We are bombarded with advertisements for personal training, gyms, and yoga studios on a daily basis, so it’s natural to believe that getting in shape or bettering a technique is bound to be expensive. There are, however, many free or low-cost programs or classes available online.
You could start with one or more of the following:
Running – The Strava App
According to Strava users, the app is all about community. This implies that you should share your statistics with your brother-in-law and afterward compete against one another for the rest of your lives using ever-improving data on your running pace or kilometers per hour. It’s similar to Fitbit, Facebook, and Wordle because it lets you connect, run, bike, collect data, hike, and flaunt your accomplishments.
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HIIT/Cardio – The Audio Trainer Podcast
Ben Ogden offers audio workouts that are 25 minutes long as well as bite-size workouts with a theme. For instance, a 5-minute cardio session. At one point, he does a “towel workout”, which is like a towel-supported bodyweight session. That doesn’t bother me. Since you won’t be able to see him, you must be confident in your technique and need to time your breaks effectively – or you will pass out.
Strength Training – Redefining Strength
California-based Cori Lefkowith is direct and a little bossy, but she’s also incredibly strong: I could watch her do renegade rows for hours just to marvel at the human form. It’s an impossible-looking tricep curl with kettlebells from a plank position. The workouts are comprehensive and varied, with a focus on bodyweight exercises.
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Cycling – Roadman Podcast
This entertaining mix of coaching advice, Q&As, and musings is hosted by Anthony Walsh. When a listener recently asked him how to become a “smooth” rider, one of those elegant, supple, at-one-with-the-bike guys, he told him to watch the good lads because the good lads do things differently. He has an excellent in-ear presence, and his coaching advice, especially for intermediates and above, is spot on.
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Yoga – Movement for Modern Life App
Here’s a paid subscription app, but you get a two-week trial before committing. It has a strong mission (a lot of rewilding and environmentalism of your gut and your patio – follow their Twitter @MFML_ for more) and is openly opposed to the body dictatorship that pervades most visual platforms. Beach bodies don’t exist. Everyone has the right to be comfortable in the summer! The barre classes are fantastic, and the yoga is clear, well-structured, and watchable, to say the least.
If You’re Pregnant – Knocked Up Fitness
Erica Ziel is not nearly the renegade implied by her name. Instead, she is dedicated and prolific: she creates podcasts, Instagram short-burst workouts, customized programs at ericaziel.com, sometimes highly comprehensive (like how to rebuild your core after a cesarean), and occasionally humorously California – a must for maternal self-care.
