Your No-Excuse Workout Resource

Hey y’all, just a quickie post to tell you about a pretty awesome site (it’s okay, I know you look at other sites) that’s a GREAT fitnessing motivator and resource called Fitness Blender. Don’t be intimidated by their gorgeous 6% body fat photos. They’re an incredibly accessible couple of personal trainers that just want to spread some health around. Super neat!

On the site there are hundreds of free workout videos, ranging from low-impact, level-one light workouts to incredibly difficult high intensity interval training sessions. You can specify the area you want to work, the type of workout, the level of difficulty, even the amount of time you want to spend or calories you want to burn. They’ve been working on their site constantly, and now that they have these new search filters, it’s even easier to use as a quick go-to when you want a workout for home or the gym.

Here are a few reasons why I really like these guys:

1. They encourage focus on what you can do, not what you look like. These guys, Daniel and Kelli, believe in working out to improve your health and ability, and not to push your body to look a certain way. They adopt the philosophy that doing the work to make your body strong and healthy is most important, and the resulting weight loss and toning is a secondary result. I love this. Anytime you’re motivated solely by aesthetics, you set yourself up for disappointment. You can’t control how you look. You CAN control how hard you work to be healthy and fit, and be satisfied with the results it brings (which are usually hot btw).
2. They believe in clean eating. Like I’ve said before, over half the battle in eating healthy is eating a clean diet made of unprocessed whole foods ingredients. These guys absolutely follow that, and constantly post what they’re eating on FB (in the ONLY not-annoying way I have ever seen) which creates a great reminder that you don’t have to eat small, you just have to eat right. They don’t post photos of dumb salads with half a cracker. They eat to fuel their healthy lifestyle, which includes heaps of veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and fresh fruit.
3. They also believe in cheat days. Fitness Blender knows that real life is happening, and we are in it, and sometimes there are burgers and we want them. They also post when this happens, as a reminder that everyone is human, and wants to indulge sometimes, and there’s room for that in a healthy lifestyle too. Sometimes it even makes you appreciate clean eating even more, and can be a nice reminder that eating til you feel gross is…gross.
4. They debunk fitness myths. This is usually in their chat-like videos, which are adorably unassuming. They clear up issues about using the scale as a measurement of success (spoiler–you shouldn’t; some of the best before and after photos on their site show a leaner, but heavier, “after” photo), about spot-reducing fat (you can’t), getting a thigh gap (it’s biological), and address things like body image and staying fit while traveling.

Even if you don’t check out their casual chat videos (just put one on while you’re getting ready for work in the morning or making dinner!), I highly recommend using the Fitness Blender site as a workout resource. There are literally hundreds of workouts, so you won’t get bored, and as you go through different focuses and interests (cardio-intense, heavy lifting, pilates, etc) there are readily available options, so it’s not all one-note.

I also do, oddly enough, recommend following them on Facebook. Having something in your feed that is a constant proponent of fit living is a great way to trick your brain into believing that YOU are a fit person, which makes you more likely to take actions of a fit person, which then makes you a fit person. I end up clicking through a bunch of their posts for recipe ideas, success stories, or workouts.

Dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds?) of their workouts require no equipment at all, so you can do them at home right before you get ready for work. This is so easy! Some are even 15 minutes! Or 8 minutes! You can do these, Busy Person. Try some out and let me know if you’ve got a favorite. They even have whole 8-week fitness and nutrition plans for like $10, which is a great way to give a little more structure if you’re looking to kick start your fitness habits.

For the people that skimmed this post to the end (my, you are SO BUSY!), basically just I heart Fitness Blender and so should you.