22 Free Workouts You Can Do at Home Right Now

With gyms and fitness studios closing their doors in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, many personal trainers, fitness instructors, and studios have shifted their offerings to virtual sessions—and some established online fitness programs have extended their trial periods or made select content available free of charge.

Heading outside for a walk, a run, or a bike ride is still permissible in most areas—and, in general, encouraged, with proper adherence to social-distancing protocol. (The physical and psychological benefits of sunshine, fresh air, and freedom can’t be oversold right now.) But if you find yourself eager to move while you’re displaced from your gym or otherwise stuck inside, free online workouts can be excellent stopgaps—whether you want to break a cardio sweat, strength-train, keep up a yoga practice, or just unspool yourself after working from home all day. Whatever you choose, be sure to pay attention to your form, listen to your body, and be kind to yourself. Even five or 10 minutes of exercise a day counts. Give yourself kudos for making it happen.

General fitness

Aaptiv (free Apple Podcast access; free seven-day trial period for $99 annual subscription; monthly subscription with no free trial, $15)
The subscription-based audio-workout app Aaptiv has released a selection of its workouts and meditation sessions for free on Apple Podcasts. Expect circuit training, a few yoga flows, and sleep-focused meditation. Aaptiv is also offering 50 percent off its $99 annual subscription, though there is no free trial with that deal.

The Body Coach TV (free)
The more than 250 workouts on The Body Coach TV, formulated by host Joe Wicks, are engaging and upbeat. (He’s relaxed enough to let his toddler daughter ham it up during one live session.) You can find a variety of 15- to 20-minute workouts, as well as a “7 Days of Sweat” challenge. Wicks also has a bunch of short, charming videos for kids that’ll get them moving.

Fitness Blender (free)
Several Wirecutter staffers turn to Fitness Blender for its solid, no-frills, gimmick-free workouts. The channel has roughly 600 to choose from, including a lower-body set done with resistance bands and a no-equipment-required, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio workout.

HASfit (free)
This down-to-earth app (and YouTube channel) features a variety of scalable workouts that include HIIT, low-impact, and strength-training options. Wirecutter research editor Christina Colizza “appreciates that it’s real, and low-key.”

Heather Robertson (free)
Christina also likes Heather Robertson’s large selection of low-impact, jump-free workouts, plus the sizable library of other options, including a 12-week plan. If you’re confident in your knowledge of exercises and don’t need a lot of instruction, this option could be for you. There are no warm-ups, cooldowns, or voiceover explanations here—just music, a label calling out each new exercise in a given sequence, and a countdown clock for each move, which matters when you’re doing timed workouts.

Nike Training Club (free)
The Nike Training Club app is free—its premium option included—and the content is plentiful and varied. Erin Price, Wirecutter’s community lead, recently went back to this app after using it while she was living in a rural area with no gym.

Obé (free 30-day trial period; $27-a-month subscription fee)
The colorful, high-energy Obé app has extended its seven-day free trial to 30 days (use the code ATHOME at checkout; the subscription price is $27 a month). Its cardio, strength, and yoga and meditation classes—both live and on-demand—include Obé’s signature 28-minute workouts and 10-minute express sessions. It also recently added workouts for kids (backed by Kidz Bop songs) to its library; the four 10-minute sessions are for little ones ages 3 to 10 and have a mix of fun dance moves (party jumps, anyone?) and exercises like squats and planks.

Peloton (free 90-day trial period; $13-a-month subscription fee)
Normally free for 30 days, the Peloton app is now available to new users for 90 days free of charge. (The regular subscription price is $13 a month.) The app includes Peloton’s wildly popular indoor-cycling classes, for which you’ll need your own bike (we have a review of the Peloton). But its large library of on-demand and live off-the-bike classes—including yoga, strength training, cardio high-intensity interval training, bootcamp, meditation, and stretching—are well done and wide-ranging.

Popsugar Fitness (free)
From workouts for beginners to full-body bootcamps to equipment-free cardio sessions, Popsugar Fitness has a wide variety of programming and, often, a group-fitness feel—which class devotees may find comforting.

Specialty workouts

Johnson & Johnson Official 7-Minute Workout (free)
The seven-minute high-intensity circuit training workout gained traction a few years ago for its efficiency and science-backed efficacy. It’s not quite as straightforward as it sounds—it takes several rounds of the seven minutes to reap the full benefits, and certain populations (those with high blood pressure, for instance) should consider an alternative. But the short, intense efforts followed by rest intervals, if done right, can get you moving and in the habit of regular exercise. This version has voice and video cues and a clear countdown clock.

