Disclaimer before we get started: I’m not an exercise science major.  I am not a professional personal trainer.  I am not qualified to tell anyone what to do in order to stay healthy.  That being said, I have done a lot of research into healthy lifestyles for teens and young adults, and I am here to share with you some of the things I have found to be beneficial for myself or my friends.  If it doesn’t work for you, find what does and stick with it!

When this whole quarantine thing first started, my best friend texted me one of the more profound things she has ever said to me; “I’m either gonna leave this thing really, really fit, or really, really fat.”

To her credit, so far she has stayed on the good side of that spectrum.  Others probably aren’t doing so well.

What’s the reason?  Is it because gyms are closed?  Is it because we are not forced to walk to classes each day, instead only needing to open our laptop from our bed to “go to” class?  Maybe it’s because we aren’t eating healthy right now, as groceries are scarce and ramen is cheap.

These are all contributing factors, but the biggest one I have noticed in people during this time is a lack of motivation.  Namely, we don’t really know what to do for our health, so we’re not really doing anything.  After all, it’s so much easier to just chill out on the couch than to put effort into finding out what we can do by ourselves to stay healthy.

That’s where today’s post comes in.  I’m going to share with you five YouTubers that can help you on your fitness journey from the comfort of your living room.  These YouTubers cover a variety of topics, from Yoga to Dance, from Weightlifting to Cardio, and lot in between!  So let’s dive in and see how Youtube can be a help – not a hindrance – to our fitness!

1. Yoga with Adriene

This is an amazing channel if you are interested in Yoga or stretching.  In fact, I was taking yoga on-campus before all of this hit and we are using Adriene’s videos now to help supplement us from home (one of my friends at TCC is doing the exact same thing.)  She has workouts that last anywhere from under ten minutes to 45 minutes or so, with varying levels of difficulty.

If you’re interested in a 30-day-challenge type of workout, she did 30 days of Yoga in January called “Home.”  I highly recommend it if you are new to yoga, as she starts easy and steadily introduces you to the more complex poses.

When doing yoga (or really any workout) at home, please remember to not push yourself too hard.  If you can’t get into a pose, that’s fine!  Just get as close as you can and work on building up that strength.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYKMP6rOE[/embedyt]

2. MadFit

Maddie is a legend.  She does some of the most intense workouts I have seen on Youtube and smiles the whole way through, never once even acting tired.  Her full workouts are pretty tough, so you might have to work your way up to those, but some of my favorite videos of hers are her song workouts.

Essentially, she takes a popular song with a good beat and “choreographs” working out to it. It’s not dancing by any means, it’s just a fun way to keep pace and stay motivated by listening to your favorite songs.

She also does a lot of “Apartment-friendly” workouts that involve no jumping, so if that is your current living situation and you don’t want downstairs neighbors to complain, she’s got you!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPZCeBoXOSQ[/embedyt]

3. Walk at Home

Okay, so you know those terrible 80’s aerobics workouts with the legwarmers and instrumental songs with great beats?  This is like the 21^st century version of that.  And before you say “these look like they’re for old ladies!”, I can personally tell you that you can and will work up a sweat following these videos.  Also, cardio is good for you no matter your age, and this is a fun way to get it in.

You might also wonder why someone would watch a 45-minute video of someone walking in place?  Can’t you just walk in place in your living room without the video?  Two main reasons; one is to keep pace.  The people in these videos are going around four miles-per-hour, which is a solid speed-walk.  The other reason is that they vary up the workout often, incorporating high knees, kicks, side steps, arm movement, and more.  So, while your feet are always moving, you’re getting a full-body workout that you likely wouldn’t lead yourself in at home.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeZ29umqVE[/embedyt]

(If you are looking for a channel with exercises to do with an older person, perhaps a parent or other family member also stuck at home during this time, I recommend either Walk at Home or Pahla B Fitness.  My mom and I have done several of these workouts together, which helps keep both of us motivated!)

4. Athlean-X

This was a channel that AAron Whaley, the Director at Morton Fitness Center, recommended to me last week when I was talking about fitness Youtube with him.  Basically, Jeff at Athlean-X breaks down a lot of do’s and don’ts for your workout, and he really taps into the science of working out.  If you’re into that, this is a great channel for you.

He has lots of follow-along workout videos as well.  Last week I shared his “zombie apocalypse” workout, and he recently has added several “at-home” workouts you can do using just things you find around the house.  He explains in depth how to do these different workouts and what benefits they have on your body.  Shoutout to AAron for the recommendation!

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc1E5CfRfos[/embedyt]

5. Just Dance

I feel like we all grew up playing these games on the Wii or Kinect back when those were cool.  These are fun, calorie-burning and high-energy dance workouts you can do from the comfort of your own home.  Don’t have a gaming system?  No problem!  Just Dance recently uploaded tons of samples of their videos to Youtube because they know we are all stuck at home.

There are also other channels on Youtube that people have used to share full versions of the songs.  Some of my personal favorites to dance to are Timber by Ke$ha, Dynamite by Taio Cruz, What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction (I love the “extreme” version,) and Starships by Nicki Minaj.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eughyYPoExk[/embedyt]

These are just a few of the incredible channels out there for people to use to stay motivated in their fitness journey.  Additionally, be sure to ‘like’ the Morton Fitness Center on Facebook as AAron Whaley has been doing daily workouts and inspiration, including a step challenge to try to be the most active TxWes Student.  (Ya girl has won three weeks in a row and needs some good competition!)

Do you have any fitness tips for working out at home?  Tell us in the comments!

Coming up tomorrow: Keeping a planner and getting your to-do list managed.