YouTube Fitness Channels You Should Be Following
As the gyms began closing in 2020, most of us have had to transform our living rooms into multipurpose fitness centers. "As soon as the lockdowns took effect, the home-fitness business took off like wildfire," Matt Powell, vice president and senior industry adviser for the NPD Group, a market research company, told The Washington Post. In fact, Americans spent money on everything from inexpensive yoga mats to high-priced cardio equipment.
According to a March 2020 survey, 16 percent of adults in the United States had watched at least one exercise video in quarantine. Fast forward a few months, and more than half of Americans had taken to working out at home to pass the time or improve their mental health during lockdown, according to a OnePoll survey for AI fitness app Freeletics (via New York Post). The same survey suggested that three in five Americans believe gyms will become obsolete long after things go back to a relative "normal."
It makes sense that many have embraced YouTube as the go-to source of training programs. Here are some of the fitness channels you should be following.
Tone it Up to get fit fast
The Tone It Up YouTube channel has 791,000 followers as of this writing. It's run by personal trainers Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn, who met at a gym back in 2009. "At the time, fitness was harsh — it weighed you in, it counted your calories, and it yelled at you to get fit," their website reads. They set out to change the game for women, making fitness more accessible and enjoyable. In doing so, they've landed themselves their own Bravo docu-series (Toned Up), on the covers of magazines, and with their own New York Times best-selling book, Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous.
The women explained their mission simply: "Tone It Up empowers you to live your healthiest, happiest, and most confident life. From workouts, to healthy recipes, meditations, and a vibrant community, you'll feel connected — mind, body, and soul." And it certainly does just that.
Find everything from total body workouts to a "Love Your Body" series to even videos featuring healthy, simple meals. You'll also notice a hugely supportive community on the platform. If you ever need a pick-me-up, just do yourself a favor — scroll through the comment section.
Chloe Ting to conquer fitness challenges
We can't get enough of Australian YouTuber and fitness guru Chloe Ting. She used to be an actuarial analyst but now makes fitness videos because "it's more fulfilling," she writes on her site. She's gotten quite a lot of rewards under her belt since starting out on the video-sharing platform. She won a YouTube Streamy Award for Health and Wellness, and she was also voted both a YouTube U.S. Top 10 Creator and a YouTube U.S. Top 10 Breakout Creator in 2020.
With 19.6 million subscribers at the time of writing this, do you need much convincing to follow this queen? She offers all sorts of free fitness programs on her website with corresponding links to her YouTube video workouts. You can even join in on one of her many challenges, like the Get Fit Challenge and the Intense Core Challenge.
While you'll likely be able to find a workout challenge that works for you, Byrdie pointed out that Ting is not a certified personal fitness trainer. As such, it's a good idea to consult a professional before trying her home workouts.
Yoga with Adriene to channel your inner yogi
You may have heard of Yoga with Adriene before. After all, the yoga guru has accumulated 9.7 million subscribers, as of this writing. Adriene Mishler has made quite a name for herself. She shares free yoga videos every week to support her followers in being able to practice high-quality yoga and mindfulness.
As an international yoga teacher, she's "on a mission to make tools for mental, emotional, and physical health accessible for all," according to her website. And she's very successful in doing so. Yoga with Adriene was recognized by Google as the most-searched workout of 2015.
Her channel is just as relevant these days as it was then. Adriene offers a complete 30-day yoga journey called "Breath" featuring 30 videos, one for every day of the month. Adriene's videos are designed for all levels, so whether you're a total beginner or a seasoned veteran, there's a yoga class for you. All you have to do is show up ... to your living room. Bring a mat, some water to keep hydrated, and an open mind. Remember that practice makes progress.
Sabah Kadri to get fit by Bollywood dancing
If you're a lover of Bollywood or dance, why not combine your passion with fitness? Sabah Kadri, a Bollywood dance and Bollywood fitness teacher, started sharing her secrets on her YouTube channel. She films high-intensity, fat-burning Bollywood dance workouts and shares them regularly.
You can filter through workouts by style or duration, among other playlists. Or you can check out some of her most popular videos, including her "15 Minute At-Home Non-Stop Bollywood High-Intensity Dance Workout" that promises to burn 200 calories, or her "30-Minute Belly Fat Burn Bollywood Dance Workout." You'll get a great workout and have fun doing it. You may not even feel like you're working out!
