Online fitness workouts helping Canadians stay active

CALGARY (CityNews) – Home workouts have become more common as restrictions and outbreaks continue to change how Canadians experience day-to-day life.

Working out from home has become a saving grace with many finding out that the benefits not only impact your mental and physical health but also your bottom line, one rep or YouTube video at a time.

Maddie Lymburner, otherwise known as MadFit, had about one million followers on YouTube before COVID-19. Since March, that number has grown significantly.

“I’m now at almost five million subscribers so it’s been a pretty big increase. COVID hit and I heard gyms were closing and I was like alright, I have a library of workouts and so I started posting them every day. I just wanted to be there because I knew it was a really scary time.”

People started turning to these videos not only as a way to stay healthy but she said as a way to cope.

“When we think about working out, I think we go to the physical aspect of how it will change our bodies but for me, movement has been my mental escape to tune into myself and tune out the outside world.”

With cases rising across Canada, gyms in outbreak areas are once again forced to close, sending many people to their basements, living rooms or wherever they have space.

Lymburner said she’s taking away any real barriers to working out, even eliminating any cost.

“Find some room in your bedroom, your kitchen, you don’t need anything, just yourself. You can always find stuff around your house to use as a weight, shampoo bottles, beans.”

The format of her videos is like a real-life workout class timed out and easy to follow, with viewers tuning in from all over the globe.

“People can follow along with me,” said Lymburner. “It’s like they’re doing it with a friend.”

As Canada moves into a second wave and colder temperatures send many inside, Lymburner said she isn’t going anywhere.

“This is my full-time thing, my passion, it’s what I will be doing for the foreseeable future. During this time when we’re so isolated, I think it’s so important to get those endorphins flowing.”