The trendiest YouTube fitness influencers: the good, the bad and the in between

At the beginning of eighth grade, I started looking for at-home workout videos and stumbled upon workouts from different influencers on YouTube. To my surprise, there were various options for me from the convenience of my own house. Even after my parents became open to getting me a gym membership, I continued to workout at home due to the time and money I saved. 

Here are my opinions on the most popular fitness influencers. 

 

MadFit: ⅗ Falcons

MadFit, Maddie Lymburner, was one of the first YouTubers I discovered when searching for workouts. She uploads workouts daily, with each video focusing on a different part of the body. While all the workouts on her YouTube channel are free, she offers an app that has a monthly subscription for recipes, nutrition tracking and workouts. 

Her workouts are suitable for beginners and intermediates with breaks and simple exercises, but if you are looking to break a sweat and endure an intense workout, I would not recommend her videos. 

 

Chloe Ting: ⅖ Falcons

Chloe Ting, a fitness influencer known for her millions of views and subscribers, runs a channel focused on workouts and nutrition. Her channel flourished during the pandemic, as tons of people looked for at-home workouts. 

I took it upon myself to begin one of her free workout plans on her website. However, after a few days, I found her workouts to be extremely repetitive: The same music and exercises each session made working out with her extremely boring. 

While Ting’s workouts were tougher than those of MadFit, I never found them challenging enough, which is why I recommend her workouts to anyone who is just starting out and wants a simple and easy-to-follow workout plan. 

 

Natacha Océane: ⅘ Falcons

Basing her channel around the science behind nutrition and exercise, Natacha Océane makes informative videos about training and eating for all different fitness levels. She has a Ph.D. in biophysics and often works with nutritionists when making videos focused on diets and nutrition. Throughout her informative videos, she prioritizes strength training as a fitness goal. 

While she mostly posts “What I Eat in a Day” videos, videos on nutrition and fitness challenges, she also has a handful of workout videos on her channel. Her workouts consist of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, and slower full body workouts, containing numerous breaks after exercises, which creates a solid balance of intense movements and rest. 

Her informational videos are beneficial to anyone interested in achieving their health and fitness goals. Her workouts are at a more intermediate level, so I would recommend delaying her workouts until you have gained some strength and stamina. 

 

Pamela Reif: 5/5 Falcons

After finding her videos three years ago, Pamela Reif has become my favorite fitness YouTuber. Her videos range from short energetic dance workouts to longer 30-minute stretching sessions. Along with many videos that train each part of the body, every video has different music in the background, unlike Ting’s. 

Reif’s videos range from beginner to advanced, but most of her workouts are targeted toward more advanced audiences. The energizing music, varying exercises and intensity make Reif’s workouts my favorite. 

All of these four creators have their own way of structuring and filming their workouts that range in difficulty levels. Nonetheless, Reif will always remain my favorite with a good balance of fun sessions and intense training, making working out with her entertaining yet effective. While every person has their own preference when it comes to working out, I recommend opening YouTube and taking out your yoga mat to try following workouts for yourself.