Staying fit and keeping healthy should be one of our top priorities while we shelter at home during quarantine – it’s key not only to our physical wellbeing, but our mental one as well. While it may not seem like it at first, there are plenty of options to get a workout in while you’re stuck at home and like so many things right now –the Internet is your friend.
Find a weekly routine that incorporates cardio and strength training so you get a well-rounded regimen that should be at least 2.5 to 3 hours per week. Particularly now while we’re moving less confined at home, having lost even the activity we gain from our daily commutes, it’s crucial we commit to something that keeps us in motion.
Gyms, personal trainers and yoga studios are hitting the web to offer free virtual tutorials during this period, along with the hundreds of fitness-based YouTube channels to keep you motivated and guide your workouts. Whether you’re looking for a brutal HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) session or a beginner’s workout, you’ll find something at every level.
We’ve picked out a few choice resources that cover a range of fitness styles, from yoga to spin and beyond.
Chloe Ting
Fitness guru Chloe Ting has recently blown up on social media with her challenges that target different body parts and goals. Among her free workouts are the 35-day Summer Shred Challenge, the 5-weeks Booty Challenge and the 26-day Hourglass: Abs & Butt Challenge.
Her videos are timed and easy-to-follow as she explains each movement as the routine progresses. If you’re looking for quick results (as quick as two weeks if you stick to the programme!), Ting’s sessions hit the mark.
Check out her website here and be prepared to get your sweat on!
Psycle
One of London’s top fitness clubs with outlets across the busy capital, Psycle’s team of highly skilled instructors have taken their workouts online – all available on the brand’s Instagram page. Choose from barre, HIIT and power flow yoga classes and feel the burn with each instructor as they broadcast from their living rooms.
You’ll find classes for all levels of fitness, with and without equipment, as well as meditation and yoga sessions. There are also guides on topics including mindful eating and a regular feature called the Supper Club, which sees one of the instructors whip up a different nutrient-packed meal each time.
Spin Stream
If you miss cycling to the beat, high intensity bursts and pumping music – it’s possible to recreate these awesome workouts at home. Of course, you’ll need either a stationary bike or something called a turbo trainer – an accessory you can place your bicycle on to suspend it and turn it into spin machine.
Spin Stream provides high production videos (better than most since the team has been creating online videos for a while now) that incorporate climbs, sprints, endurance, strength and conditioning. Spinning is ideal for those that want a high intensity, low impact workout that will leave you with a serious endorphin high.
PE With Joe – The Body Coach
“Exercise is an amazing tool to help us feel happier, more energised, and more optimistic,” says Joe Wicks on his website, and that pretty much sums up the feel of each of his videos. His upbeat workouts have become Internet sensation especially since isolation efforts began, offering new content on his YouTube channel (2.32 million subscribers) on a daily basis.
Although the sessions are primarily aimed at kids, they are suitable for all ages and fitness levels – with modifications to make moves more or less challenging. It’s impossible not to get swept up in the cheeriness and charm of Joe’s videos, which include custom moves like bunny bounces and Spider-Man lunges.
Families across the world have got in on the action – don’t miss him live every morning at 9am UK time.
Yoga With Adrienne
With over 7 million subs on her YouTube channel, Adrienne Mishler is a celebrity in the yoga world. She has won multiple awards for her content, including Google’s most searched workout, and is well known for her 30-day yoga challenges which are perfect for the lockdown period.
Her library contains hundreds of videos that suit all moods or needs – if you’re a newbie check out the Yoga For Beginners and Foundations of Yoga series, and if you’re up for something more challenging, head straight for the Yoga for Weight Loss or Total Body Yoga playlists will be up your alley.
Beast Skills
With a love for gymnastics and aerobics, Jim Bathurst is the man behind Beast Skills – a online repository that will help you push your strength and calisthenics with hard-as-nails challenges. Want to learn how to do a clapping handstand pushup, a one arm handstand or The Flag (a move where you hold on to a vertical object and hoist your body up so it’s parallel to the ground)? Bathurst breaks down each of these seemingly impossible moves into bite-sized progressions with detailed explanations.
Some of his moves require objects like gymnastics rings or weights, but there’s plenty here that you can do with just your strength and balance.
It’s hardcore stuff, but right now you’ve got all the time in the world. Hit up his website or YouTube channel and check it out.