In order to promote social distancing and help “flatten the curve,” local governments from coast-to-coast have asked fitness studios to shutter their doors. Couple this with the fact that the non-essential workforce has had to abruptly adapt to remote work life, now more than ever it’s important that individuals incorporate exercise into their daily routines. While this may seem contradictory to the general request for self-isolation, many gyms and fitness pros have made the pivot to provide a bevvy of at-home resources that support your overall well-being.
To help you make the most of your time at home, we’ve rounded up the following health and fitness resources that are free to use and also require little or no equipment:
Fitness Blender
From beginner level to elite athlete, Fitness Blender has over 500 free workouts to choose from with the majority of their workouts requiring no equipment. Depending on your specific needs, you can further customize your search results by applying additional filters for duration, muscles worked, training type and more.
Peloton
Best known for its interactive stationary bike product, the Peloton app is your pass to thousands of live and on-demand classes, anywhere and anytime. Offering a mix of cycling, yoga, meditation, running, strength, and toning workouts, the Peloton app is a one-stop-shop to help individuals stay motivated to meet their fitness goals. Additionally and in light of current events, Peloton has generously increased their 14 day free trial to 90 days.
Yoga with Adriene
Whether you’re looking to try something new or you already self-identify as a yogi, this YouTube channel is a great resource for yoga enthusiasts of all levels. With a library of videos right at your fingertips, Adriene Mishler is an award-winning instructor who’s renowned for providing high-quality yoga and mindfulness practices at no cost to inspire people of all ages, shapes and sizes.
305 Fitness
If sun salutations and conventional workouts aren’t your thing, 305 Fitness is here to shake things up — literally. Hosting free cardio dance livestreams twice daily on YouTube, you can dance like no one is watching with these energetic, feel-good workouts. Best of all if you can’t catch a class when it airs at 9AM or 3PM PST, it will still be available afterwards in their video library.
MyFitnessPal
It has been said that abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. The theory behind this is that workouts aren’t successful if you don’t have a healthy diet to back it up. To help thwart off boredom eating impulses or comfort food binging that can accompany remote work lifestyles, food tracker apps are a great way to help you understand your habits while keeping you accountable. While there are a ton of free apps for this available in Apple’s App Store or Google Play, MyFitnessPal is consistently top-rated to help you take control of your goals. Along with keeping a food diary, MyFitnessPal allows you to log activities, and you can easily connect your account to more than 50 apps that support healthier lifestyles, including FitBit and Garmin.
Smiling Mind
Maintaining your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you typically struggle with anxiety or the current pandemic has you feeling more anxious than usual, you might want to try your hand at meditation with Smiling Mind. Developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life, you can choose from hundreds of guided meditations with this free app. Most meditations are in the five- to fifteen-minute range, with a few practices up to 45 minutes for advanced meditators.
