Having worked in the fitness and wellbeing industry for some time, I wanted to put together a list of people, apps and brands I’ve been following during lockdown. I’m not the poster-girl for productivity I like to think I am, but when I have the energy and drive to work on myself during these uncertain times, the following are my back-ups:

Fitness Instructors & Apps

1 – BodiesByChloe

First I’m going to mention an instructor I’ve worked with in the past. I never found the time to go to her classes as often as I could but having instant access to her online workouts have been an absolute treat. Chloe is a professional fitness trainer who works at Digme Fitness.

You can follow her workouts via the Digme Fitness Instagram or what I’ve been doing lately is catching her live on her Instagram. A few workouts have been saved to her IGTV. As someone who thrives in at-home fitness due to injuries, I can adjust my workouts accordingly. But I guess the knowledge of how to adjust comes from having met so many great instructors that have advised me in the past.

Chloe’s HIIT sessions have spurred my productivity. Her schedule is seeming to follow this pattern but may change:
11am (UK time) legs and cardio on Tuesdays,
11am (UK time) glutes and abs on Wednesdays,
11am (UK time) upper body on Thursdays,
11am (UK time) HIIT on Fridays.

There’s a freshness in live Instagram workouts with more social interactions allowing you to feel less alone. This is great for those who thrive in group fitness or even better for those tuning in once the workout is saved.

2 – Yoga With Adriene

My first introduction to Yoga With Adriene was in Australia when a friend mentioned I follow her YouTube channel and start one of her curated 30 day journey programmes. I’ve been an addict ever since. Now, hear me loud and clear when I say I do not do yoga every single day for 30 days during her challenge. But I do follow the sequence every few days or sometimes with a week gap. Previously in Australia I did do it every day and there’s a great sense of accomplishment when you show up on the mat every single day.

Adriene is welcoming, has expert-led workouts with a sense of ease and calm. Her YouTube channel feels like an endless resource. I’m currently near the end of Home – one of her 30 day yoga journeys. Which is perfect for the current life we are all living. If you’re self-isolating, which most of us are, I can’t express enough how beneficial her yoga is to start the day.

She also has a collaboration on an app in which you can access even more material with a subscription. Perfect for when we’re on the other side, travelling the world again and doing workouts in parks – easy access fitness material has always been my favourite for travel.

3 – Sweaty Betty Wellbeing

What I love second to working out, is reading about working out and other developments in wellness. Sweaty Betty is a household name in the UK fitness scene. I love their economic purpose for their business alongside the great recipes and other content on their blog.

They’ve also been on my ‘to try’ list for the last year. Some of their stores around London offer collaboration workouts. They have a studio for yoga and pilates in their Kensington store. Of course, browse the beautiful activewear and yoga workout essentials too but their content is brilliant for indulging in after your at-home HIIT or yoga session.

Try the One Pot Stew  – it’s one I loved copying from their website. Now’s the time to get cooking if like me you can’t physically work from home (writing this blog and my book are on a different spectrum with different rules).

Their content can be interactive, quick and fun. They’ve given tips on working at home, their fave reads to gorge on and recommendation of running apps for your one outing a day (if you’re in the UK).

4 – Move With Ben – Insta and Youtube

Ben is another instructor I’ve previously worked with and he is Head of Matrix at Digme Fitness. Recently he’s started a series for kids on his YouTube channel. My nephew and I have gone crazy for this. Considering my nephew isn’t in the age bracket for the videos, I still love seeing his little face light up twice a week when I put on Ben’s latest videos.

I usually do this activity with him on a day I’m feeling sluggish… which ends up making me move as I try to help him copy the moves, which he rarely does as he’s only 14 months old. The best we get from him are warped squats and face-planting lunges – his favourite is quick feet which he goes into the second the YouTube sign appears on the TV screen.

Having said the above, I recommend Ben’s channel to all my friends and family with slightly older kids (4+) as the content is engaging, fun and you can spot Tiny, his dog.

Ben also features teaching on Digme Fitness’s Instagram with slightly more adult (and 10x intensity) Matrix (HIIT) workouts.

5 – Calm

It’s a mainstream meditation app which I accidentally bought for the year – now I use it and I’m converted. I wasn’t planning on purchasing the year subscription, and when it happened, I was in a rush, quick dash to the loo, trying to get ready, listen to a podcast, write my gratitude and invest in my mental health – all at the same time. So I accidentally purchased it instead of the free trial earlier this year.

And what I described has always been my life. I cram everything. Writing books, pitching articles, reading, listening to podcasts, everything has an allotted time so I could tick it all off. Including meditation.

Now with the app, I’ve learnt to give everything its time without feeling rushed. Maybe being in self-isolation has helped with that but now I can do a 10 minute mindfulness session without feeling rushed. I still tick it off my list. I have to, I thrive off a to-do-list but the tick isn’t rushed by jumping onto the next thing.

Calm is brilliant for sleep stories and as of late I’ve found it hard to stick to routines that allow me to get a healthy night of sleep. So on those occasions, sleep stories from Calm are my go-to. I’ve also signed-up to mini programmes within the app to help with meditation and confidence boosting exercises. If like me, you accidentally subscribe for the year, back-up your investment in yourself and make the most of every feature.

This is the perfect app to start the day with without feeling taxing. I was once told by a brilliant yoga instructor, Thomas, whom I worked with that maybe me feeling irritable during yoga and meditation is a sign that I need it more often. I have a hearing difficulty so group meditation and group yoga has the opposite infuriated effect on me as I cannot hear regardless of where I’m sat in a room. But he was right, I cannot sit still and I don’t always want to but I’m slowly learning how right he was, because on those days I feel most irritable, I force myself to listen to the 10 minute meditation, which has a different lesson every day.

If you’re feeling agitated, bored, energetic, motivated or anything else, direct your energy into the above five fitness inspirations and come out on the other side. They work for me and I wanted to share my fitness inspirations with you.