Workouts to try on YouTube including dance, barre, kickboxing and more

GlobalCyclingNetwork
Recently I read an article on Buzzfeed from former navy men stationed on submarines who had advice on surviving isolation. (I linked it Monday in the featured links, which appear at the bottom of every post on the desktop version.) They recommended having a routine, eating healthy, keeping in touch with friends and exercising every day. (May I also add: make a to-do list every day.) As someone who works from home this has not been as radical of an adjustment for me, but I miss seeing friends and especially going to the gym. I’ve always loved working out at home also. Here are some of my favorite at-home workouts. (Thanks Molly for asking me about this on Twitter!) I really like spin, dance and old school floor aerobics.

Les Mills on Demand is offering over 100 free workouts which my Y recently linked. I don’t think they’ll mind if this is publicized as it’s an open site with an icon to share it. There are body pump, body combat, yoga, and dance workouts. If you’d like to support them you can subscribe to Les Mills on Demand for more. I used to be a member and loved their body combat workouts especially. Plus some of the instructors are very hot and they’re Australian.

Spin and stationary bike workouts
On Fat Tuesday, before I realized how much time I’d be stuck at home, I subscribed to Studio Sweat on Demand on sale for $30 for three months. (Not a plug and they still have this deal.) It’s a studio in California that has hundreds of classes available on demand. I have a spin bike at home and love the variety of spin classes. Plus they have barre, pilates and weight classes too. You can try their classes for free on their YouTube channel. My two favorite free spin classes from them are this one (45 minutes) and this one (60 minutes). If you only have a stationary bike, instructor Cat usually includes instructions for people who can’t stand up. (Incidentally Amazon has Sunny spin bikes under $250 but they take about a month to arrive.) Global Cycling Network has so many great at-home workouts for spin and stationary bikes too. This one (45 minutes) and this one (35 minutes) are my favorites. They also have hot instructors who are British.

IslandVibes
Dance, kickboxing, conditioning
If you’re looking for dance, kickboxing, body weight and conditioning workouts PopSugar Fitness has so many options. I recently discovered this cardio dance and toning workout (30 minutes) and have done it a few times, I love it. Other favorites include this cardio dance workout (30 minutes), this dance workout with serious toning (30 minutes) and this choreographed dance workout (25 minutes). For a tough but rewarding kickboxing workout, try this 45 minute one which includes a lot of conditioning. I’ll be honest, I only did it once and I had to take breaks. Here’s a 30 minute Les Mills-type body combat workout which was more manageable for me.

Gentler Workouts
For gentler and less intense options, I workout with Denise Austin as she’s my old school favorite. I used to work out with her in high school and college. Some of her older classes are on the BeFit Channel, which has so many other workouts to choose from. My favorites include cardio calorie blast (19 minutes), cardio calorie dance burn (32 minutes), and total body burn cardio dance (31 minutes). (I know these are retro but I still do them!)

JessicaSmith
Barre, fusion and walking
Jessica Smith has a lot of gentler workouts too, including walking videos, some fun dance videos (30 minutes) and boot camp type conditioning workouts (25 minutes). She also has some invigorating but less intense barre-type workouts (30 minutes). (I’ve done all of those linked videos many times.) Plus she is mindful of the space you have in your living room and her workouts are mostly designed for smaller spaces.

Misc channels to try
Honorable mentions include Fit Body by Ashley for fun dance workouts, The Body Project, which includes so many kickboxing and conditioning classes, The Fitness Marshall, who has incredible zumba-style dance workouts to hit music and XHit, which has a ton of conditioning workouts.

Yoga
Oh and for Yoga you can’t go wrong with Adriene! Just google “Yoga with Adriene + your problem, i.e. neck” and you’ll find a workout targeted for that area. My friend Clare on Twitter told me that she always does Adriene’s workout for period cramps and it works great. I also recently got an inversion bench. (My mom got me this one for my birthday, it’s still in stock, it was easy to put together and my teenager loves it too.) By searching for workouts with inversion benches I found Yoga with Kassandra and found her excellent too.

Thanks for reading all this and let me know if you have any favorites! There are two Amazon affiliate links above.

Update: Good Housekeeping has compiled a list of live and on demand workouts that’s excellent and has so many free classes.

FitBodyByAshley

yogabyadrienne

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

35 Responses to “Workouts to try on YouTube including dance, barre, kickboxing and more”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. BlueSky says:

    Thanks! I miss going to the gym too. The gym I go to uses the Les Mills programs. I’ve been doing body Combat, body pump, and body flow at home. I am also doing PopSugar Fitness workouts

    • manda says:

      I did one of those with my sister at thanksgiving and OMG my arms!!! That is a tough workout. I think it was the body pump, I can’t remember there was just a lot of arm stuff with the weights. You go!

      I am pretty light on myself with my 30 minutes a day, but missing out on that (bc of gym closures etc) has been awful!

    • tiredTreaded says:

      I worked in a busy office w an overload of MAGA’rs. When I’d leave, I needed social downloading. I was depressed, now that I look back. Since my job closing & social distancing I’ve talked w my best friends. I’ve been on zoom w people I actually want to see & doing the most fun work outs from pop sugar, walking my dog twice a day etc. I’m brighter, happier & have lost weight cooking delicious medicinal foods. Yes I kind of miss doing things, but I am loving the cleansing effect of social overload!!

  2. manda says:

    This is a good idea because jogging on the street is killing my lower back, but, it is nice to get out of the house! My neighborhood is spread out and I was out there at 630. I saw one car drive by

  3. Dazed and Confused says:

    Yoga with Adriene is amazing!!

