Wellness Tips
Best Online Workouts to Help You Lose Weight and Stay Fit at Home
Can’t get to the gym? We rounded up some of the best online workouts and streaming fitness classes, so you...
By: Dedet Panabi / March 20, 2020
Can’t get to the gym? We rounded up some of the best online workouts and streaming fitness classes, so you can get a good workout right in the comfort of your home. Whether you’re avoiding the gym because of the Covid-19 virus (read our article on gym safety), or just don’t have the time for fixed class schedules, this can help you pick a workout you love, and do it wherever and whenever you want.
Contents
Free Online Workouts
Strong by Zumba
Try it now: Strong by Zumba channel
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can give you a good sweat in less than 30 minutes. Just log into Zumba’s Youtube channel to access free HIIT workouts (some are just 7 minutes long, so you really have no excuse to say you’re too busy to exercise). Best part: you don’t need any equipment at all: just a few feet of floor space and sneakers. Ready, get set…sweat!
Fitness Marshall
Try it now: Fitness Marshall
Are you intimidated by complicated dance moves? Do you lack motivation (or coordination)? Then try fitness guru Caleb Marshall’s workouts. His moves are easy to follow, and he uses pop music and peppers his classes with lots of jokes and encouragement.
PopSugar Fitness
Try it now: PopSugar Fitness
Find over 500 free workouts, conveniently divided into playlists based on fitness level, kind of workout, target body part, and time. They even have a no-equipment cardio section, and Victoria’s Secret workouts. The videos are well produced, and you get a lot of encouragement from the perky instructors. Not bad for a completely free service!
Blogilates
Try now: Blogilates Channel
One of the most popular fitness channels on Youtube, Blogilates offers pilates and sculpting exercises that help you burn calories, strengthen your core, and center yourself when you’re stressed. We love Cassey Ho’s friendly personality and how she helps anyone — even beginners — feel that they can do it!
You can also select from special programs and challenges, like Bridal Bootcamp, Apartment Friendly and Celebrity Workouts.
Fitness Blender
Try now: Fitness Blender
Run by a husband and wife team, this channel offers HIIT exercises designed for busy people. Aside from the short but effective workouts, they often tag team with one of them doing the “easy” version of the move for beginners to follow. Added motivation: a bar that lets you know how many calories you’ve burned!
Online Fitness Subscriptions
Obe
Try now: Obe Fitness, $27/month or $199/year
For less than the price of a physical gym membership, you get access to over 4,000 live and on-demand classes. Pick from four kinds of workouts: Define (strength-based classes like Pilates and Barre), Sweat (cardio classes like HIIT, dance, and boxing), Flow (yoga and stretching), and Prenatal and Postnatal workouts.
It has about 400 live classes a week, where you get the extra motivation of real-time instructor shoutouts. Feeling unmotivated? Join 10-day programs and challenges, like “7-Day Arms”.
The online fitness site has been praised by Vogue, Forbes and Oprah magazine.
Glo
Try now: www.glo.com
The site boasts of 4,000 yoga, pilates and meditation classes and a global network of fitness instructors. When you first join, you’ll be asked to answer three questions so they can recommend the classes.
Glo has a good mix of physical classes that will help you work up a good sweat, and more calming spiritual exercises when you need to unwind and relax. There’s a free trial so you can scope it out before signing up, but members get special access to workshops and lectures.
P.Volve
Try now: $19.99/month
This fitness app has gotten rave reviews from Vogue, PopSugar, Elle, Well+Good, Cosmopolitan and Shape. It also includes the workout used by Victoria’s Secret models!
Aside from having a wide selection of workouts, you can find exactly what you need with their smart filter system: click the time you have, fitness level, body focus, and the equipment you want to use. It also has programs and challenges to help you focus on a goal.
The site also gives nutrition tips and recipes to help you control calories without feeling deprived.
Tracy Anderson
Try now: Tracy Anderson Online Studio, $475 for 6 months
With bestsellng fitness videos, a global chain of gyms, and even branded exercise gear, it was only a matter of time before fitness guru Tracy Anderson added online classes to her empire.
If you like her videos, go for it. Tracy’s workouts have a reputation for being really challenging — tapping different muscle groups, and rapidly switching pace. You get a better calorie burn, and you’re never bored.
However, her online classes are double the price of others, and don’t offer any significantly new or different features. It actually has less class options, too. Take the free trial to or buy one of the videos first. (The site gives you the option to access just one class, which costs about $12.)
The Sculpt Society
Try now: The Sculpt Society, $19.99/month or $119/year
This workout, developed by celebrity trainor Megan Roup, promises to give you a long, lean physique. The New York classes were an instant hit — even among Victoria’s Secret models like Martha Hunt, Elsa Hosk and Kate Bock.
The Sculpt app lets you try the cardio workouts anywhere, anytime and on any device.
The cardio workouts are fun, and the club music helps pump up enough energy to complete the moves. We’re not going to lie — the exercises target often-neglected muscle groups, so you will feel pain. But stay at it, and you’ll get some serious toning and definition.
Beach Body On Demand
Try now: Beach Body on Demand, $59/6 months
Stream over 1,000 workouts and get nutrition plans, all from the comfort of your home.
We love the variety of workouts: yoga, kickboxing, weightlifting, dance, and cardio workouts for every fitness level. You can stick to one class, try a new one every day, or join 60-day programs and challenges designed for specific fitness goals.
You can also access meal plans, recipes and cooking videos, which you can customize according to your goals.