Break a Sweat Indoors With These Free Online Fitness Classes

Being stuck at home for long periods is bad news for your health for several reasons: you're deprived of the movement you get from walking or cycling during your normal commute; gyms and sports classes are canceled; and if you're working from home your ergonomic setup is likely less than ideal (although you can check out our handy guide to improving your home office setup here). Therefore, it's even more important than usual to work a bit of movement and exercise into your day.

Luckily, there are more guided workout videos on the internet than you could watch in a lifetime. We've rounded up a handful of good English-language videos that offer classes in body resistance, dance, yoga, martial arts, and more. So make the most of being cooped up at home during this tricky period, by getting into shape with these free online fitness programs.

Body Resistance Workout: Sweaty Betty

The online workout scene might be dominated by Americans, but this one for the Brits out there. The website of London-based women athleasure clothing brand Sweaty Betty offers a range of fitness classes ranging from HIIT to yoga, ballet barre and more. Production quality is quite high, although varied, and all videos are delivered by professional instructors in a range of delightful British accents that will have you craving tea and a biccy when you're done. Videos are hosted on Vimeo. 

Home workout with weights: HASfit

If you've already got a small home gym set (think dumbells, a couple of resistance bands), then HASfit may be the option for you, as they offer weights training as well as all the usual range of HIIT, resistance training, yoga and more. Each video begins with a preview so you can see what you're getting yourself into, and is hosted by both coach Kozac, who leads the technical aspect of the workout, and Claudia who offers variations for all actions. Production value is great and the videos feature a timer running in the top right corner which is useful for keeping track of your workout.

Retro: Jane Fonda's Workout

All hail the Queen! Widely considered the original workout video, this half-hour-long workout from 1982 is both a tribute to the big hair, leggings, leotards, and funky beats that made aerobics so much fun, and Tough. As. Hell. We challenge anybody to attempt it today and not feel a deep burn for days afterward. And to think Fonda was already 45 when it was released. The video we've linked to is a pirated version on YouTube (sorry, Jane!), but if you're a true fan you can order digitally remastered official versions of the videos via her website.

Tai Chi: Dr Paul Lam - Tai Chi Productions

With all the stress and anxiety around the coronavirus crisis, perhaps you're in the mood for something more soothing. What could be more appropriate than a bit of tai chi? Dr. Paul Lam is an Australia-based family doctor and tai chi expert. His channel contains dozens of videos introducing viewers to tai chi moves, principles, and movement sessions for various purposes like stress relief, arthritis, and energy. Most of the videos are designed to entice you to buy the DVD programs, but there are plenty of useful free videos with excellent guided sessions narrated by his soothing voice like this one for beginners. Just skip to the 11-minute mark to get past the annoying voiceover at the beginning.

Yoga: Yoga with Adriene

This channel currently has over 6 million subscribers, and it's easy to see why. American yoga instructor and vlogger Adriene creates guided yoga classes with a very wide range of styles, levels of difficulty, and focuses, like Gentle Yoga, Bedtime Yoga, Yoga for Hands, Asana Flow, Yoga for When You're Angry, etc. The production quality is high throughout, and fans (myself included) like Adriene's unjudgemental style, expert knowledge, and soothing delivery, which leaves plenty of space for screw-ups and humor. Perfect for beginner yogis and masters alike. 

Dance: Hip Hop Fit with Mike Peele

If the thought of a classic workout video leaves you cold, a guided dance tutorial could be just what you need to get some exercise in. Peele, an American dancer, choreographer, and creator of Hip Hop Fit workout programs, offers dozens of videos with step by step dance tutorial videos filmed in his studio, each of which is followed by the full video clip of the same dance in real-time so you can dance along once you've got the moves down. Perfect for those of us who never got to live our pop star dancer dreams. 

Totally ridiculous: Prancercise

Prancerwhat? If you haven't heard of Prancercise, which is defined as "A springy, rhythmic way of moving forward, similar to a horse’s gait and ideally induced by elation," then, well, you're in good company. If you just need something ludicrous to take your mind off things, this one is for you, although it is best performed in a pasture, or failing that, a fairly large room. Although the channel may look like a joke, Prancercise creator Joanna Rohrback takes teaching you how to dance like a horse very, very seriously. Just when you think you're getting the hang of the first slow-paced routine, comes the perky announcement "Now we're going to step up the pace a little bit with the Prancercise trot!" You do you, Rohrback. 

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Images: Domagoj Ćosić on Unsplash, Giphy, individual channels