Weekly Workout: Video blog offer exercise and wellness tutorials

If you don’t feel like going to the gym but still would like to get a workout incorporated into your busy day, YouTube videos are a great source of exercise routines that you can do in your own dorm room. One popular YouTube channel that has gained a lot of traction is Blogilates, which features Cassey Ho as a Pilates instructor and health guru sharing fitness routines and wellness tips.

She has various workout series, among which include playlists of videos that target specific areas of the body such as the arms, upper body, abs, oblique, legs, thigh and butt. She also has playlists of videos that are not more than five to six minutes long, which is ideal if you want to get in a quick workout and exercise in your study breaks. Other playlists have a wide range of themes, from workouts set to pop songs, to movie themed workouts to cocktail dress and swimsuit-inspired routines. Her videos concentrate on various types of exercises, including routines that focus on cardio, High Intensity Interval Training and core strength.

Some of her most iconic routines are her 30-day series which can be accessed on her blog: blogilates.com and YouTube channel: youtube.com/blogilates. These 30-day challenges, among which include the “30 day flat abs challenge” and “30 day splits challenge,” require the participant to complete the required daily routines for 30 days in order to achieve the results of each challenge. Apart from providing workout routines, Ho also ventures into promoting wellness in general. She has a series of videos dedicated to healthy food ideas, which entail how to prepare healthier versions of various foods such as a tutorial on cooking healthier waffles and avocado recipes. She also has a series on many snack, breakfast ideas and “cheap and clean eats.” Moreover, Ho makes a strong effort to promote a healthy mindset on body image and has motivational videos and posts on wellness and positivity.

If the 30-day challenges are too much of a commitment, then blogilates has plenty of other one-off videos that will allow you to exert a lot of energy and feel a good workout. A few of Cassey’s most popular videos that have gone viral are the “Mighty Squat Challenge,”,which is a rigorous squats routine set to Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” and “Pilates for Beginners,” an easy-to-follow tutorial on a full body pilates workout. These videos often give you the same burn as you would get from a lengthy period in the gym!

Photo by Bianca Pichamuthu, ’16, Photo Editor

Ivy Jiang ’18 is the Sports & Wellness Editor who is majoring in Economics. When she is not studying, she is probably following the NBA, reading, watching emotional films, eating or leisurely exercising. Feel free to contact her at ijiang@wellesley.edu.