Staying indoors? Here are five online workouts by women of colour

Whether you’re self-isolating or social distancing, we’re all finding ourselves sat indoors while we get through the Covid-19 outbreak. It means most parts of our lives have been disrupted and that includes our physical routines. If you’re missing long runs in the morning or football on the weekends, fear not, that’s when online workouts come in hand. Okay, it’s not the same as a breezy cycle, but right now, it’s the best we’ve got.

No shade to yoga with Adriene, she does have some great content, but she is for sure monopolising the YouTube yogi world, and we are going to need some variety, people! And personally, I think the market for a practice that originated in India, is already so saturated with Californians with high ponys, doing downward dog next to an infinity pool, before whispering “namaste”.

All this time indoors could be the perfect opportunity to learn that thing you never got round to: try out meditation, perfect a dance routine, do those squats. Personally, I’m going to use my extra time at home to finally learn the splits, (I have this fantasy of me slowly waltzing into a dance circle unannounced before jumping into them).

So, here’s a list of workouts by women of colour to try indoors to help you relax, sweat and ultimately love the body you’re housed in.

Blogilates

Cassey Ho is perpetually cheery – but don’t let that fool you, her workouts are gruesome! Her “go-get ‘um” attitude kind of rubs off on you, and in times like this, we need some encouragement. With over 4 million subscribers, it’s easy to see why she’s so popular. Cassey’s Silent Death Cardio workout is ideal if you can’t make a racket around your home, or have neighbours downstairs.

Jessamyn Stanley

Jessamyn Stanley is a yoga teacher, body positivity advocate and writer from North Carolina. Her practice focuses on all bodies, levels and abilities. She really makes me feel good about my body and the journey, rather than feeling bad for not being perfect. This 8-minute self-love yoga routine is great in the morning to wake your body up, or try out her 30-minute sequence for total beginners.

Scola Dondo

Scola’s workouts are fun and full of life. By far, my favourites are her afrobeats dance videos but check out her cleaning and dance workout too – why not multitask and make your chores fun? The rest of her content is pretty great, she gets real about the faults in the fitness industry and her own body image.

Kim Ngo

You might have seen Kim making light work of SAS: Who Dares Wins on Channel 4 earlier this year. She also led gal-dem’s run club in 2019 and got total beginners to complete a 5k race in a matter of weeks. Kim is the definition of “stay ready so you don’t have to get ready”, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything she can’t do with her body. Kim’s tough but encouraging! Check out her Instagram for short workout tips and tricks.

Natasha Noel

Natasha is perfect for all you intermediate yogis out there or those who like a challenge (having said that, don’t go getting hurt by pushing yourself beyond your capabilities – the NHS is too overrun right now). She can do chin stands and faultless Bird Of Paradise Pose, which is pretty impressive to watch. I, however, tried out her morning joint movements routine because you get to stay in bed to do it.