so much. This is a great workout…and it was just hanging out on YouTube on this channel for Hennepin Healthcare. A channel with 4k subscribers and 9 workout videos randomly posted 3 years ago for some sort of weight loss program they were doing. No idea how I stumbled upon it but so glad I did! There are literally all sorts of gems like this just waiting to be found!!!

Thursday:

This is the third in a nice little trio of tough workouts this week…

Friday:

And this is the much needed relief! Also a nice way to end the week after a somewhat stressful work week.

Saturday:

Wow, amazing how easy this feels after the beginning of the week. Again, this instructor’s videos are so low-key…this time I realized it might be the houseplants?

Sunday:

Have I mentioned how much I hate bouncy cardio? And there’s been a lot more of it this week than I care for. But HALLELUJAH we have powered through!

Monday:

And one more appearance from our queen! Truly amazing how worked my abs felt after this and I GOT TO STAND THE WHOLE TIME (not a crunch in sight!).

Oh my goodness, I only have one more week to go!

P.S. Week 1 and Week 2 and Week 3 – in case ya wanna start from the beginning and catch up!

5-Week Home Workout Challenge (Week 2!)

workout wk2

I survived another week of my home workout challenge! *thunderous applause*

Now for the full disclosure part… I took three days off. One day I had horrible shoulder pain and spent the day wrapped in a heat wrap. One day I had horrible knee pain and spent the day with an ice pack. And one day I was at a state park and spent the day swimming in a lake.

But here’s the thing, I listened to my body and cooled my jets. And ya know what? My workouts were ready for me to pick back up after each of those days off. For anyone thinking they need to work through the pain, this won’t always work in your favor! No pain, no gain? Well, when the pain is bad, you can leave the gains for a couple of days! Listening to your body is so important (especially every time you hit a new zero in your age)! Sure, there are meds that can stop aches and pains (check out this list from Shape.com) and plenty of advice out there, but the best medicine is sometimes a good rest! So, even though they weren’t done in consecutive days, I’m gonna call this week’s worth of workouts a win!

Wanna know what they were?

Tuesday:

Pulses of death? Challenge accepted.

Wednesday:

Honestly, this is low-key a workout for your eyeballs. And if you work at a computer all day, I can’t recommend it enough.

Thursday:

Sweet little gentle workout. She prefaces at the beginning that she’ll be giving minimal verbal cues so that the music can be enjoyed…but I would have preferred the verbal cues.

Friday:

You’ll learn over the course of this challenge that I’m not a fan of jumping.

Saturday:

I am, in fact, a person who gets bored easily! No repeat exercises in this one.

Sunday:

Hurts so good. Not doing this enough is probably what caused that previously mentioned knee flare up. *face-palm* It’s feeling right as rain now!

Monday:

A simple dumbbell workout gets the job done every time.

That’s it for Week 2! I’ll post again when I’ve made it through Week 3. ‘Til then! xoxo

P.S. 30 Days of Ballet Training and The All You Need is a Clock Workout

5-Week Home Workout Challenge (Week 1!)

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I love finding workouts on YouTube and I’ve been building a playlist of favorites over the past few months. Once the playlist hit 45 videos, I thought, “LET’S DO THIS!”

Now that I’ve completed Week 1 of this Home Workout Challenge, I thought I’d share here. Just in case anyone wants to give it a go! No gym membership, class pass, or leaving the house necessary. Just you showing up for yourself (oh, and an internet connection)! Feel like accepting the challenge? Do one workout a day, whatever time suits you best. (I’m a 7:30 pm girl, myself.) And start on a Tuesday — Mondays have enough going on as it is!

Tuesday:

Starting off simple with ten minutes and some light hand-weights.

Wednesday:

Admittedly not a huge fan of the terms “fat-frying” or “bikini-body”…but this is a good workout nonetheless. If you can get past the weird interactions between the instructor and her sidekicks.

Thursday:

YouTube workout pro-tip: If there’s an instructor you like, travel back in their archives. This Blogilates throwback is from 2011!

Friday:

My quads were saying HELLOOOO! the morning after this one.

Saturday:

Really just a glorified rest day if you’re already pretty into yoga. But a great excuse to roll out the mat and stretch!

Sunday:

Looks easy. Is, in fact, NOT EASY. You will likely flail around.

Monday:

Before there was YouTube I totally was one of those people who had cardio dance DVDs. You too? Then this workout should feel familiar.

That’s it for Week 1! I’ll post again when I’ve made it through Week 2. ‘Til then! xoxo

P.S. How to ditch your gym membership and arguably the greatest YouTube workout of ALL TIME!