There are two things that everyone has become obsessed with in quarantine: baking banana bread and at-home workouts. Let’s face it. We have no control over what’s going on in the world, so we’re turning our focus to the things we can control, like canceling our gym memberships and tuning into Instagram Live workouts instead (whether or not we actually do the workouts is another story, but we’ll still watch).
With the overwhelming amount of Instagram Live workouts that are available to us every single day, it can be hard to know which ones are actually worth it. Don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for. Below are the best Instagram Live workouts, so you don’t have to risk accidentally tuning into a live that sucks, being the only person there, and having to frantically exit out before you get called out.
Hot Pilates
The popular LA pilates studio full of A-list celebrities, models, and your favorite influencers tops this list. Offering classes every day, I promise you your abs, arms and butt will definitely feel the burn.
@HotPilates instructors go live for a 30-40 minute body-based workout. With the hottest music, amazing energy, and moves that will make you sweat in seconds, it almost feels like you’re in the luxury studios, working out next to the hottest people in Hollywood. Instead, you’re working out next to your dog in your living room, but it is what it is.
Classes are offered every day of the week, usually beginning around 10am ET and through to the evening. The times, types of classes, and instructor information is posted daily on the Hot Pilates Instagram account.
If you really want to feel like you’re in a Hot Pilates class, crank up your heat to 85 degrees, dim your lights and light your sexiest candle. It might jack up your utility bill, though.
Barry’s At Home
Known as the best workout in the world, Barry’s Bootcamp now offers Barry’s at Home on IG live.
Barry’s At Home typically offers two workouts per day, at 12pm or 3pm ET, every day of the week. Depending on the class time you choose, it will most likely be a total body or band workout. Both can be done without any equipment, but if you want the exact bands they use in the workouts, you can buy them through the Barry’s website.
Classes are around 25 minutes long, followed by a cool down, and are taught by Barry’s instructors across the country. To no surprise, their energy is just as high and the music is just as good in their living room as it is in the Red Room.
If you really want to feel like you’re in the Red Room, buy red LED lights and turn them on during the workout. Is it just me, or does working out in red lighting make you so much more attractive?
The only con to this workout is that we can’t go to the fuel bar and pick up our skinny b*tch smoothie. Really can’t wait for that day.
Torch’d
Torch’d creator @isaacboots hosts Instagram live workouts everyday at 11am ET. Torch’d is a workout full of targeted repetition and body resistance. Celebrities like Kelly Ripa and Vanessa Hudgens swear by it, so that’s when you know it’s worth it. For this hour-long workout, no equipment is needed, but Isaac will usually wear ankle and wrist weights for that ~extra~ push.
If you love the workout, Isaac asks his followers to consider paying it forward and donate to the No Kid Hungry campaign. Together, over $140,000 has been raised so far. You can donate here.
@Karaliotta x Women’s Health Magazine
View this post on Instagram
Ever heard of paper circuits? Me either, until I found Kara Liotta workouts on the @womenshealthmag Instagram. Every Monday and Friday at 12pm ET, the CO-Founder of KK Sweat and celebrity trainer (NBD) Kara Liotta hosts a 25-25 minute workout on Women’s Health IG live, and all you need is an 8.5×11 piece of paper and a wall. The workouts are usually total body or booty inspired, and don’t require a lot of space.
#COREntine
Every day at 9am ET, Co-Founder of Cyc Fitness and Barry’s Chief Instructor Keoni Hudoba hosts #COREntine on his IG live. All you need is your body, so no excuses! You can expect a 20-30 minute core intensive workout. Keoni always ends the IG Live with an inspirational message which really helps you get out of a quarantine funk.
Keoni is raising money from #COREntine and is directly distributing it to small businesses, organizations, and charities that need help due to COVID-19. You can send the donation to @keoni-hudoba on Venmo. His motto during this time is “socially distant, but emotionally connected”.
Tyler Cameron x Phil Fit
I mean… duh. America’s sweetheart, Tyler Cameron, has Instagram live workouts with his friends and trainer Phil Fit almost every day. Sometimes they’re outside with palm trees swaying in the background (jealous), and sometimes they’re in his living room working out with his dining room chairs. There isn’t a set schedule throughout the week, but Tyler always goes live for the workout at 11am ET.
Expect to see Phil Fit break out into a TikTok song or say “Turn Up”, which I really appreciate. I miss turning up.
Most of the Instagram Live workouts are around 30 minutes long and you may need a chair or wall, but that’s it. The cardio usually consists of jogging around Tyler’s living room (okay, brag that you have a living room), and when they are tired they actually take a second to breathe. #Relatable
Obé Fitness
Although it’s not IG Live, I just needed to mention Obé Fitness. It’s an online workout experience with instructors who really know what they’re doing. Some classes you can expect to see are sculpt, barre, dance, cardio, and yoga. Classes are around 28 minutes long, and you can either tune into a live class which are available every day, or pre-recorded sessions. Depending on the day, you’ll be able to join live classes starting at 7am throughout 2:30pm ET on weekdays, and 9am to 4:30pm on the weekends. Obe Fitness even has wine bottle workouts. They’re currently offering a 7-day free trial, so trust me on this one—you’ll be obsessed.