When she's not working out and dancing around, she's hard at work as a scientist, according to her website. Kadri has a PhD in Computational Biology from the Joint CMU-UPitt Computational Biology Program at Carnegie Mellon University, and she works as director of bioinformatics at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Per her site, she's also an assistant professor of pathology at Northwestern University. She's quite an inspiration for people who feel like there's not enough hours in the day for work, exercise, and play.
Lululemon to look the part while doing the work
Lululemon might be best known for it's attractive athleisure, but it also boasts a bomb YouTube channel full of awesome, sweaty workouts. The brand got its start in Vancouver, Canada, according to its website, but it has since built a following and a community all over the world. They come together through the brand's initiatives in the fitness world and through the online platforms on which it lives. Like YouTube!
"Our love for yoga runs deep; it rejuvenates our body, calms our mind and it's at the very core of who we are," according to the brand. Naturally, Lululemon shares tons of great yoga classes on its YouTube channel. You can also find meditation classes, running challenges, full-body training workouts, and all sorts of at-home fitness ideas on the platform. The classes boast anywhere from thousands to millions of views, so you can trust that other people enjoy them.
On top of fitness workouts, you can checkout product reviews and hauls from the brand as well. No, you don't need to be rocking Lululemon leggings to get fit with their trainers. But you still show up to your living room dressed to crush your workout.
NateBowerFitness to get on your boxing grind
Want to let out some real energy? Sometimes all you have to do is go at it on a punching bag. If so, then NateBowerFitness is the YouTube channel for you. Nate Bower is a certified personal trainer, boxing coach, and creator of various online training programs. And he shares them for free on YouTube with the mission to motivate his followers to get fit in smart, safe, and effective ways. His channel is full of boxing workouts, heavy bag workouts, high-intensity interval training, timed session workout routines, and more. The best part? He's super motivational and moves with you the whole time.
"Fitness without fun is doomed to fail," Bower writes on his website. "How many times have you started a routine, only to get bored after a few days, weeks, or months? Variety is the key to crushing boredom and carving the body of your dreams."
Studio Sweat onDemand to spin and sweat
Love cycling? Miss your spin classes? Studio Sweat onDemand is your go-to place on YouTube. Check out free maximum burning workouts. You'll need a fitness bike to participate in them, but that's about all you'll need. All you have to do is come with an open mind, a positive spirit, and enough energy to ride along for the about 20- to 50-minute classes.
"My goal with Studio SWEAT onDemand is to create a welcoming environment where you feel comfortable no matter what fitness level you are currently," trainer and founder Cat Kom said, according to the website. "When you press play, you're right there with us, working alongside real people in our homebase studio in San Diego. My joy comes from pushing you to your limit, while making sure you feel great about what you've accomplished and wanting to come back for more. And I love my job."
Nike for at-home variations
Nike is a popular brand when it comes to sneakers and other fitness gear, but did you know that the athletic brand also has a YouTube channel where it shares workout videos with 1.6 million subscribers? It boasts four different workout playlists: The Closer, which is full of "high-intensity finishers to end your workout," Good Form, which is "an instructional reference library of individual drills for physical correctness," Variations, which is for "new ways to change up your routine using a classic exercise or piece of equipment," and lastly, NTC Community Workout, which is where Nike's master trainers lead the Nike Training Club community workout classes live every Saturday.
All of Nike's workout videos are suitable for small spaces and don't require much equipment, so you can do them at home in any room. They're also available for people of all fitness levels. So you have no excuses. Just do it.
Thenx for calisthenics and more
Calisthenics are exercises that don't use anything but your own body weight, according to Healthline. Some of the exercises involve pull-up bars, but that's really all the equipment you'll need. The exercises vary in intensity and rhythm, and there's something for everyone. And, besides, everyone needs to get started somewhere.
If you're just getting into calisthenics, Thenx by Chris Heria, aka "The Miami Trainer," is a solid place to start. The channel boasts 6.68 million subscribers, as of this writing. Heria, the founder of the brand, has traveled all over the United States competing and teaching calisthenics but is based in Miami, Florida. There, he opened his first calisthenics gym, the Calisthenics Academy. Since then, he's expanded his business into a whole brand. You can even shop Thenx workout gear.
