How YouTube Workout Videos have Changed My Life
A year ago last year, my friend Leigh had past away from a seizure. She was a Massage Therapist and an Acupuncturist (TCM - Traditional Chinese Medicine). She was just 43 years old.
As my therapist and my friend, her death really shook me. She was someone that was extremely free spirited and feisty. She’d do things on her terms and she loved “sticking-it-to-the-man”.
Her death made me reevaluate my life. I was living a stressful, sedentary lifestyle. Even though I ate well (hormone free and organic when possible), I was always exhausted. I was burning out from adrenal fatigue.
I was lucky enough to be able to set flexible work hours at the office, but that also meant, that I was working ALL the time. 7am to 2pm at the office, logging back on at 830pm to 10pm and then on weekends.
Since I was working a shorter shift at the office than my colleagues, I use to feel guilty. I would never leave my desk. I’d sit there all day on the computer and eat at my desk. I was holding tension in my neck, back and shoulders.
Trying to live a balanced life (eat well and exercise) became tough. 5am was my only time to workout. Many gyms don’t open until 5:30am – the only option was to run before the sun rose.
It became my ritual...when I could peel myself out of bed. I really enjoyed it. Even in the winter (that was my favourite time). But it became harder and harder to stay motivated.
Running was great for my cardio. But I was lacking strength and speed training. My performance kept declining year over year. It didn’t matter how much I ran. Running on a slight incline would wipe me out! Plus, my time kept getting slower and slower every year.
It was time to change up my routine.
I started doing HIIT workouts (high intensity training) on YouTube. The last time I worked out in front of a TV was when I use to buy VHS tapes and DVDs. But I figured I’d give it a shot.
I chose workouts that were around 12 minutes in length. These workouts were hard. Many exercises involved being in plank position for an extensive amounts of time – push ups, mountain climbers, burpees etc. Working at a desk all day, weaken my upper body and it limited my range of motion.
When I first started, I could barely do a full push up. My ams were flimsy and I was carrying excess weight around my waste line. I modified all the moves to minimize injury – instead of being in full plank (on my toes), I’d drop down to my knees. I’d do all the moves slower and focused on form.
Little by little I was getting stronger. After six months, I’d only modify my position during the second half of the workouts (when I was fatigued). After a year, I was doing the full advanced movements.
It is a functional workout that focuses on short bursts of high intensity exercises with a short cool down period in between. You only get enough time to recover to get into the next move. This jacks up your heart rate and helps with fat burn.
HIIT exercises incorporates ballistic (power), strength and isometric training. It’s the type of training athletes would do to perfect a certain movements such as jumping high in the air for maximum height and/or speed.
If you’ve never exercised before, it’s probably not the best place to start. You will want to build your cardiovascular first. Then start adding it in later when you build up enough strength.
Don’t try to muscle it - I found many exercises are based around doing a plank. It’s extremely effective but it can put a lot of tension on your rotator cuff (shoulders) and neck. Work up to it. Make sure to keep your lats pulled down, your neck long and keep your gaze downward. If the exercise is for 40 seconds only hold it for 20 seconds and slowly add more time. Be patient.
Make sure to stretch. Many of the YouTube HIIT exercise videos only focus on the hardcore workout. Many don’t have a stretching component. It’s super important to incorporate at least 10 minutes of stretching afterwards to prevent injury and increase range of motion.
For a full dynamic workout, I do 12 to 25 minutes of HIIT and a post workout yoga cool down.
I would search HIIT on YouTube and narrow it down to the ones with a shorter duration.
You can find good ones on POPSUGAR and BeFit. Yoga by Kassandra has a post workout yoga video and her Yin yoga series are really good if you’re looking for a deep stretch.
Since doing YouTube workout videos, I find I have more time to exercise when I want to. I’m not tied to a gym schedule.
My fitness goals are much more attainable. I also see more results. I can switch out trainers and workout styles when needed. If I had a harder day, I might lean towards a boxing video. If I feel more tension in my lower back, I’ll lean more towards a stretch based workout.
I don’t feel bad about not working out for an hour anymore. I just do 15 minutes four times a week when I have time.
