If you’ve been here on the blog or following my Instagram for a while, you know I actually like to workout, even in my travels! For me, it’s the most impactful fighter of jet lag, and it makes me feel good after a long flight or a relatively sleepless night. 

Not everyone wants to workout on travel, and that is 100% okay! But for those of us who do, it can be challenging to find a program or app or virtual trainer who can “meet you where you are,” and who has a balanced view of fitness and living in real life. I started following @bodyfitbyamy at the recommendation of a friend a year or so ago, and because of my own fitness and wellness journey, I was completely hooked. Here’s why, and how you can join in!

*Note: This post is not sponsored in any way. You know that in everything I write about on the blog, I only recommend the things I truly love!

Why BodyFit By Amy?

Healthy Motivation from Amy

Amy and the whole BodyFit team are incredibly positive, supportive, and realistic. One of my favorite “Amy-isms” is, “Be where you are today.” This is such a breath of fresh air from the “normal” fitness world. Instead of telling you to ignore your body’s signals, push through no matter what, go hard all the time, never stop, etc., Amy actually encourages you to listen to your body, and she even gives you suggestions to modify any exercise as needed. 

What I love about Amy’s approach is that everyone can workout. She says, “If you showed up, you are successful.” She’ll tell you that you can do it, whatever it is, even if you need to modify for any reason. She’ll always remind you to challenge yourself, but she’ll balance that with being where you are today, whatever that means for you!

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Access to a Vivian, Registered Dietitian

Vivian is the part of the BodyFit by Amy membership model that sealed the deal for me. I had an eating disorder for 22 years. I used to read all the weight loss articles, figured out creative ways to manipulate my body and metabolism, and went to all the extremes. And then I went to therapy for seven years.

Because of my personal experiences, I’ve developed a strong B.S. radar, as well as my own balanced view of food and eating. So when I talked to Vivian and heard her philosophies of “all foods fit” and “nutrition by addition,” I knew that I could trust her, and that we would get along great!

She is a registered dietitian-nutritionist, not just someone who “knows a lot” about food and eating and weight management. She also has a science-based view of all things nutrition, but she can always explain things in a way that even non-scientists (that’s me!) can understand. She also brings all the sass and the legit myth-busting to every conversation, which I find completely entertaining and even refreshing!

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Themes

If you know me, you know I love a good theme! Amy and Vivian create their workouts and nutrition discussion topics around a theme or challenge each month, keeping everything fresh and fun. Some of my recent favorites are “February Fresh,” where each workout for an entire month was a different format; and “October Athlete,” where we trained like athletes in an non-intimidating way; and this spring’s “Move Through the Decades” series where workouts were themed for the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s! Every challenge is fun, but also effective and easy to stick with. Life is best lived in theme!

More on my Health and Wellness Page!

Flexibility

Amy is one of the most flexible trainers out there, and I don’t just mean she teaches yoga! Not only will she give you ways to modify every exercise to “work to your level,” she will also be the first to tell you that you can go “off calendar,” or off her suggested schedule whenever you need or just want to do something different. 

Take an unscheduled rest day, then jump back into the workouts when you’re ready. Don’t like kickboxing? Do a different workout on a kickboxing day. It’s easier to stick with something that gives you both flexibility and permission to restart when you want to. I love the that. Again, it’s a breath of fresh air in an industry that has thrived on rigidity for so long. 

Full confession: How Travel Helped Heal my 22-year Eating Disorder

How the App Works

All of Amy’s workouts are on YouTube, with ads, but BodyFit Athletic Club subscribers get access to the workouts on her ad-free BodyFit By Amy app. I love the app so much! Amy and Vivian give subscribers so much material, so many resources, and so many workouts. It would be very easy to become overwhelmed, but the app keeps it all in one, organized, easily-accessible place. Here are my favorite features:

Workouts

Amy changes things up in her workouts often so you never get bored. The basic outline of each week is three strength-training workouts, one cardio workout, and one active rest workout. Within that, you’ll find workouts that use dumbbells, kettlebells, mini bands, TRX, and no equipment, plus formats like kickboxing, mobility, yoga, pilates, barre, and more. Don’t have the equipment for that day’s workout? Use what you have, or keep it bodyweight. Here again, Amy encourages you to be flexible and be where you are today! 

All the workout calendars and challenges are organized together in the app, but if a schedule doesn’t work for you, you can find something else easily. All the bodyweight workouts are together, all the dumbbell workouts are together, all the kettlebell, TRX, mini band, cardio, pilates, active recovery, barre, and yoga workouts are organized in their own categories so you can find them easily and pick the format you want!

Or, skip the vacation workouts and just walk everywhere!
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Live Events

This is one of the best parts of the BodyFit Athletic Club! Three days a week, members get to chat in real-time with Amy, Vivian, or both. Vivian covers all the nutrition topics, Amy covers all the workout topics, and members can ask either of them absolutely anything. They host “Office Hours” on Zoom once a month, too!

Topics usually go with the theme of the month, and honestly, I’ve learned more in the few months since I’ve been using the app than I ever thought I wanted to learn about health and nutrition. Again, I have well-honed B.S. radar when it comes to food and fitness talk, so you can believe me when I tell you they are the real deal!

Community

This is one of the best features of the app. You don’t need to be on social media to interact with Amy, Vivian, or the BodyFit Community! The “Community” feature of the app lets you connect to other members, encourage each other, and post similarly to how you would on Facebook. For anyone who’s as frustrated with social media as I always am, you don’t need it!

