The best exercise is the one you’ll actually do. I used to be a gym rat, but at this point in my life, I’m not willing to make that time commitment. It’s easiest and more effective to cut out the travel time and workout in my living room at my convenience. I’m pleased to share the best YouTube channels for free home workouts with you below!
Even if you have a gym membership, I’m sure there are days you don’t feel like making the trek, but also don’t want to be a couch potato – that’s where this list comes in! I’ve lost quite a bit of weight with home workouts as my only exercise, so I can attest to their effectiveness.
Here are my home gym essentials that replaced my gym membership:
To see an inspiration photo of the gorgeous and fit AF Maddison Lockwood from my novel Sweet Redemption, head over to Instagram. I told my subscribers last week that due to overwhelming demand, Maddison and Zane, my secondary characters, will be getting their own book! If you want to be the first to know, make sure you subscribe too! You can read chapter 1 right here on the blog (and also check out chapter 1 of my work in progress, The List, the first in a Bridget Jones’ Diary meets Tinder trilogy).
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The best YouTube channels for free Home workouts
Fitness Blender
There are always plenty of videos to choose from regardless of what type of training I want to do (strength and HIIT are my defaults) and how hard I want to work (from recovery days to near death experiences).
Daniel and Kelli are an adorable couple and I love working out with them. I will admit that total body strength workouts are lacking, but that’s when I remind myself that I’m also getting high quality videos for free.
Remember, workouts are as hard as you make them. If you push yourself and increase the weight you’re lifting over time, even old staples can become challenging again. At home, the only person you’re competing with is yourself, so you have to be your own source of motivation and be better than you were yesterday.
Yoga with Adriene
Adriene does have some advanced workouts on her channel (like this one, which is one of my favourites), but her sequences are very accessible and beginner-friendly. I do Adriene’s workouts primarily for my mental health because there’s nothing like mat time with Adriene to make me feel Zen.
If you’re a yoga purist, you may be offended by Adriene not taking herself too seriously and advocating against “yoga robots” who just move from shape to shape. She is known to sing and tell jokes throughout her flows, which I love (but purists may not). I despised going to yoga studies and I credit Adriene with making me fall in love with yoga.
BeFit
I have done several free BeFit workout challenges from a variety of different instructors (my favourite was the Butt Lift challenge). You will definitely recognize some familiar fitness faces on the channel (hello, Denise Austin) and there are a wide variety of videos to choose from at all levels of fitness.
Blogilates
My disclaimer with recommending Blogilates is that I’m actually not a fan of the instructor. Cassie is very bubbly and starts many of her videos talking about her nails and hair. However, while her workouts are short, they will make your muscles burn in new ways, especially if you repeat the short videos a few times (try this one!). When I turn one on, James always groans and says, “oh no, her again?” So, my solution is to skip the long intros and watch on mute.
Check out my strawberry protein shake, protein cookie, and protein ball recipes for post-workout snacks!
I’ll write a separate post about my favourite workout DVDs soon and put a link back here (hint: T25 Focus is one). What is your favourite YouTube workout channel?
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