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Erica's avatar

To this day I occasionally do the 30 day shred because as you said, the workout itself is fine. But because I've done it thousands of times now, I turn the sound off and listen to a podcast or music instead! Way better.

I've been working out 3-4 times a week for 16 years and I only recently admitted out loud that I've hated cardio most of this time and that I was only doing it out of a desire for thinness. I've switched to yoga and Pilates for the most part and my body actually feels a lot better.

I haven't found a YouTube person I like as much as Adriene, but a few I watch regularly:

Five Parks Yoga - has a lot more longer classes than Adriene. Doesn't quite have the mental boost that I get from an Adriene video but is good if you just want a straight-up yoga class.

Anna Renderer - used to be a part of popsugar fitness which I generally find too fake positive, but her videos are like a positive version of 30 day shred. (She seems to like the person who modifies to make things easier just as much as the Natalie person.)

Move with Nicole - it's voice-over instead of talking to camera, which I don't like as much, but she has a lot of good pilates videos and they're great for when you want part of your workout to take place while you're lying down.

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

Thank you!! I will definitely check these out.

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Jess Tholmer's avatar

Former 30 Day Shredder here! I absolutely love Fitness Blender! They have a ton of free workout videos and are super gentle and non-judgmental. They also have paid options that are actually worth your money, like personalized programs. You can search by length, difficulty, and type of workout. Daniel and Kelly are the BEST and the OG creators but they've hired on a bunch of other people now with specific focuses and specialties and they're all awesome. (And local to me so I extra love them.)

https://www.fitnessblender.com/

Apple Fitness honestly is great too but you gotta pay for that and have sold your soul to Apple to use it!

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

Oh this is great! Thank you!!

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Lizzie Sandercock's avatar

Every Adriene video I do feels like a hug. She's always so welcoming and I've yet to find another instructor who makes me feel like anything I do is ok as long as I do it with acceptance and gratitude to myself. I would like to specifically shout out her video for yoga at work which I have done many times in the last few years when sitting in the same spot for too long has gotten to my mind and body.

I'm still very much on the train of decoupling working out from the size of my body and it's a struggle, but one that I know is necessary. My mental health requires exercise and cardio in particular it seems, but I still fall into feeling "bad" when I don't do it but I keep trying to keep my brain on the positive side of the street.

Jessica Smith's youtube workouts were such a pandemic godsend. I find her to be just the right amount of overly enthusiastic and supportive and she has such a wide range of workouts that I can just do something for 10 minutes if I need a reminder that it feels good to move my body.

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

I totally hear you on your mental health requiring cardio…it’s very annoying but it’s like I can FEEL my brain relax after I do a cardio workout! And thank you for the suggestion!

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Sophia's avatar

I do love Yoga with Adriene! Also Yoga with Kassandra and Five Parks Yoga are two more channels that I alternate between.

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Myria Reed's avatar

I, too, had an underbite and had jaw surgery. My jaw was wired shut for 6 weeks and I lost 22 pounds. I thought that could be my answer. Just maintain that liquid diet. Ugh. I hate thinking about even thinking that was ever an option or good idea. I promptly gained the 22 pounds back plus some and I'm way heavier now than then. All that to say, same. A lifetime of being "fat" and feeling shame about it.

I do think MadFit should give you royalties though because I'm signing up. :)

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

Yes!!! MadFit's free YouTube workouts are great, but I also don't regret paying for the app...the challenges are really nice.

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StephS's avatar

I can actually hear the inflection in Jillian’s voice when she says “false message of lethargy”. I also recovered from the 30-day Shred trauma by finding yoga. I love Bad Yogi (Erin Motz) on YouTube. But my favorite YouTube workout is Fit by Mik (another super positive blond (and maybe Canadian?))

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Sarah's avatar

Seconding Fit by Mik! I can't do a lot of jumping but she has nice mods and I leave the workouts feeling happy!

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StephS's avatar

Yes! I can’t do a bunch of jumping, either. Her workouts are the ONLY time I’ve ever thought a workout went quickly.

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

Oh cool, I will check her out!!

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Erin Smith's avatar

Oh god, gym class....*the horror*. I should have kept count of how many times I had my mom write me a note to sit out (luckily my gym teacher was a man who thankfully never questioned how often I was sitting out with period cramps). I was I'm high school in the early aughts....such a fun time for body image messaging! 🙃

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

It was all low-rise jeans and diet tips in teen magazines back then! Terrible!!

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Nina P.'s avatar

I nodded along, thank you for sharing. I'm a child of the 80s, and I loved Tamilee Webb and her "Abs of Steel" ON VHS. And I also love Adrienne, but kinda hate yoga. It's great when you figure out what works for you. I know that I will never get in my car to drive somewhere to go to a gym or a class. Nope. I will wake up, put on shoes, and go for a walk with a podcast. My internet best friend is Jessica Valente Pilates. For my attention span--her 10 minute pilates videos are perfection.

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Kerry Winfrey's avatar

Oh, I will check her out...thank you!!

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