Some of his most popular videos include "6 Pack Abs For Beginners You Can Do Anywhere" and "The Best Home Chest Workout (No Equipment Needed)."
Furthermore from Equinox for cardio and conditioning
Your gym may be closed, but that doesn't mean you can't break a sweat at home. Take the gym (Equinox gym) home to you. Equinox Group is a luxury fitness company that operates several lifestyle brands, including Furthermore, Pure Yoga, Blink Fitness, and SoulCycle (via Fast Company). Basically, the brand is all about health and wellness. So it makes sense that it would have YouTube channels dedicated to that venture.
Equinox's Furthermore from Equinox YouTube channel serves people with all sorts of fitness interests and goals. According to the company's Instagram account, Furthermore bills itself as "the playbook for the high-performance life." YouTube playlists include group fitness, professional athlete workouts, and handful of other types of workouts, like the "20-Minute Workout: Resistance Bands." Learn from experienced trainers and get down and dirty just like you would if you were in a physical gym.
Magic Seaweed for surfers
Whether you're a novice surfer, a professional big-wave surfer, or someone merely interested in it, there are tons of awesome online workouts to help you get in shape to face Mother Nature.
Magic Seaweed, which is a platform that shares surf reports, surf forecasts, surf web cams, and surfing photos for surf spots around the globe, has its own YouTube channel which has amassed over 6 million views and is dedicated to surf-inspired workouts. Whatever kind of surfing shape you are in, you can check out the company's "Surf Conditioning" playlist to get your blood pumping.
Check out exercises to improve your paddling, exercises to up your speed and "rail game," workouts to train your core, exercises to build your strength, ways to increase your flexibility, movements to boost your balance, and more. No, you don't need an ocean to improve your surfing skills — and you don't even need much equipment, if anything at all. You just need yourself and a positive attitude ... and this YouTube channel, of course.
Growingannanas for HIIT workouts
Into HITT workouts? You're going to love the Growingannanas YouTube channel. Anna Engelschall is a certified personal trainer and former Crossfit coach who works to inspire and motivate people all across the world through her social media channels. On her YouTube channel, you'll find a good mix full-length workout videos, HIIT workouts, and strength workouts.
"For a long time I was unhappy with my training and my body and tried to get closer to my dream body with diets and endurance training," she writes on her website. "I made exercise and fitness the #1 priority of my life and gave up my job as a software programmer." She continued, writing that she learned more and more about aspects of both nutrition and personal training. After a time, she trained to become a "qualified fitness coach" in an effort to "be able to pass on my knowledge and experience in a professional manner."
CelaMarr for total-body challenges
Need some motivation? A good challenge might be able to light a fire under you. And you can find plenty of them on the CelaMarr YouTube channel. The channel is described as being "focused on making fitness affordable and accessible to all!" There, you'll find multiple new workouts every single week.
These include HIIT workouts, bodyweight-only workouts, workouts with dumbbells, core workouts, strength-building workouts, cardio workouts, and more. But, most importantly, you'll find monthly workout challenges (plus other challenges that crop up) to keep you accountable. These workouts are not intended to be easy. If they were, they wouldn't be challenges, after all. Instead, they are supposed to push you past your comfort zone. But, in the end, you will likely be stronger for it.
The face of CelaMarr bills herself as a "fitness enthusiast," which means she's not a certified personal trainer. As such, it's a good idea to consult a fitness expert before trying any challenging workouts, otherwise you could risk injuring yourself.
The Body Coach for total fitness coaching
Looking for a little fit-spiration? The Body Coach is where you need to be. Who exactly is the Body Coach? The man behind it all is Joe Wicks, a personal trainer turned coach. "I started my journey handing out flyers at my local train station, trying to get customers for my bootcamps in the park," he writes on his website. "Ten years and 600,000 clients later, I can hardly believe how amazing that journey has been. Along the way I've learned so much about why people succeed at getting and staying fit, healthy and happy."
Wicks puts everything he has learned over the years into the workout classes he releases regularly on YouTube. He inspires his 2.75 million subscribers of all fitness levels to smash their personal fitness and weight-loss goals. On his channel, you'll find everything from exercises to do with the kids to high-intensity workouts to relaxing morning sessions. He even teaches some of his workouts live.