#pilates tips

🎀 Workout Youtubers

I currently do exclusively pilates and yoga workouts from youtube. However, I've done other body weight workouts with various youtube videos and seen results in the past. Here is my list of workout youtubers that you could check out! I will put a * next to my personal favorites! I will include a short list of my current at home workout equipment at the end as well as some items I plan on buying soon!

With any workout program or routine, always be safe, check with your doctor if necessary, and if something doesn't feel good or right, don't do it! No matter what your goals are, it's always important to be safe and stay healthy. Please always take care of yourselves and know how beautiful, worthy and valuable you are no matter what! I love you all <333

🩷 Pilates

Move with Nicole * (also posts occasionally barre and yoga videos as well! I love her videos so so much)

Madeleine Abeid

IsaWelly

Pilatesbodyraven

Lidia Mera

Lottie Murphy

Amanda Blauer

Margaret Elizabeth

Jessica Valant Pilates

Bailey Brown

Dansique Fitness

Flow with Mira

Sivi (she's began posting some pilates inspired workouts and to my knowledge is currently getting certified as an instructor)

🩷 Yoga

Yoga with Adriene *

Yoga with Bird

Boho Beuatiful Yoga

🩷 Bodyweight Fitness/Strength/HIIT

Chloe Ting * (I don't like the click bait, but I like the workouts)

Blogilates

Pamela Reif *

Madfit *

Lilly Sabri * (Some of her videos are titled with pilates, but the older ones I used to do were not pilates, so I categorized her here)

Emi Wong

Shirlyn Kim

Vivian Yuan

April Han

growingannanas

growwithjo * (I love her walking workouts)

Hinafit

Mish Choi

Sami Clarke

Elenifit

Coach Kel (she posts what looks like more barre, ballet, pilates inspored/fusion workouts it seems)

Caroline Girvan

TRAIN WITH GAINSBYBRAINS

Daisy Keech

🎀 Current At Home Workout Equipment I Own

Thick Yoga Mat - since I do mainly yoga and pilates my thick yoga may (amazon brand) has served me well. Even tho I am a heavier woman at the moment, I've never had pain or any issues with this mat, and it came with a carry strap which I love! A good, thick workout mat is definitely necessary for working out at home for comfort, safety, etc. Make sure to disinfect it on occasion, especially if you sweat on it a lot!

Resistance Bands - I have about 3 or 4 at different resistance strengths, and they're incredibly useful for a variety of movements, especially lower body ones. They add some extra resistance and make the workouts a bit more challenging when you need something more advanced. I also got mine from Amazon/Walmart a while back. I prefer fabric over rubber because I like to wear workout shorts instead of workout leggings.

Pilates Ball - not a necessity, but useful with some pilates workouts and movements. I have seen sole videos using this, but am not advanced enough to try it on my own yet. Will use for sure once I'm more advanced.

3lb dumbbells - I thought these would be useful for the pilates workouts that had some upper body focus, and as someone who wants to develop a lean and toned upper body, they are perfect for low weight high rep, controlled movements. Again, not advanced enough to use as I want to master my form, but they're gonna come in handy for sure!

Foam Roller - so so good for stretching and muscle recovery on rest days. I love mine but want one that has the bump things on it to help my muscles more. I can imagine how good it'll feel on my legs during a recovery day when I begin wieght lifting again.

Massage Gun - my holy grail for the days I am sore and needing some recovery. my body feels like jelly after using this, and it's just so nice for the days my muscles feel extra tight and super sore.

🎀 Equipment I Want To Buy

Yoga Blocks - these will help me get deeper into the yoga poses once I get more advanced in my practice

Pilates Ring - this honestly looks so fun and challenging to use, I'd love to add it to my collection of useful workout equipment!

Jump Rope - I used to love this as a form of cardio and as long as I don't move into an upstairs apartment, I'm definitely buying one

Pilates Bar - still iffy on this one, it's supposed to mimic a reformer but I want to get better at mat pilates and see if I even end up ever needing or seriously wanting to buy it, its on my list tho

Ankle/Wrist weights - these are gonna be so useful for workouts where hand held dumbbells aren't useful. Want to buy some low weight ones just to help with resistance and extra strength during pilates workouts

Kettlebell weight - I think this would be useful for a workout at home type situation if and when I switch to not doing just pilates and yoga. I know these are useful in their own right, but not needed in my current fitness stage of life.

