Our favourite ways to keep active at home for free

At Woodlands we know how easy it is to feel demotivated and drained at the moment whilst we all have to self-isolate in our homes. So we wanted to share our top tips for staying active at home and helping you boost your mood.

Exercise isn’t just great for keeping fit and staying in shape, it also benefits your mental health. Just 20 or 30 minutes of exercise boosts your general wellbeing, makes you feel more energetic for the day and leaves you feeling more positive about yourself. Let’s face it, we’ve all had days at the moment where we’ve woken up in a slump, but those endorphins help relieve any anxiety and leave us in a much better mood.

Live Fitness Classes

Live fitness classes have been a hit with lots of students. If you’re a bit of a gym bunny already you’ll know yourself that as soon as you open Instagram at the moment there are fitness bloggers popping up at the top of your screen going live to share their daily routines. But live fitness classes aren’t just for seasoned gym goers, they’re also great for complete beginners to just get you moving at home and put you in a better mood.

We’ve done our research and can recommend our favourite free online classes.

Psycle: Free online barre and HIIT classes

From abs blast to fit in 30, Psycle have you got you covered for a range of classes all for free on their Instagram page. The quality workouts include their famous Barre class popular with students for targetting the legs, glutes and abs for strength and toning. Tried and tested these short classes are well worth a try from your living room.

Follow their workouts here.

Third Space: HIIT, Kettlebells and Yoga

Ordinarily out of budget for many, luxury London based health club Third Space are streaming a variety of live classes from kettlebell workouts for those of you lucky equipment holders to bodyweight classes for everyone else. With membership costs usually around £200, these live classes are completely free for students to get on board with through IGTV.

Browse their live WODs here.

Barry’s UK: Bodyweight and bootcamp classes

Join the Barry’s at home hype. With live workouts on offer 4 times a day, these 30 minute workouts are aimed at people of all levels from beginners to those of you with more experience. With a range of bodyweight movements including your favourite, the burpee, and core movements like the plank, these high intensity workouts are fantastic. If you miss the live class times their videos are available on IGTV for 24 hours after.

Take a look now.

Yoga Online

Another great way to stay active and clear your head in quarantine is through taking advantage of some free online yoga. As a newbie to yoga, after trying 2 sessions this has worked wonders for destressing and calming an active mind. Mindful breathing and relaxation is just what the body and mind need right now.

Here are some of our favourites that we recommend you to give a try.

Yoga with Adriene

One of YouTube’s most popular Yoga instructors, Adriene comes highly recommended. Give her 30 Day Yoga Challenge a try! Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned yogi there are a whole range of videos for different levels which range from targeting set yoga poses right through to individual muscle groups.

Get online with Adriene here.

Shona Vertue

Australian yoga instructor Shona Vertue is offering free dynamic yoga classes through her YouTube channel as well as full body workouts. From morning stretch sessions to chill out and de stress classes targeting opening the hips, these classes are perfect for students. Starting at just 10 minutes long there’s no excuse not to get involved. We were highly impressed with these videos, it’s no wonder she has 88K subscribers.

Try out some of Shona’s videos here.

FLYLDN

London based Yoga studio FLYLDN is another fantastic option for online yoga. Named Men’s Health Best Studio 2019, they’re encouraging everyone to #flowfromhome with their live streamed Instagram classes. Running 3 times a day, their classes include the dreamy candle lit CHILL class, pilates and FLOW45 vinyasa. All well worth a try and will give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Browse FLYLDN classes here.

New Hobbies

Self-isolation can be tough on the mind and sometimes all it can take is a new hobby to help you unwind and to feel productive with your time. There has never been a better time to do the things you enjoy or take up a new activity.

Whether it be running in quiet spaces where safe nearby to your house, painting or learning to play guitar. The options are endless and it may be worth racking your brain for some options.

We hope you find our tips to stay active in quarantine helpful!