I admit, I don’t exercise as I should. In fact, unless walking up and down our stairs twice a day is considered adequate exercise I’m way below the bar.
I know that I need to exercise for my health. I want to be around to see my kids and grandkids grow up. However, I know me well enough to know that there are going to be a few challenges to overcome!
- I am super busy. I have 4 kids with needs ranging from learning to read to navigating marriage and preparing for deployment. Then there’s our home, homeschool, extra curriculars, this blog, gardening…you get the idea. We’re all super busy! Where do we find the time to exercise?
- I hate exercising. There, I said it. I loathe it in fact. I hate the after affects even more. The soreness! Ugh!
- I’m an absolute, complete introvert, so group exercise classes, gyms, etc. Not. Gonna. Happen.
- I refuse to spend money to exercise. Yes, I know it’s my health, and I know that I am worth the investment, but I’m just not going to spend money that we don’t have to exercise.
So, what’s a busy, broke, introverted, hates to exercise mom to do?
Go to YouTube of course!
I’ve been able to find videos that meet each of these challenges, even the I loathe exercise one!
I honestly had no idea that there was so much quality content available for exercising. Here are just a few that I’ve found.
Fitness Blender
Love, love, love Fitness Blender. This husband and wife team have made over 500 free workout videos! Wha!? Yep, over 500 and you can search their website to find exactly what you’re looking for. Search by keyword, workout time, calorie burn, difficulty, body focus, training type and/or equipment needed. These are high quality videos, and actually lots of fun to use. You can even create a free account to save videos as favorites and organize them on a calendar.
HASfit
These guys are pretty close to a full service health program offering over 1,000 full length, free workout routines and complete 30 to 90 day fitness programs for all goals and fitness levels. But they don’t stop at workout videos! They also offer meal plans and some motivational articles and videos to keep you moving forward. I really appreciate their workout programs, like the 30 day Low Impact Beginner Workout Program that puts everything in a nice little chart with links that is super easy to navigate.
BodyFit By Amy
I really enjoy Amy’s workouts because she is pretty low key and calm. I like calm! She also does a great job explaining what she’s doing and how to do it correctly. Her playlists are very well organized making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. As a side note, I am totally jealous of her hair.
POPSUGARfitness
I don’t use this one all that often because the workouts are just a little too intense for my bad knees! But if you like heart pumping cardio workouts this is the place for you! They have a massive collection of playlists that keep hundreds of videos pretty well organized. You’ll even find healthy recipe videos, and workouts for pregnancy.
Yoga Options
Rather focus on Yoga? No problem! There’s plenty of that available as well! I don’t do a lot of Yoga (bad knees make it rather difficult), but I have put together a few quality providers that I peruse from time to time.
Yoga with Adriene
I enjoy Adriene’s videos. She does a great job explaining the poses and how to do them correctly. If you’re looking for more advanced Yoga, she has quite a bit of that available as well in her playlists.
SarahBethYoga
Sarah Beth has quite a few videos available and she has them very well organized in the playlists section. You’ll even find 7 day challenges to keep you on track.
Cosmic Kids Yoga
My kids watch and do yoga with Jamie at least 3 or 4 times per week. They LOVE it and I rather enjoy it too. Each video is a story or adventure filled with yoga poses that are perfect for kids ages 3 and up to help build strength and balance. Seriously, these videos are so much fun.
These are just a few of the favorites that I refer to regularly, but there are literally hundreds of YouTube channels and websites out there, you just have to search for them!
Do you have a favorite at-home, free fitness program? Please share with us in the comments!