More here: How to Practice Self Care on Travel

Workouts I Love for Travel

Here’s the heart of it all! I’ve worked out with Amy in Croatia, French Polynesia, Spain, Egypt, Curaçao, Israel, Canada, Hawai’i, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, D.C., and more places all over the world, with or without a hotel gym! I can usually follow the calendar, but when I’m limited on equipment, here are my favorites to choose from. 

No Equipment Workouts

You’ll be amazed at what you can do, and use how hard you’ll work, using just your own bodyweight! It’s not just squats and pushups, either. Amy gets really creative, and trust me, you will feel worked over after one of her no equipment workouts!

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Mini Band Workouts

Mini bands are the ultimate travel-friendly piece of workout equipment. They weigh almost nothing, take up almost no space, and they will take your muscles to the next level. You can work your whole body with just one band, and you will be the best kind of sore the next day! I’ve done mini band workouts everywhere—even in-flight!

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Active Recovery Workouts

This is something I knew I needed but never want to do on my own. Sitting on a plane, dealing with jet lag, and just being out of your normal routine really takes a toll on your body, and that mobility work feels so good! 

Amy includes an active recovery workout every week, but I’ll also use them as a first workout in a new time zone, as a gentle way to wake up my body. Or they’re great as a post-flight or post-road trip workout to get the blood flowing again. Amy works stretching and mobility into all of her workouts, but especially on the active recovery workouts. 

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Equipment Suggestions

You honestly don’t need a whole lot of equipment for Amy’s workouts! Even on the weight training-based workouts, she’ll give you a body weight workout suggestion if you need that instead. That said, when I’m home or at a hotel gym, it is nice to really go heavy and get more of a challenge with the equipment below.

Dumbbells and Kettlebells

You can use either of these, or both! I don’t have kettlebells at my condo gym at home, and they are not too common in hotel gyms either, so I modify using a dumbbell most of the time. But I know there is at least one man in the BodyFit Athletic Club who almost exclusively uses kettlebells! Use what you have, or pick your favorites below:

Mini Bands

As I mentioned above, mini bands are perfect for travel, and for home! These are inexpensive, easy to use, and will definitely give you a challenge. They’re affectionately called “Booty Bands” for a reason! 

Yoga Mat

This is the one thing I would say you’ll definitely need, unless you don’t mind laying on the floor often, and you will need it for several exercises! 

Read next: How to Practice Self Care on Travel

Why Travelers Will Love the App

You know I don’t waste my time on things that don’t work for my travels. I’ve tried a lot of fitness apps over the last few years, and BodyFit By Amy is the best one that I’ve found to keep me moving, even through the jet lag and the tight spaces!

Structure and Flexibility

I thrive on structure. But the only way that really works for me is to have flexibility within that structure. Amy totally gets that, and her calendar system provides both! I get the workouts for the week all at once, and I can do them in any order I choose—or I can skip or modify when needed!

Do Anywhere Workouts

Amy also gives members bodyweight workout alternatives in strength training days, which is perfect for those amazing boutique hotels I love, but that often don’t have gyms. I’ve worked out with Amy in city parks, hotel rooms, under palm trees, on balconies, and in sub-par hotel gyms all over the world. She always comes through with ways to make it work, or permission to do my own thing when space is limited or awkward!

Downloadability

This is probably the best part of the app I didn’t even know I needed. Wifi is not always perfect, and cell service is not always available. Thank goodness for the ability to download! I like to download workouts before a trip, so I don’t have to worry if the signal will be strong enough for streaming at my destination. Also amazing is the ability to download “Live” events to catch up on later. If I can’t make it to a Live event, I can easily download it to catch up on a long flight, car ride, or walk. 

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Pricing

Here’s the deal: The BodyFit Athletic Club (BAC) is the best deal in the virtual town. With it, you get full access to all aspects of the app, you get the workouts early, you have access to the BodyFit community, you have direct access to Amy, AND you get the one thing that sets the BAC apart from other fitness apps: Vivian, the BodyFit Registered Dietitian-nutritionist!

I realize the full membership is not in everyone’s budget, so here’s the breakdown. And if you click this link to join, you’re getting full access to everything in the app, and you’ll be supporting me, too!

FREE Workouts on YouTube

This is a great option if you just want the workouts! There will be ads, but Amy’s workouts go live on YouTube every day at 5:00am Eastern Time, Monday-Friday. If you sign up for the BodyFit By Amy newsletter (also FREE), you can get YouTube links to the workouts for the entire week on Sunday, so you can do them in any order you like throughout the week. 

Subscribe Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annually, or Annually

If you want to try out the membership without a long commitment, you try it out monthly for $34.99; quarterly for $99.99; or semi-annually for $179.99. These are great options if you just want to see what it’s like before you fully commit.

However, would you believe me if I told you that the annual membership fee is less than one month’s cost of a personal trainer? And it’s basically like you’re throwing in the dietitian for free! Get the annual plan for $299.

Keep reading: The Best Fitness Apps for Travelers

As a reminder, this post is not sponsored in any way. My fitness journey is better because of Amy and Vivian and their entire philosophy around fitness, wellness, and being where you are every day. If you’d like to join the BodyFit Athletic Club (BAC) and get full access to the app, please use this link and tell me that you’ll see me in the BAC!

Want more? Get the most balanced travel and fitness info on my Health and Wellness Page!

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