Here’s how we’re skipping the gym and working out for free this holiday season
We love the holidays. We do. We love every cheesy Christmas movie and every frosted cookie. Is there anything better than a holiday special? Suddenly, our social (and TV) calendar is so full the gym gets pushed onto the ‘probably January’ burner. We just can’t seem to squeeze it all in.
We also, however, can’t seem to squeeze into our pants. It’s the eternal holiday struggle that everyone faces. Lucky for you, our crew decided to find the ultimate list of for-real free YouTube workout channels. Are you a fitness lover? Or just need to sweat out some of the holiday drama? Here are our favorite free YouTube fitness guides.
Joanna So
Joanna is a certified nutritionist, a personal trainer, and a women’s fitness specialist with over a decade of experience under her (very small) belt. She somehow makes you smile throughout some serious fat burning.
Joanna’s videos range from ‘Beginner’s Indoor Bootcamp’, offering 45 minutes of High-Intensity Interval Training without making us feel like we’re going to die, to a 10 minute “Morning Stretch”, to get the day started off right. Joanna has a ton of other content and made us feel like a new routine is totally do-able.
MadFit
When we found MadFit, we felt like we found the holy grail. MadFit’s Maddie Lymburner knows what we want, and that’s to get a workout in on a commercial break. Offering dozens (and dozens!) of no equipment workouts is an awesome start, but Lymburner sweetens the deal with a ton of intense-for-just-a-little-bit workouts that last the length of just one song.
Want to get some abs into the beat of the Jonas Brothers? How about a full-body workout to Post Malone? If you have a little more time, MadFit also has longer workouts, like this “20-minute full-body workout”. We admit, we felt it the next day, and maybe the day after that.
Blogilates
With a whopping 4.74 million subscribers, Cassey Ho is doing something right. Her YouTube Channel is full of body-positive encouragement, 30-day workout challenges, and categories like Apartment Friendly and (yes!) “The Best Workout for Watching TV”. Cassey seems to know the exact challenges we face in our quest for fitness.
Super bubbly and with contagious energy, Cassey’s YouTube offerings really do inspire us to get moving. Who doesn’t want to jump in on her “Wonderwoman Workout”? We are here for it! Offering a ton of variety, Blogilates can keep our interest all season long.
Jessica Smith
Jessica Smith is the no-nonsense, straight-shooting instructor that has become out long day go-to. Jessica’s YouTube channel is full of workouts featuring just her and her sidekick, Peanut the French bulldog. Her exercises are both straightforward and effective. Jessica Smith has hundreds of free workouts, sorted by time, style, or activity.
A certified wellness coach, trainer, and instructor, Jessica seems to know what we need. An “8 Minute Total Body Belly Fat Burn” with…wait for it…no crunches (!), makes Jessica the hero we need right now. Feel like you need to get some cardio in, but it’s cold, and you’re tired? Jessica’s “12-Minute Low Impact Cardio Blast” gave us the energy boost we needed to make it through the day.
Alo Yoga
The luxury yoga clothing brand has created a YouTube channel that brings the zen! Alo’s channel offers both full-length 60-minute classes as well as 5-minute how-to videos, an extensive list of guided meditations, and, you know, covetable outfits.
This “Nightime Flow” helped calm our post – It’s a Wonderful Life sniffles. While the breakdowns of challenging yoga poses like Crow made us feel like a rockstar. We’re just going to drop this “Restore your Inner Peace” meditation right here. We suspect we might not be the only ones who need it right now.
BodyFit by Amy
While Amy has some beginner and low impact workouts, we seem to gravitate towards her channel when we are looking for a serious whooping. Amy’s Bodyfit channel has workouts that range from 5 minutes to 45, so there’s always something you can work in.
One of our favorite parts of Amy’s workouts is her ability to offer a ton of modifications, ratcheting down the intimidation level of workouts like her “Insanity Plyometric Cardio and Strength” one finishable. If you mistook short for easy, Amy’s “5 Minute Plank Challenge” is here to correct that. Best of all, she totally gives us a Madeline Mackenzie from Big Little Lies vibe.