Kit Rich (free)
Staff writer Lauren Dragan likes the Pilates-inspired workouts by celebrity trainer Kit Rich and is a fan of her overall approach, which is “very body loving and encouraging without over-perkiness,” Lauren says. Rich (whose brand is called Kichgo) recently began posting live daily workouts to her YouTube channel.

The New York Times’s 6-Minute Workouts (free, with a New York Times subscription)
The Well section of The New York Times highlights these three six-minute workouts for when time is short. (The Times is Wirecutter’s parent company.) Each workout includes an exercise for cardio, lower body, upper body, and core. You do each move for 30 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest, and then you repeat the sequence. The goal is to do as many quality repetitions in the time frame as possible. Two rejuvenating yoga poses close out each session.

Reddit’s Bodyweight Fitness Community (free)
Wirecutter editor Tim Barribeau plans to start following this Reddit community’s recommended routine for bodyweight-workout enthusiasts. It does require a few props, including a pullup bar and a sturdy spot to do rows (such as a hefty table or a low pullup bar). Its six basic exercises are done in pairs and include sets of three core exercises.

Strong by Zumba (free with Amazon Prime membership)
If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can stream this 20-minute high-intensity Strong by Zumba workout. Sharp and specific, it features a flow that syncs each exercise to the beat of the music. And if you’re craving a dance-cardio crowd, Zumba Fitness Concert Live (also on Amazon Prime Video) is about as high-energy as it gets.

Yoga only

Athletes for Yoga (free two-week trial period; $10-a-month subscription fee)
Formerly known as Jasyoga, Athletes for Yoga has a main subscription-based option ($10 a month, with a two-week free trial) but also has a small collection of sessions on YouTube that caters to runners and endurance athletes (such as for post-run hip reset and dynamic hamstring flexibility) and includes meditation. Founder Erin Taylor does quick resets periodically on Instagram Live, too.

CorePower Yoga on Demand (free)
Like many boutique studios and gyms, CorePower Yoga has temporarily closed its more than 200 studios nationwide because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but it has also opened its complete on-demand library to all, for free. Choose from everything from forearm flow to chest-opening sequences, or dip into a short meditation.

Glo (free two-week trial period; $18-a-month subscription fee)
Wirecutter deputy editor Christine Cyr Clisset uses Glo to work in a yoga or Pilates session when she’s working from home and parenting solo. Glo, which also has meditation classes and multichapter courses (maybe it’s time to learn that handstand?), offers a two-week free trial. After that, it costs $18 a month.

Yoga With Adriene (free)
This popular YouTube channel, led by yoga instructor Adriene Mishler, is also a Wirecutter self-care favorite. Relaxed and approachable, the channel is packed with numerous videos covering a wide range of yoga needs and wants. Videos are often labeled with their intention (“Ignite,” “Welcome,” “Awaken,” and so on); Mishler’s dog is often found snoozing by her mat.

For kids

We compiled a full list of exercise videos for kids that includes expert tips on how to keep your family active while spending time at home.

Alo Yoga Kids Yoga & Meditation from Alo Gives (free)
Alo Gives (the philanthropic arm of yoga-wear brand Alo) has published roughly 60 videos, each about five minutes long, that walk kids through, say, how to be flexible inside and out or puppy meditation (a kid-geared technique, no puppy required). For something longer, this 15-minute session with instructor Alissa Kepas might do the trick—unicorn pose included.

Cosmic Kids Yoga (free)
This YouTube channel tends to a pint-size yoga practice with engaging themed adventures inspired by characters and stories (Betsy the Banana! The Three Little Pigs!). There’s also guided meditation. The Frozen-themed story session held the attention of Wirecutter editor Winnie Yang’s 4-year-old.

Go Noodle (free)
Go Noodle is all about getting kids to move and learn. The videos offer kooky (the Koo Koo Kangaroo! duo throwing a cat party), cool (the Blazer Fresh trio mixing dance moves and punctuation), calming (an instructor focuses on focus), and more. Expect things to get silly, and be warned: This program includes “Baby Shark”–style jingles you may be singing in the shower for months to come.

Pancake Manor (free)
This YouTube channel of music for kids has a collection of short action songs for the preschool set that will get antsy bodies up and moving. Doesn’t everyone need a shake break?