    I’m planning on doing one of her 30 day challenges — she starts them in January and has done them for years, so there are plenty to choose from. We are starting a 30 day “stay at home” mandate today — 30 days of yoga sounds perfect.

    Thanks for all of these great links and ideas!

  4. Laura Hansen says:

    Boho Beautiful on You Tube does free yoga/pilates and is awesome!

  5. fitnessblender says:

    what about fitnessblender! Been doing them for about a decade now. 600+ free, full, high quality workout videos and over a dozen fairly priced programs.

    • Malika says:

      Love Fitnessblender, i can thank one of their cardio/kickbox workout for getting me out of the funk I was in at the beginning of February. Sure glad my mood became more positive when this time hit, otherwise it would have been even more challenging.

      • Laura says:

        I came here to say this. I love Kelli and Daniel! Also, they did some pretty deep discounts on four of their programs because of the quarantine.

    • Jaded says:

      Love them, they’re on my workout rotation regularly!

  6. Esmom says:

    Thanks for all the info, very helpful. I have no problem getting outside to run, hike or bike but working out inside is extremely hard for me mentally, bordering on torture, not sure why.

    I wish I could find a way to just let my mind go when I do these workouts instead of focusing on the monotony or boredom or isolation (not sure what it is exactly) of being alone at home.

    My gym is closed and our owner/trainer has been posting a workout every day but like I said they have been really hard to get through. Maybe some of these, where someone is actually doing the workout along with me instead of just giving me a list of exercises to do, will be easier.

    • loulou says:

      My gym offers online classes over zoom, it is Everbalance Yoga and Pilates in Jacksonville FL . It is a very small studio and the instructors are excellent. If you want to support them, you can sign up for a class and they sent you a link for video and a playlist.
      Right now they have 2 weeks unlimited starting at $39

  7. Bucky Bieber says:

    My decision to pay 5Gs on an elliptical trainer for my home last year seems like an inspired idea now.

  8. Anarial says:

    Thank you for reccing Jessica Smith! I feel like she gets left off of a lot of lists, which is a shame since all her workouts are great for small spaces and if you need low impact or modifications. I was buying her DVDs even before she had a YouTube channel.

    For yoga, I would also recommend Fightmaster Yoga on YouTube! Some days I like her more than Adriene.

    • Kathryn says:

      Ditto on both of these recommendations. Jessica Smith has well organized playlists, so you can find workouts if you’re short on time, want a walking workout, a weighted class, etc.
      Lesley Fightmaster is my favorite yoga teacher on YouTube. She has an amazing 30-day intro to yoga program, plus plenty of more advanced sessions.

      Paula B Fitness https://www.youtube.com/user/PahlaB1 focuses on workouts for women over 50. She’s chatty and fun.

  9. BearcatLawyer says:

    Loved Denise Austin workouts in college and law school! I should dig out my old VCR and VHS workout tapes.

  10. MellyMel says:

    Love Yoga with Adriene! She’s so great! I started a few weeks ago to help with my anxiety with this whole situation and now I’m working from home, so it’s been a daily staple. Thanks for the recommendations. I might have to try Les Mills. This is the fourth time I’ve seen it mentioned in the last two days.

    • Esmom says:

      I’m actually not a fan of Les Mills. The community fitness center in my town uses their programming and it bums me out so much I stopped working out there. I know lots of people do like their classes but I find them mind-numbingly repetitive. But definitely worth checking out, lol, it could be just me!

  11. deadnotsleeping says:

    On YouTube, I love the Refit videos. They are dance videos and they put out a new one every Tuesday.

    On the not free side, I like Daily Burn. It has tons of different programs, but I’ve only really tried their weight workouts. I just finished a kettlebell series (DBK) and am starting a new one called Live to Fail. I have the app downloaded on my tv, but also have it on my phone and iPad so I can (could) travel with it.

  12. Malika says:

    I have recommended her before and not to sound like a broken record, but Dansique fitness on Youtube has made Pilates a very enjoyable experience. I will say it’s not for the faint hearted noob, as she likes to stretch so thoroughly i have had to sit on the mat to recover from dizzyness when doing her Breathe Stretch and Reboot routine. But she’s gold and so positive!

  13. ChillyWilly says:

    Thanks so much for these, CB!

  14. Jaded says:

    For you Celebitchies who are, like me, over 50 (way over 50 actually….) may I recommend Jenny McClendon workouts on YouTube. I’ve been doing them for months as I recover from post-breast cancer reconstruction surgery (brutal operation). They’re easier on the joints, no burpees or high impact stuff, but you get a really good workout. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jenny+mcclendon+workouts

  15. M.A.F. says:

    Thanks for this! My neighborhood is not that big and there are only so many ways I can vary my run/walking route.

  16. Case says:

    I adore Yoga with Adriene. She’s great at instructing all skill levels and seems like the sweetest person!

  17. Tosca says:

    Thank you !!

  18. LAB says:

    Thank you for the Barre Fusion. I am not a fan of yoga and prefer more active ‘gentle’ workouts for my recovery days and I tried one of the Jessica Smith ones today and found it to be perfect!

  19. Anners says:

    Gotta give a shout out to Rebecca-Louise – she has tonnes of videos of varying lengths and degrees of difficulty, has a great accent (and isn’t annoying), and has an adorable dog who features in pretty much all of her videos.

    I’m excited for all the recommendations, thanks ladies!

  20. Joanna says:

    Thank you so much for all the info! You’re making it nice and easy for us. Now I just need some discipline to make myself do it😊

  21. NightOwl says:

    Thanks so much for pulling this all together – had been searching around for workouts!