In week four of my series about getting fit while social distancing, I went back to the wide world of YouTube to see what other channels have to offer.
I settled on another effeminate sounding channel called Popsugar Fitness. Maybe one day I’ll feel confident enough to try workouts from a more macho looking guy who promises me I will get as jacked as him, but I want to steer clear of that for now.
Pop Sugar Fitness is one of the biggest workout channels on Youtube, with more than four million subscribers and more than 570 million total views. A couple of workout videos get released every week, with hundreds dating back nine years.
Popsugar Fitness, as the name implies, seems to mostly cater towards women. While the workout leader could have just been encouraging the two ladies working out with her, she was looking up and addressing the camera right at me when she yelled “Come on ladies.” Also in one workout, the way I was asked to move my hips was a way I had never been asked to try before and am glad I was in the privacy of my own home.
Further research reveals Popsugar to be much more than just a YouTube channel. It is media lifestyle brand all to itself, focusing on catering towards women. While there is some turnover, every video is led by a different fitness personality.
Some I assume work at the channel while others are friends of the channel who drop by to maybe get some exposure or are workout celebrity’s in their own right.
Besides the main person leading the workout, there are usually two women on either side of her.
One demonstrates the easier version of every exercise in the workout while the other does normal version the person leading the workout is doing.
Usually both of these people serve to reinforce how much they are feeling the workout incase you needed to make sure it is not just you and your out of shape self that is feeling the burn.
I again settled on 10 minutes because I needed some comfort in dropping again into the unknown. Despite two weeks of doing exercises at home, I still feel a long way from what I would consider fit.
I had one previous experience with Popsugar Fitness in January. I randomly did a 10 minute workout my first day. While it said it was a standing cardio workout, I have come to learn since then, that for me, the only thing I will be feeling afterwards is soreness from my legs.
With a different workout personality putting out a different type of workout every day, with some workouts ranging from as long as 45 minutes to as short as four, I was not sure what I was going to get in terms of intensity with each workout.
My first one on Saturday was 10 minutes that had words like “standing” (so I would not have to face my shedding rug) and “barre” in the title. The lady leading it was a guest who’s claim to fame was being actress Drew Barrymore’s trainer.
The workout was tough. It was hard. I was not ready. The mentioned hip movements, supposed to work out your core, came in this workout. Despite the name labeling it a mostly core workout you could do standing up, the only thing burning were my legs from the workout and my cheeks from embarrassment at attempting to move my hips in a way I never want them to move again.
I usually have started my weekend workouts in this series being overly cautious and starting light, but this first day seemed like I might be in for a tough four more days. I saw no workouts on the channel with the beginner label or low impact next to it.
Luckily, I found shorter workouts. I found a five minute arm toning workout and a four minute core workout that I did the next two days that were easier only because they were shorter.
I have done a few arm toning workouts now since I own no free weights and want to avoid large quantities of pushups. Wiggling your arms at odd angles for 30 seconds to a minute straight will get them tired and sore, but not in the same way lifting weight will.
I get the feeling these short workouts are meant to be added on the end of some other workouts or are maybe a part of a longer workout that got cut off. Still, I did them on Sunday and Monday and my quota of two easier workouts out of five was met.
The fourth workout was a longer arm and core workout that got me back down on my shedding rug. Surprisingly it was not full of tons of pushup variations.
There was some awkward side planking that had me cursing at the workout leader.
It was not because my arm was hurting, but because the lack of circulation had my forearms falling asleep on me while trying to hold myself up. I guess these were the crux of the second half of the workout because we did a couple sets on each arm.
This was the one workout I did this week that was led by a guy. I am pretty sure he is one of two guys featured on the channel outside of guest instructors.
He happily admitted midway through the workout it was getting too hard for even him and the one women who was supposed to be doing the more advanced version that featured a small amount of weight that I opted not to include at the start.
This did not make me feel any better they were struggling. What are you doing leading a workout this tough without labeling it as such you evil tyrant?

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.