Core Sliders - these look fun and interesting. They're on my lost for sure, but not sure about the practicality of their use in my life just yet.

That's all that's currently on my at home workout equipment list! As someone who primarily works out at home, the things I currently own are most useful and most of what's on this list is for fun or extra challenge. Just not necessary yet.

hope you enjoyed this list! if you have any questions about my favorite youtuber workout instructors or favorite videos, please feel free to ask, I've tried so many and can give some guidance from my own experience and research.

🎀 Overcoming Gym Anxiety 🎀

I got asked about this through my inbox by @sxfiaaa so I figured I'd make a post about it and hopefully help a lot of people with something I too used to struggle with!

🩷 Wear Comfortable Clothing

We've all seen the beautifully dressed people on Tiktok, Pinterest, etc in their matching sets and cutr gym clothes. If that is what you're comfortable wearing to the gym, do it! Wear it, and be confident in it! If you're more of a loose clothes/sweatpants/baggy shirts or hoodie type of person, do that! Wear whatever you feel comfortable (and cute) in, because the better you feel going into a workout, the more you'll be able to focus on your workout!

🩷 Know What You're Doing When You're There

This just means go in with a plan! You don't need to know how to use every single machine or do every single exercise known to mankind. Scroll tiktok or pinterest for some workout videos for inspo (please make sure the video you get inspo from shows proper form!!! Proper form is so important for being safe!!)

If you know you can go certain days of the week, make a workout split to follow that! EX 3 day split: Monday - Leg Day, Wednesday - Upper Body, Friday - Full Body

OR, if you just want to go do cardio, then plan for that! I didn't know how to use a treadmill, but I went to the gym at my university and stood on the treadmill til I figured it out!

🩷 Remember This

No one is going to look at you and judge you or think mean things about you. Everyone is at the gym for the purpose of bettering themselves and their health. If you find people giving you occasional glances, maybe it's because they don't recognize you from the gym (or they do recognize you from somewhere else), maybe their admiring your outfit/physique, maybe their avid gym goers who are watching your form and technique, or maybe their just zoned out and you happen to be in the line of sight.

When I'm at the gym, I look around between sets and take note on other people's form to see if maybe I should tweak the way I do a certain exercise, or I'm admiring another girls outfit or physique because there are a lot of beautiful women at the gym. Sometimes, I'm thinking "dang, they're lifting so heavy, how cool!" or "wow, their form is amazing, they really know what they're doing." I've never thought bad abut someone at the gym because why would I?

🩷 Don't Be Scared To Ask For Help

if there an exercise you really want to do but don't know how and videos aren't helping, ask someone around you who isn't in the middle of an exercise and looks like they may know. The guy at the gym doing upper body who has good biceps may be the right guy to ask about upper body exercises. The girl doing impeccable Bulgarian Split Squats might be the right person to ask for help with those types of movements. Just make sure they aren't in the middle of an exercise, because that can cause some unwanted issues, especially if they're mid-rep, that can turn into a safety issue.

People love to help people, especially at the gym. If you politely ask for help from someone, they may take it as a compliment that you think they look like a person who is knowledgeable on working out. I'd definitely be so flattered if someone asked me for help or advice at the gym!

🩷 Random Advice:

remember your why! no matter how anxious you are, remember why you're going! what are your goals, what do you hope to achieve, how proud will you feel after?

start small if you have to! if it's really anxiety inducing to start working out, make it your first goal to at least step into the gym. then 2nd goal, walk around the gym to get a feel for it. 3rd goal, maybe 5-10 minutes on a treadmill, and then keep building momentum each day.

be careful with the hours you go! there is such a thing as peak gym hours. It varies by place, but a lot of gyms are busy between 2pm and 6pm I've seen. I personally love going to the gym super early morning, it's a little less busy and I'm a morning person so it works out for me! If you can only go during peak hours, bring a friend or keep your headphones on and do your thing!

