Shout Out to BodyFit by Amy

(Originally published 24 November 2019) 

This is the comment I posted on YouTube after doing one of her videos for the first time: “Ow, ow! I sure felt this one—in a good way. I don't mind squats, and lunges are OK (though I can't bend too far), but this was great! As I shared on my Spark People teams: From beginner on up, you will get a lot out of this one. Only equipment is a chair (optional) for balance. Recommended!”

(It was her 16 Minute Standing Low Impact Legs Workout--No Squats or Lunges! from 2 years ago) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nJi7HhJJnE&t=7s

As I read the other comments, I was struck by how many mentioned physical limitations and how this was the first workout they had found that worked for them. Another comment mentioned how good her prompts are, how easy to understand.

I’ve shared with my teams how much I appreciate her many modifications to make things low impact, or what a beginner might need, or how to increase the challenge. I also love her encouragement, and her frequent reminders to “work at your own level” and “be where you are today.” She’ll sometimes demonstrate a very simplified version of a move and say “If this is what you can do today, that’s fine! If you showed up, if you’re moving, then you’re successful!” I love that attitude of always encouraging and validating, and never shaming!

And the funny thing is, I might never have tried one of her workouts if my team co-leader hadn’t recommended a great beginner bodyweight video years ago. Amy is young, thin, a real hard body, and most of the videos have a photo of her with a bare midriff. My own prejudice would have assumed she would only be addressing other young, strong, flexible exercisers—which is not the case at all. She also has a number of prenatal and postnatal workouts, and made a lot of new low impact videos in the last year as she was getting back in shape after delivering her second child.

If you haven’t tried her videos, please do. I will always be thankful to my dear Spark Friend Eva for suggesting I give her a try!

 

[Updated note: Recently a lot of her videos are long and can be very intense, so I’ve learned to preview first and see if they work for me, given joint issues and not being able to drop to the floor and bounce back up quickly. I’m tending to stick to older routines or modify significantly on newer ones.]

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