Finding an online trainer that works for you

Whether you’re into yoga, pilates, strength building or HIIT, finding the right online trainer to satisfy your needs can be challenging. With so many different fitness channels on Youtube, you would think that it would be an easy task. It isn’t.

I’ve spent the better part of the last decade looking for exercise routines and instructors that satisfy all my needs and quirks. I enjoy yoga and pilates and my main focus has always been flexibility and core strength. More recently I’ve started focussing on building muscle. I used to have very week knees, so anything with a squat, a lunge or a jump was a big no-no, limiting my exercise to low impact training.

Apart from finding routines that work for me, finding the right online trainer also plays a big part in my decision making. For me, it’s important that the instructor doesn’t have teaching habits that I know is prone to irritate me, that she has physical attributes that I aspire to and that she makes me feel good about myself.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have reviewed and compiled a list of four Youtube channels of online trainers that I’ve come across over the years that I would like to share.

Boho Beautiful (Yoga, pilates and meditation)

Boho Beautiful is actually a lifestyle channel created by two digital nomads, Juliana and Mark, to capture their travels, life-discoveries and vegan lifestyle. I follow them for their yoga videos.

Juliana’s yoga videos are by far the most visually pleasing, high quality and soul-soothing out there. Each practice is filmed in a beautiful exotic location ranging from tropical islands to the Tibetan mountains. Her beautiful form, soothing voice and calming music, makes her videos a delight to follow.

There are also some really effective low impact pilates classes that I have used to build core strength and lean leg muscle. On top of the beautiful workout videos, they also have guided meditation videos that I would recommend to anyone who is in need of some inspiration.

I would recommend this channel to anyone who wants to feel calm and inspired and just wants to follow along to a beautiful yoga flow.  

Ballet Beautiful (Pilates)

Fitness guru and ex-ballerina, Mary Helen Bowers, will resonate with the little ballerina inside of you the moment you start the first video. Her ballet-inspired workouts, peaceful studio and classical music is a refreshing alternative to mainstream pilates videos.

I discovered Ballet Beautiful when I was looking for low impact ways to build core strength that doesn’t hurt my knees. Even though ballet is quite tough on the knees, I found some really satisfying leg (and ab) workouts that I incorporate into my exercise practice to this day. 

Ballet is a great twist to ad to your pilates practice, especially if you want to target the thighs and glutes. I would recommend this online trainer and her channel to anyone that would like to try something different and challenging.

Rebecca Louise (Pilates)

If you need a bundle of energy to motivate you all the way, Rebecca Louise is the trainer for you. Completely different from the previously mentioned, Rebecca’s videos will leave you excited and energised and your head spinning.

She is a great all-around fitness instructor with plenty of exercises to choose from. In the past, I’ve used her mostly for abs, but she has endless targeted exercises and fat burning routines.

I warn you, she will not stop talking for the entirety of the workout, but she’s motivating as heck. You won’t even notice the time flying by. She is fun and will keep your spirits high.

I would recommend her to anyone that needs a bit of extra motivation to get through their exercise routines. 

Heather Robertson (Strength building and HIIT)

Heather is my latest great find and the best thing that happened to me during the lockdown. I came across her when I was looking for arm exercises that would actually build muscles, as I am trying to buff up a bit.

Heather is great. She’s a personal trainer and fitness cover model who dedicate her time to create high-quality fitness videos accessible to everyone. She focusses on strength building and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and executes it beautifully. She doesn’t talk during her videos (which I actually prefer) and rather plays upbeat gym music to keep you going.

She released a fantastic free 12-week plan of which I’m currently on week 5. I’ve never seen results as I’ve seen with her, but then again, I’ve never followed anyone so religiously. I now have lines where I’ve never had lines before. Bulgy areas are flattening and flat areas are bulging. It’s great!

Her routines are definitely not for the faint-hearted. As mentioned earlier, I used to have bad knees and these exercises would have been impossible for me had I not slowly built strength (especially in my legs) with low impact exercises over the past few years. 

I would highly recommend this online trainer to anyone that wants to build muscle and burn fat. What she does, works.

There you have it. Four very different online trainers with very different exercise routines that have helped me over the years. I hope that you can find someone that can satisfy your needs and make you feel good about yourself. Please share who you would like to recommend in the comments below.

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