Fitness
6 free workout videos so you can cancel your gym membership and workout at home
Getty Images
Fitness
6 free workout videos so you can cancel your gym membership and workout at home
We rounded up our favourite effective (and free!) workout videos on YouTube that you'll love no matter if you have five minutes or 60.
Don't want to trek to the gym but want to get your body moving? We feel you. Try an at-home workout—we have just the thing to motivate you.
These six workout videos below are all you need to get your heart rate up and tone muscles in the comfort of your very own abode—so you're going to want to bookmark this page.
Clear some space in your living room, bedroom or hotel room (wherever you have enough space to move around and have a good Wi-Fi connection), watch for proper form and say hello to a convenient sweat session. (Of course, be sure to get the clearance from your doctor to work out on your own and exercise regularly.)
32-Minute Home Cardio Workout
Equipment, Space & More: No equipment, enough room for you to lie on the floor or to hold a pushup without compromising form.
The Video: Fitness Blender is a well-rounded exercise website with YouTube-hosted videos. This workout is led by a female instructor named Kelly.
The Workout: It starts off with a quick warmup and goes through quick bodyweight moves. There isn't any music, but there is a next-move insert in the corner of the screen so you know what to do next since there's little rest (although there are scheduled water breaks). The video provides the number of calories you'll be burning by performing the routines, which is super motivating for those calorie counters.
Fitness level: Beginner friendly, but watch how you feel and rest when needed. Advance the workout by using weights and increasing intensity.
29-Minute Low-Impact Cardio Dance Foga (Fitness + Yoga)
Equipment, Space & More: Yoga blocks and enough room to take five or so wide strides from side-to-side.
The Video: FemFusion Fitness's trainer Bri leads through this 29-minute yoga-fitness fusion workout.
The Workout: After a quick dance-y warmup, you're led through simple-to-follow but choreographed moves paired with music. Captions with tips are provided, but Bri also describes what to do in a voiceover.
Fitness level: Beginners will enjoy the ease of dancing for exercise. And those who require a more intense workout can advance the yoga moves when possible.
15-Minute Interval Walking Video
Equipment, Space & More: No equipment, since it's a walking video. But you'll need space to be able to shuffle forward and back and side to side.
The Video: Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home YouTube channel leads through a 15-minute interval walking video.
The Workout: This is an interval workout (no warmup) that mainly focuses on the lower body. Although the “big calorie burn" is questionable with 15 minutes of walking-like movements, it's worthwhile for someone with a sedentary lifestyle or very new to exercise. The workout is led by Leslie and a group showing different levels of ability and fitness. She talks through movements and demonstrates form and offers captions with cues. Exercise includes walking, marching, knee lifts and more.
Fitness level: This is for real beginners and those who are starting to get more and more physical activity. It's for anyone looking to advance their walking routines since it offers a variety of walking moves.
60-Minute Indoor Cycling Training
Equipment, Space & More: Not all of us have a Peloton bike with live-streaming videos, but a stationary bike and a YouTube video can work just as well.
The Video: For serious riders, this Global Cycling Network video will make you sweat.
The Workout: The workout is outlined at the beginning of the video, and it starts with a five-minute warmup. Instructions are clear and should work with most bikes, basing your workout around intensity levels (between one and 10, as well as RPMs). Plus, there is a thermometer-like visual for intensity, too. There are about seven commercial breaks—but you can use them for active rest to lower your heart rate or as a water break.
Fitness level: You should have a base level of fitness to try this. It's great for in-shape and advanced riders.
50-Minute Barre Workout
Equipment, Space & More: A bar (or a stable chair with a tall back), yoga matt, light hand weights (2 to 5 lbs.) that you can maintain for 10 reps.
The Video: Shauna Kathleen is a barre instructor. Her videos are clean and easy to follow.
The Workout: She offers a slow and steady warmup at the beginning of the video, stretching at the end. Not all YouTube fitness videos offer a cool-down, so that's a nice added element. Instruction is given with a voiceover, as well as cards listing the moves that are coming up. There are one-minute water breaks to catch your breath.
Fitness level: Barre works for both beginners and advanced fitness levels. You can intensify this program with heavier weights and beginners can make modifications for the moves.
30-Minute Natural Movement Practice
Equipment, Space & More: You don't need any equipment, but you'll want enough room to crawl—yes, crawl—around on the floor.
The Video: Animal flow is a new exercise trend, but those in the fitness industry have been using these compound movements (multiple joints, multiple muscles) for a while now—you'll see older videos on YouTube showing this method. It includes instructions, so it's easy to follow.
The Workout: Kellen starts off with a mobility warmup, following with animal flow sequences for the workout and a cool down at the end. The movements are pretty much anything and everything, including crawling, some yoga (cat-cow and other animal-based movements), Pilates (boat) rolling, and other full-body exercises (that involve both being on the floor and standing). Crunches are snuck into the workout for extra core toning.
Fitness level: This is beginner-friendly. Those more in shape will appreciate having to learn new moves, but they can push their muscles for a deeper use of them and depend less on hands.
Recommended
Comments