Looking for a Silver Lining - Part 2 - Quarantine Workouts

[TomCADem]

The current COVID-19 pandemic disrupted among many things my workouts at my local LA Fitness. It was not fancy, and it was often crowded, but I had a nice routine of cardio followed by weight lifting. Of course, even before the pandemic, I was grossed out at times at how close and sweaty the equipment would get. But with the pandemic, going to the gym is just not an option. So, what to do?

Well, I decided to try various youtube workouts and it ended up okay. Indeed, it turned out to be refreshing way to round out my workout routine. However, I won't lie. The process did have its hiccups and I did sustain a few minor kinks, particularly when I tried yoga for the first time. At times, I felt like I was one of the try guys trying out various workouts:

But, without further adieu, here are my top 3 Youtube channels for home workouts that I discovered during the lockdown:

1. Fitness Blender - I like their variety of strength, cardio and core workouts, including kettlebell routines. Most of the workouts do not need equipment and they also incorporate a warm-up, so you do not have to warm up separately. Finally, I like how they layout the work-out plan at the start briefly. There is no music, so you can play your own tunes separately as you workout.

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2. Jordan Yeoh Fitness - All of his workouts do not require equipment, and there is not a lot of talking. It is great to just turn it on and get right into the workout. Finally, I like how he works in both cardio and strength:

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3. Yoga with Kassandra - I am about as flexible as a nun at a parochial school. Heck, the most challenging move for me is sitting cross-legged at the start of the workout. However, it turns out that yoga has been beneficial during these hectic times. It helps me get into the right head space, and with time, I will be able to sit cross-legged without bitching about it.

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[Phoenix61]

1. Yoga is great. It's good for flexibility and also

strength, especially core. Plank looks so easy and it is, the first 3 seconds.

[Journeyman]

2. Thanks for the links . . .

[underpants]

3. Starting April 6th I set out to get in shape

I had a spreadsheet (it’s me) for a while but scrapped it and just went with. Lost 10 pounds but that’s 10 less pounds from being a sad sack to running, push-ups, 100 sit-up type things a day, and self made weights in the garage.

One of 5 goals and I’ve hit all of them so far.

[TomCADem]

4. Beware! Yoga Was The Toughest Thing for Me

The other workouts were tough, particularly core work, since lifting on weight machines does not really lend itself to working on your core. However, I had no idea how much I lacked flexibility. My wife was cracking up at me bitching about sitting cross-legged at the start of the video. She was like, "You know, she has not even started, and you are already complaining." I was like, "How can she sit like that and sound so cheerful? This is torture."

[underpants]

7. Oh sure. Look yoga has been around for a long time

I know it’s something I should give a shot but I grew up a jock so if there’s no swearing or grunting it doesn’t feel like a workout.

You know what, I am going to give it a try. My big goal was being relaxed and chill. I’ve had an off week. I need to fit this in thanks.

[mr_lebowski]

9. You're doing awesome buddy :) Keep on keepin' on! nt

[cally]

5. Thanks for links

I’ve been enjoying Jazzercize On Demand on Facebook live. Lots of variety and you get a full workout. (Years ago I used to do Jazzercize. It is completely different now!! Many more weights and core). Also, Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube. I used to go to the gym for classes but I am enjoying more variety and time flexibility.

[TomCADem]

6. Vox - Yoga alone, together

Vox had a nice piece recently on Adrienne and how her already Youtube channel has added subscribers during the pandemic. I have used her videos as well. I just had to get over my aversion to Yoga. I kept on complaining, don't they have something for dudes? You know? Broga?

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/5/6/21241805/yoga-with-adriene-youtube-workout-at-home

Adriene Mishler is also home. The 35-year-old yoga teacher has been on self-imposed lockdown since March 13; her home city of Austin, Texas, where I also live, didn’t issue its stay-at-home order until April 2, well after San Francisco and New York City but before many other places in the US. Coronavirus notwithstanding, she’d still be home, and, quite possibly, in your home. Adriene hosts Yoga With Adriene, an astoundingly popular YouTube channel predicated on a simple premise: You attend yoga classes led by Adriene in your home, which she streams from her home, for free.

Since the Yoga With Adriene YouTube account started in 2012, it has amassed 7.27 million subscribers. The classes are startlingly specific, customized to professions and hobbies (Yoga for Gardeners! Yoga for Skaters! Yoga for Chefs!) and health conditions (Yoga for PTSD, Yoga for Migraines, Yoga for Diabetes), not to mention a vast collection of practices designed to ease suffering (Yoga for Suffering, for starters). The 553 videos in her YouTube library have netted more than 597 million combined views.

What was once offered as an accessible, affordable alternative to a studio setting, at-home yoga is, for the foreseeable future, the only option for people who want to do yoga. Hell, with gyms, boutique fitness studios, and community centers across the US newly shuttered, at-home anything is our only guided exercise option, period. Exercise instructors are improvising the best they can with impromptu livestreams on Instagram and scheduled classes via Zoom; fitness apps are seeing explosive growth.

“It’s a really interesting time,” Adriene tells me over Zoom, repeating herself for emphasis. “It’s a really interesting time.”

[mr_lebowski]

10. Pretty sure all yoga is designed for suffering ... just sayin' (nt)

[GoCubsGo]

8. If you are an Amazon Prime member, there are tons of workout videos there, too.

Some of them are free to everyone. All sorts of stuff, including Yoga, Pilates, boot camps...

Many PBS affiliates also carry "Yoga in Practice" and "Classical Stretch by Essentrics." I highly recommend the latter for everyone, regardless of fitness level. I do the yoga occasionally, but it's not really for me.

I had been mostly spinning, swimming, and doing Zumba and other dance classes, along with a barre class before my gym closed. I still do Zumba via videos on Amazon, as well as "marching" videos by Jenny Ford. I also walk a lot more. Hadn't been doing enough of that, and it showed. I had lots of aches and pains when I first started out. I feel much better now, although I suspect that doing the "Classical Stretch" regularly helps a lot. The big problem for me now is that I'm really sick of my neighborhood, and it's starting to get really hot. Podcasts help with the boredom, but not enough at this point.

I think my gym is opening back up tomorrow. If I thought I could get use of the spin room by myself, and if I didn't have to share the (well-ventilated) pool with more than one other person, I'd think about going back a few hours a week. But, I don't really want to take the chance right now.