Q: I need some online inspiration for "burning calories"! I don't need Fitocracy or a goal-making program — I want a website that will help me geek out on fitness the way The Kitchn makes me geek out on food. Any suggestions?
Sent by Carolyn
Editor: Readers, have you come across any great fitness-focused websites?
Related: Best Work Out Snacks: What Do You Eat Before Exercising?
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Some fitness blogs I frequent --
fitsugar.com
fitbottomedgirls.com
movenourishbelieve.com
www.nerdfitness.com is great.
They had a post a few months ago about "Walking to Mordor"
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/23/walking/
You could adapt that for jogging if that's more to your liking. It had been a great motivator for me to walk at least 5 miles throughout the day.
I like RunEatRepeat, MsFitRunner and SkinnyRunner. They're all focused on running (as you can imagine) but I enjoy reading them.
Have you given Fitocracy a real try? It is full of supportive, knowledgeable people who are genuinely excited about fitness and healthy living. There is room for everyone, however you approach fitness/diet/life. It has been the main factor in the last year for a complete overhaul of my attitudes toward exercise and healthy eating. The points-gaming aspect is a relatively small part, and for me is mainly useful as a tracking function.
Before you pass on it, I'd sign up, and look around for a while (it's free). If you want to use my sign-up code I'll introduce you: http://ftcy.me/x74mRe Otherwise, I think it puts you in the Welcome to Fitocracy group, and just ask there for recommendations on groups to join and people to follow- experienced users watch the group to catch newcomers and get them connected.
I understand it might not be for everyone, but I can't recommend it enough. At least check it out, and good luck with your search! :)
I LOVE "my fitspiration" (myfitspiration.com) from Olivia and Hannah of Biggest Loser fame - they are very down to earth and hilarious, not to mention extremely enthusiastic. They recommend all kinds of fitness stuff as well as great products that they aren't paid to promote. Another one is Tone it Up (toneitup.com): again, the positivity is the selling point here. They offer free workout videos all the time and constant motivation.
I like Fitfluential. The PurelyTwins website might also be a fun thing for you to follow because it combines fitness with food.
I'm about to try www.dailyburn.com. I've used their calorie tracking app before and I keep hearing about their videos. This one has a monthly fee though ($10) but the first 30 days is free. I'll pull the trigger soon. You get unlimited online access to their video library (I believe some of the videos are produced by some of the BeachBody folks, a.k.a. Insanity and P90X). I'm just getting too bored at the gym and don't know enough to create my own routines. If this works, I can cancel my gym membership, save a few bucks and work out in the basement. We'll see!
Tone it up! is amazing! You can sign up for their emails and their community where other members login and talk about their workouts and what they ate during the day....its very inspiring and supportive. They have a blog, community, instagram, facebook and an iphone app. The app posts a new workout every day and they have videos on youtube to follow along with their workouts. They also do challenges quite frequently where you check in through social media...and it WORKS! After I started following it for two weeks I had ab definition! Everything I mentioned is free, except the app (99 cents) but they also have a nutrition plan you can purchase, which is optional.
*Note* - this community is focused on women only, sorry men :(
I personally love bodyrock.tv - they all have facebook accounts where they post eating tips and motivation too, which is great!
I also love cutandjacked.com they do some great interviews to keep you focused :)
Lose it! (spelled with an exclamation point) is terrific, but it only addresses a specific type of fitness improvement: losing weight.
It's an easy-to-use food-logger/calorie-counter that also counts (as negative numbers) calories burned in exercise. It has a web site and a phone app that talk to each other (assuming you have an account). There's a free version and a paid version. (www.loseit.com)
Go here to NerdFitness. It's fun. Level up your body. http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/
TheBerry.com has a great daily inspiration post!
I completely agree! Tone it up has changed my life!
toneitup.com
Greatist is pretty good - they have a workout of the day series that I've been meaning to try. www.greatist.com
Even after all the great suggestions here, I still haven't found something as awesome as "The Kitchn" for a fitness blog. I have bad knees so running causes more harm than good for me, and Cross-Fit was a very expensive nightmare. So I'm mostly a spinning, ballet, tennis, swimming, Pilates, yoga gal. So far the only two that I've found to be very motivating are:
www.thegreatfitnessexperiment.com
and
experiencelife.com/category/fit-body
socialworkout.com
I use it daily-- wonderful community and you can tailor it to your own lifestyle.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/ meal plans, workout plans, activity tracker, and a supportive community, all for free!!
I use Strava for cycling and running. It's more of a social/community thing rather than a blog, but it really helps me stay active because I can see what others that I follow have accomplished, and I want to keep up! I know that other people are seeing what I've done too, which is of course a huge motivator ;-)
Also whenever I gain a QOM (queen of the moutain for being the fastest on a segment of a road), I feel like such a winner!
Use vigybu.com. Professional videos, easy to understand. They don't sell you anything or email you at all. Best of all, they don't have ads and it's all free.
Use vigybu.com. Professional videos, easy to understand. They don't sell you anything or email you at all. Best of all, they don't have ads and it's all free.