13 Free At-Home Workouts to Gain Strength and Mobility for More Powerful Rides
These apps and videos will keep you cross-training consistently.
Nothing quite beats the convenience of an at-home workout. You get to do a quick 10-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout or Pilates routine from the comfort of your own home—no schlepping to somewhere else. Add in a complimentary element and it’s even easier (and motivating!) to get in a sweat.
Plus, free at-home workouts are an easy and effective way to build exercise into your work day and break up endless hours of binge-watching White Lotus and Emily in Paris. It allows you to add movement snacks to your day, so you’re moving more and sitting less, and helps you get strong, stable, and powerful for better rides. That’s precisely why we rounded up some of our favorite workouts you can do right at home—and at no cost.
Some of these programs, most of which are both phone apps and websites, require payment once a trial period is over, but a few exist solely on YouTube for free. We suggest you try all of them (again, free trial periods!) and see which one is right for your goals. Here, 12 of our favorite, free at-home workouts!
Nike Training Club
This completely free app also features workouts on YouTube and recently announced a partnership with Netflix, making it easy to tune in on a bigger screen. On the platform, you’ll find a mix of long and short routines, those for beginners, as well as workouts focused on strength, endurance, mobility, and more—all designed with athletes in mind.
Yoga With Adriene
Yoga With Adriene has classes that last anywhere from under 10 minutes to an hour, as well as 30-day challenges—and they are all free on YouTube. It’s easy to sort through her options and pick the type of sequence you need at any given moment, including a routine designed specifically for cyclists, one for releasing your hips and lower back, and another for triathletes.
Centr
If you’re curious about actor Chris Hemsworth’s workout routine—and if you watched Limitless, you know he will try just about anything if it promises better health and fitness—look no further than this app. (Hemsworth is the co-founder!) Featuring strength training, kickboxing, recipes, and workout plans, the Centr app offers a free seven-day trial.
Les Mills+
With high-intensity strength and cardio programs that began in gyms, Les Mills has successfully transitioned to living rooms. With a 30-day free trial, all levels of exercisers can choose from a range of programs, including more traditional strength building, barre, balance, and core-focused workouts.
Wahoo SYSTM
SYSTM, which can be purchased on its own or as part of the Wahoo X bundle, can be completed both indoor on your trainer, and also outdoors with Wahoo ELEMNT Cycle GPS computers. The workouts include cycling, strength, yoga, and more. Wahoo X is available as a website or app and offers a free, 14-day trial.
Underbelly Yoga
Trailblazing yogi Jessamyn Stanley offers a two-week free trial for her app and site, Underbelly Yoga. With more 100 yoga, meditation, and wellness classes, you can choose options based on goals, such as mastering inversions, as well as time, yoga style, or mood.
SWEAT
An app, Sweat features female trainers and a variety of programs, including boxing, yoga, barre, and strength training—all great ways for cyclists to cross train and move your body in new ways. Try it for free for seven days.
Balanced Body
If you’ve been looking for a way to correct your cycling posture, try the seven-day trial of Pilates classes, available through Balanced Body. Opt for mat classes that require no equipment, or classes with a variety of Pilates props, like the ring or the Reformer.
Daily Burn
Just like the name says, every single day Daily Burn offers you a chance to try a new workout, often following a HIIT format. If you keep signing on, you’ll feel like part of a community (a bonus for those who love group classes!). You can access it via a website or phone app, or check out some of their YouTube videos. You also get access to longer programs. Sign up for a free, 30-day trial period.
Crunch+
Crunch, famous for its creative classes, brings in-studio workouts right to your living room with Crunch+. The service features workouts of all types, including strength, dance, yoga, and cycling. There are a variety of trainers and classes of all lengths, making them easy to fit in your schedule. Try it out with a 14-day free trial.
Team Body Project
A community of exercisers love Team Body Project for its “we give you everything you need” approach to getting into shape. It’s specifically helpful to beginners who want to learn to strength train and to intensify their cardio workouts. Check out the YouTube videos, the website, or the app for plans that focus on specific workout goals. There is also a free membership (not a trial period), as well as a premium (paid) membership.
OrangeTheory Fitness
If you're a fan of these HIIT studio workouts, you'll also love the at-home versions. OrangeTheory Fitness’s 30-minute online workouts are free, every day. In an OTF studio, you wear a heart rate monitor and keep your heart rate mostly in the orange—the zone that helps you burn fat efficiently and leads to an after-burn effect—by combining cardio with strength training. You can choose from a seemingly endless list of videos that offer quick sessions.
All / Out Studio
Access more than 100 workouts with this app, which offers a free seven-day trial. (You also get free access when you sign up for a Runner’s World premium all-access membership.) Some of the world’s best fitness trainers offer up fully-programmed workouts that help you achieve your athletic goals.
Donna Raskin has had a long career as a health and fitness writer and editor of books and magazine articles. She bikes in a nearby county park, lifts weights, takes Zumba, and loves to walk/run with her dog, Dolly.
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