I have to admit that I used to hate exercising. Let say I didn’t exercise at all until I met my husband (then boyfriend). He told me ‘You have to exercise. It’s good for you.’. I didn’t like hearing that at all. The first time I went running with him within the first five minutes I had to stop to catch my breath. It was embarrassing and I knew I need to be better than this. I started running and doing yoga. Slowly I became stronger and my endurance improved. I managed to run a 10km race within 1 hour.
However, after I had my baby, I couldn’t go back and exercise like I used to. I needed to start slowly and gain back my strength. It was not so easy as I had a severe back pain from carrying my son. I knew then I had to really take care of my body. As a stay-at-home mom, I turned to YouTube and apps so I can exercise at home whenever I want. Saving both time and money, I have found channels and applications that I would like to share.
POPSUGAR Fitness - Youtube
This YouTube channel has it all whether you want a dancing class, yoga, cardio, strength training, boxing, or prenatal workout, you name it. I don’t think I have ever done the same workout from this channel for the last 2 years. They also give you variations in the same videos for different fitness levels. I found it quite fun to browse and take different types of exercises each time. You learn what you like and what you don’t like.
Heather Robertson - Youtube
After a while, I started looking for a heavier workout that requires equipment such as dumbbells or resistance bands. I found this channel, Heather Robertson. Her exercises are mostly HIIT (High-intensity interval training), strength training, cardio and targeted workouts, with and without equipment. She also has a lot of low impact exercises meaning no jumping but they still get your heart pumping. Most of them are from 30 to 45 minutes which include warmup and cool down.
Yoga Studio - App
I’d been doing yoga for 4 years in a studio before having my son. So I was already familiar with most of the yoga positions. In search of online yoga classes, I found this Yoga Studio app and it offers quite a lot of different yoga classes from beginner, intermediate to advanced. The classes are narrated with a soft and calm voice together with demonstration and soothing background music. They can be from 10 minutes up to 1 hour. You can choose to do focused yoga for knees, back pain or stretching for runners. The subscription price varies depending on the plan. You can have a free trial for 7 days.
Others
If you want more comprehensive guides that include workouts, meal plans and other advice, you can check out these ones.
Tone & Sculpt app - They offer home & gym workouts from HIIT, LISS (Low-intensity steady-state), strength training, to cardio, customized meal plans and community for sharing journeys. Alternatively, you can follow the lead trainer - Krissy Cela on her Instagram and Youtube channel (@kirssycela). She often posts workout routines both at home and in the gym.
Website: https://toneandsculpt.app/
CRUSH IT by Senada Greca app - Similar to the Tone & Sculpt app, it offers a variety of workout programs from beginner, intermediate, advanced to expert and other focused exercises. You can plan and record your workout journey. The app also offers meal plans and recipes together with nutrition facts. Again, you can start by checking Senada’s Instagram (@senada.greca) and Youtube channel (Senada Greca Fitness club) to see her workout routines.
Website: https://www.senadagreca.com/
Exercising is not only helping our body but also our mind. From a famous Thai psychologist who gives advice to parents, he always recommend parents especially moms to exercise 30 minutes a day. He said it will make everything better and he is not talking about our bodies. He is talking about our mind and how exercise helps us release tension from taking care our kids and how we can be more calm around them. I’d rather think it’s a very good reason indeed. Don’t you think?