Images: Jonathan Borba / Unsplash; hotpilates, barrys, isaacboots, womenshealthmag, keonihudoba, tylerjcameron3, obe_fitness)
I guess it took a global pandemic for me to finally realize that working out does indeed help your mood, energy level and overall mental well-being like those fitness influencers are always preaching. My stress and anxiety levels of late can only be compared to that of Harry Jowsey on Too Hot To Handle when he discovered he couldn’t bone Francesca on his own timeline, and really the only thing that’s helped me calm down (aside from vegging out to Netflix) has been working out. And no, I was not paid to say that. And yes, I’m aware of how insufferable I must seem now.
Fitness coaches and influencers can smell that we as a society have finally cracked and are ready to cash out on premium workouts from our own home. As a result, there’s more fitness content out there than ever before—which is making it hard to sniff out the workouts that are actually worth my time when I could otherwise be drinking, or cooking, or drinking. So, we’ve rounded out the top paid virtual workouts that are actually worth your money so we can all come out of this perhaps not with a newer, tighter ass; but definitely having tried our damndest to boost our serotonin levels and not get depressed.
Solidcore
$15/class
Solidcore “at home” is a live 20-person group class taken with an instructor via Zoom. Using sliders and weights (or whatever at-home substitution you prefer), the workout is intense but low impact, like Pilates or Barre. They offer 50-minute full-body classes or shorter, 30-minute “muscle-specific” classes.
HOUSEWORK
$13/class
HOUSEWORK was developed by Syd Miller as a full-body sculpting and conditioning class that combines Pilates and cardio circuits, and is set to upbeat music—so it’s basically just, like, a healthier alternative to LIV Miami, right? She’s teaching daily HOUSEWORK classes on Zoom.
JABS by Gina
$6 – $10/class
Per my Instagram feed, it’s clear JABS by Gina has a cult following that has expanded far beyond NYC since quarantine began. With many different formats, JABS combines HIIT training, kickboxing, and muscle isolation workouts. She’s teaching daily Zoom classes that run from 45-minutes to 1 hour each with some classes reaching a 250 and 1,000-person capacity.
Rumble
$15/class
Is it even a millennial-focused workout article if I don’t mention Rumble? Rumble is a boxing/cardio workout, though their live workouts are only “Rumble-inspired”, so you won’t be experiencing the same exact setup, naturally. They are offering a mix of virtual classes that range from strength-training to cardio and boxing, as well as offer you the option for a weighted workout or to use your “bodyweight.”
Obé Fitness
$27/month
Obé Fitness offers a wide range of online fitness videos under the four categories of Define (strength based classes), Sweat (cardio based classes), Flow (yoga and stretch classes), as well as pre- and postnatal classes, with each class being only 28 minutes. You can stream the workouts on your phone, computer, TV, or tablet. I also simply cannot help but be influenced by the extremely cute and bubbly-looking people on the Obé website, to whom I relate in no way at all. Maybe one day!
Barry’s
$20/class
Barry’s Bootcamp is (normally) a guided workout spent partly on the treadmill running intervals, and partly on the center floor doing strength training workouts. Now, Barry’s is offering virtual, 35-minute classes in the following four categories: Bodyweight, Bands, Weights, and a few traditional Barry’s Treadmill & Weights classes. Knowing Barry’s, if the classes are only 35 minutes, then the workout is likely very intense. Stay safe out there, folks!
Mirror
$1,495/Mirror (or $42/month)
Yes, $1,495 is a sharp increase from the $10 classes I’ve been listing, but rich people like to work out too. ‘The Mirror’, as they call it, is literally just that; but once you turn it on, up pops your own personal trainer! (I feel like that’s the beginning scene of a twisted Disney movie?). There are tens of thousands of workouts to choose from, plus The Mirror is extremely chic looking and I’ve heard rich people like that, too.
Peloton
$2,245/bike (or $58/month)
The Peloton bike is another investment piece. It comes with a touchscreen tablet that offers guided workouts from an instructor, with workout options for on and off the bike. People who own Peloton bikes seem to post about them FREQUENTLY, so unless they’re only trying to justify spending so much money on a bike that doesn’t move, Peloton seems to be worth the hype. You can also virtually compete with other participants who own bikes (it’s almost like this company knew something before we did???).
Images: mr lee / Unsplash; solidcore, doyourumble, obe_fitness, getthemirror / Instagram