Bring a friend! If you're really anxious about going alone, bring a friend with similar goals! Sometimes it can be a lot nicer to learn something new with a friend then try and learn it on your own! Plus, it's like extra motivation and accountability!

Have a motivating pre workout routine. Play some music while getting ready, prep your bags, prep your playlist, get your workout itself figured out, and just keep yourself excited to go! I love blasting high-energy music that makes me feel like a baddie on my way to the gym.

I hope this was helpful!! My thoughts were everywhere but I tried to convey them as best as possible! I'm happy to answer any questions or offer more tips and advice, don't feel scared to ask! <3

Hihi !! Yes! I saw we both studied psych and thought you were super cool :3 I also like pink and horror things!

I started Pilates a little over a year ago and it’s definitely been a journey. For staters I do mat Pilates rather than reformer, and I do at home workout rather than taking classes! I mostly follow YouTube videos because they guide you through the exercises and make it easier to check your positioning.

I personally watch MovewithNicole, she’s is a little advanced so depending on mobility I recommend watching her beginner videos and just keep in mind it’s ok to take break or modify workouts if you need! You definitely shouldn’t feel discouraged if some things are a little hard at first. It’ll be all the more rewarding to overcome the challenges in the end :3

Tips:

First and foremost always stretch before and after! I didn’t realize how much this affected my workouts until recently but it really gets myself ready to workout and helps with soreness afterwards. Plus it gives you a chance to listen to music before your workout! I personally focus on flexibility and dynamic stretches as my mobility isn’t the best due to injuries. Anything to get my hips, hamstrings, and back ready for the workout helps me!

My biggest tips for starting out is to make sure your form is correct as to not cause any unnecessary discomfort and try to repeat videos. I feel like every time I rewatch a workout I do something even better than before that I didn’t realize I wasn’t doing. It also gives you a chance to master certain exercises and find a basis for what muscles you want to work on the most!

Breath control is another really big aspect of Pilates. Because oxygen is what helps our muscles a work the way they need to, breathing properly and deep enough when exercising is super important for both effectiveness and soreness. This is another reason I prefer to watch guided videos because Nicole walks you through everything! When starting out breathing might feel really insignificant but as you progress it will make a huge difference.

My last tip is to have fun and romanticize it! Cute outfits, bows, and a pretty mat are definitely small ways I keep myself motivated. I really like the blogalaties line but there are a ton of other coquette clothing options out there! Price can also be a factor in this so just know some days I wear Arie flare leggings and other days I just wear pajama shorts and a band tee. Whatever makes you motivated to put the work in is what good for you!

I hope this helped you out some!! If you have any other questions please feel free to ask :3 I hope you have a great day/night too!! <3

Updated Workouts 🎀

I have been out of the gym for so long. My schedule last semester did not allow it, but when I leave to Colorado in June, I'll be staying somewhere that has its own little gym, and next semester I'll have more access to the university gym as well. I've been doing at home workouts lately! Here's how I structure my workouts throughout the week, and some extra info about my current fitness!

🩷 Monday

Pilates Legs Youtube Workout(s)

🩷 Tuesday

Pilates Abs YouTube Workout(s)

🩷 Wednesday

Morning Yoga YouTube Workout

Pilates Legs/Pilates Glutes YouTube Workout

🩷 Thursday

Full Body Pilates YouTube Workout

🩷 Friday

Full Body Pilates YouTube Workout

🩷 Saturday

Morning Pilates YouTube Workout OR

Morning Yoga YouTube Workout

🩷 Sunday

Wake Up Yoga YouTube Workout

Yoga For Flexibility Workout

So, as you can see, I currently follow YouTube pilates workouts. I will make a list of my favorite workout youtbers on my main blog soon! I prefer low impact workouts at the moment but will switch it up a bit once I am in Colorado.

💕 Some extra stuff for my fitness:

I try to walk 5k to 10k steps a day, whether that be going outside or doing a walking workout in my bedroom

I do all of my workouts in the morning almost right after i get up in the morning. It eliminates obstacles and helps me do something active during the day

I am going to add more stretching into my routine, especially for my legs. I have pretty stiff muscles, and as someone who'd love to be able to do the spilts, I need to start stretching.

