The Best Home Exercise Programs to Try Now
It’s the end of the workday, you’re exhausted, and your gym bag, which you thoughtfully packed this morning, is now taunting you. Sound familiar? Switching to a home exercise program could be your solution to the daily pull between sweating it out at the gym or lounging in your sweats at home. It's even more helpful at times when you're working from home, allowing you to accomplish your workout routine without having to go outside.
The art of the home exercise program has come a long way, and now popular boutique studios are offering digital subscriptions to studio devotees and exercise novices alike. Whether you are looking to wind down in the evenings with a yoga flow or get in a sweat session while your laundry is in the dryer, there’s a home workout out there that fits your goals. Read on for the best home exercise programs to try now.
The Sculpt Society
By combining dance cardio with light weights, resistance bands, and sliders, The Sculpt Society founder Megan Roup aims to eliminate the intimidation factor that often comes with boutique fitness. While classes are available at Energi Studio and PROJECT by Equinox in NYC, The Sculpt Society is online-first, with over 70 videos available on-demand and a new video added weekly.
$19.99 per month or $119.99 per year with 14-day free trial.
Box + Flow
Box + Flow, a unique combination of high-intensity boxing paired with soothing yoga flows, typically only teaches classes at their two NYC locations. As millions remain at home, however, the studio has instead released daily Instagram Live workouts, where viewers can follow along with instructors as they uppercut, hook, and flow.
Barry’s Bootcamp
Barry’s Bootcamp devotees often spend several days a week running and lifting in the studio’s Red Room. Now that we’re stuck at home for the foreseeable future, Barry’s is offering daily classes on Instagram Live, some only using bodyweight and others with resistance bands. While not exactly the experience you’d get by attending a class, it’s a good way to stay in shape while studios are closed, especially when paired with a (socially-distanced) run.
SLT
Classes at SLT, which stands for strengthen, lengthen, tone, are centered around the Megaformer, a spring-based resistance trainer, and are often referred to as the hardest workouts in New York. While studios are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, SLT instructors are still teaching via Instagram, uploading tough at-home workouts to the studio’s IGTV.
Yoga to the People
This donation-based yoga studio believes a yoga practice should be accessible to everyone, even during a pandemic. Yoga to the People’s instructors teach several live classes per day, so you can tune in during a much needed break while working from home and refreshing the News app.
Sky Ting TV
Brought to you by the yoga studio of choice for chic (and stressed) New Yorkers, Sky Ting TV offers yoga flows for all skill levels, ranging from five-minute sun salutations to hour-long detox classes. The home exercise program’s videos are shot in a sun-drenched studio replete with lush greenery, bringing the zen atmosphere of Sky Ting’s downtown Manhattan location to your living room.
$20 per month with 7-day free trial
LEKFIT Digital
Celebrity fitness instructor Lauren E. Kleban’s LEKFIT has quickly become a favorite among celebrities like Busy Phillipps, Kate Beckinsale, and Emmy Rossum. Experience LEKFIT’s signature combo of fat-burning cardio and muscle-toning moves without heading to the LA studio (a three-story flagship location is opening in April 2020) through LEKFIT Digital, where four new workouts are released each week, including a series for those traveling with no equipment and minimal space.
Openfit
If you’ve ever wished you had a personal trainer built into your phone, Openfit is as close as it gets. The app offers a range of home exercise programs, from strength training to HIIT to treadmill, plus a full meal plan complete with recipes and shopping lists. If you’ve previously been a studio class devotee, Openfit features live classes led by trainers, who are there to offer feedback and keep you accountable, in addition to on-demand classes.
Tracy Anderson Online Studio
Tracy Anderson’s unique method has earned her devoted clients like Gwyneth Paltrow, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Jennifer Lopez, in addition to a worldwide cult following. Each week, Tracy releases workouts for subscribers at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. The moves might feel strange if you’re used to a more traditional home exercise program, but if it works for J. Lo, it works for us.
Variis
Equinox and SoulCycle recently introduced their new fitness app, Variis, via a soft launch to Equinox members. The home exercise program features a variety of on-demand classes including yoga, running, meditation, HIIT, and cycling, all of which can be accessed via the app whenever, wherever. With the announcement also came an exciting new piece of equipment for cardio enthusiasts: the SoulCycle at-home bike. Coming in at $2,500, the bike allows riders to take class with their favorite instructors at any time and also comes with five complimentary in-studio classes.
Melissa Wood Health
A favorite of model Blanca Padilla and actress Claire Holt, Melissa Wood’s method uses low-impact movements to create lean lines throughout the body. Wood’s workouts are perfect for those working from home, as they don’t require too much space to move around and use minimal equipment.
PIIT28
A combination of pilates and high-intensity interval training, PIIT28 condenses your workout into just 28 minutes, making it easy to fit into a packed schedule. Created by POP Pilates founder Cassey Ho, the home exercise program increases in intensity as you go, keeping your muscles shocked to avoid a plateau.
AK! By Amanda Kloots
Amanda Kloots, former Radio City Rockette and now celebrity trainer, made her name through her dance-inspired workouts and infectious positive attitude. If dancing and jumping around in your living room sounds like a home exercise program you can stick to, Kloots' AK! workouts could give you the energy you need to power through your day.