I have a foam roller, but it isn't one of the ones with the bumps on it that really helps the muscles, and I'm going to buy one as soon as possible.

I also am going to start using my massage gun on my legs because I've been so sore and again, stiff, and I think it'll be so useful to just use it on my legs at night. It might even help me sleep better.

Sleep!! I have been sleeping 6 to 8 hours a night consistently, and it's so nice. I feel like I can function so much better, and on the days I get closer to 7 hours of sleep, I feel so good when I wake up and can really get to my morning workouts.

I've switched up my diet a bit and eat healthier (in a sustainable way), and it's also helped me with my fitness too! it really makes a difference with what you put in your body! Food is fuel and food is great!

Always open to fitness and health related questions! Please don't forget I am 3 years into my nutrition and dietetics degree, as well as minoring in psyc and exercise science (also have a 2nd major in finance, but that's irrelevant to health). I also research health and fitness topics for fun. I'm not saying I'm the most credible whatsoever, but I do have some idea of what I'm talking about and am always open to questions or even advice you could give me!

20-Day Challenge 🎀

I have been in the BIGGEST slump lately. My anxiety had been the highest I've seen it in a while. My eyes are starting to twitch from high cortisol levels again, and I've found it so hard to regulate my stress, anxiety, emotions and just being able to do things is so hard right now. So, here's a challenge for myself that won't be too difficult but will hopefully push me to do things. It is only 20 days because I am traveling to Colorado after that point and will have to adjust my routines and dailies for the 8 weeks I'm in Colorado.

☀️ Morning Routine Non Negotiables

low impact youtube workout (pilates/yoga/stretching)

morning journaling

morning hygiene (skincare/deoderant/brush teeth/brush hair)

⛅️ Daily Non Negotiables

study Spanish for at minimum 10 minutes

read some form of a self-help or productivity book for a minimum of 10 pages

take a walk (either outside or walk around the house,3k to 5k steps minimum daily)

⭐️ Night Routine Non Negotiables

night time guided journal + daily journal (minimum one sentence about my day)

night time hygiene (shower/brush teeth/skincare)

set myself up for the next day

🌈 "Rules"

need to post an update for every day for accountability. if I do not do something I've listed, I need to have a genuine reason why (sick, migraine, unknown change of plans, weather, bodily pain or injury, etc) and must explain the reason or admit to my excuses.

consistent wake up and sleep time. wake up between 5/530am, and be asleep no later then 10/1030pm.

no more than 2 cups of a coffee a day

no coffee after 1pm

minimum 80oz of water

try to minimize screen time on social media

be honest!!! lying about this helps no one, and only keeps me unproductive and unmotivated. if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it.

Here's to giving myself an extra kick in the rear yo stay productive and keep myself motivated and disciplined as best as possible. It's the least I can do for myself. starts today/tomorrow (may 27th or 28th)!

Pilates Videos Reccomendations!

I am looking for specific pilates videos that you guys enjoy to give me some new things to add to my YouTube playlist! What are some videos that didn’t make you breaks a sweat? Videos where you broke the biggest sweat? Easiest? Hardest? Favorite? Least favorite? Please share as your girl is always looking for things to spice up her workout routine! I just ordered three lb dumbbells, a small pilates ball, and resistance bands so videos involving these are welcome as well!!

Poll For The Girlies 🎀

I’m wondering, what are your guys main form of working out? Pilates, yoga, weight lifting, cardio, etc? And why do you do those as your main and what do you recommend others? Let’s share the knowledge and help inspire some other girlies who are in or may be starting their fitness journey! I myself do lots of walking, mat pilates, and yoga. I am going to be trying reformer Pilates next semester and will be going back to weight lifting a couple times a week next semester as well. I recommend low impact exercise (yoga and Pilates) for keeping cortisol levels low, strength training to build muscles in whatever area if your body you want, and any form of cardio to increase endurance, stamina, and heart health!

please reblog/comment, I want to see what the most common answers are and share the inspiration and motivation for everyone who may be thinking of what to do to start exercising or how to switch up their own routine!