RACHEL IS MY FITNESS

Yes, I talk about Rachel Robinson (otherwise known as "Rachel Fitness") a lot. That's because she changed the way I look at strength training and revamped my fitness routine with her virtual workouts.

I have always loved cardio but never put such an emphasis on strength training because I didn't think it was that big of a deal for women to lift weights. Turns out that strength training is just as important for women as it is for men. To attain fat loss and gain muscle, strength training is a necessary component to any fitness routine. In fact, to achieve your healthiest and strongest body, many would argue that strength training is more important than cardio. Rachel's exercises make you stronger, not bulkier. Rachel's workouts incorporate weights, resistance training and cardio bursts. After a few weeks of doing these workouts, I saw dramatic changes to my body. I had built lean muscle. But most importantly, I got stronger. Those little Peloton weights at the edge of the bike no longer cut it for me. I couldn't do a burpee when I started with Rachel in December. Now, I tackle burpee into reverse burpee for a full minute with ease... well, not with ease... but I can do it!

Spoiler... the exercises are the same for men and women! And its all about strength.

Here is the deal with this workout and why I tell everyone about it.

It's creative. Rachel live streams her workout so everyone can join and she does the workouts alongside her community. She grunts through the exercises with us! When we all went into quarantine last March, the world stood still in shock... not Rachel Robinson. Rachel immediately pivoted. It's this creativity and flexibility that has given businesses and communities light during a very dark time.

It's convenient. Everyone can work 30 minutes into their life. No need to log in or pay in advance. You just show up to the workouts on Instagram every Monday through Friday 8:30-9:00 am. Can't make it LIVE-- Rachel immediately posts the workouts to IGTV or YouTube. And you don't need a ton of equipment. Usually just a mat, some weights (medium or heavy) and sometimes, bands. She tells you what to bring prior to the workout and sells the equipment on her site, if you need.

It's consistent. I know these Rachel Fitness workouts are always there for me. On that first day of lockdown, Rachel began her virtual platform to stay connected with her clients and has not missed a single day since. Actually, she missed ONE day because she had the stomach bug. Her whole community (myself included) was very worried about her when she didn't go live at 8:30 that morning because we know that our girl always shows up! There are no plans for Rachel to stop, even as the world reopens.

And most importantly, these workouts are community driven. A few hundred people will do the workouts live with Rachel each morning and thousands more tune in later in the day. We all share our love and support for Rachel, each other and these workouts. We post about them. We talk about them. We share them with others. Rachel gives shoutouts and personal cheers as people comment on IG during the workout. She created this community and it has grown to include people in countries as far as Israel and Sweden. In turn, Rachel trusts that her community will SUPPORT her. The fitness industry has been hit hard so Rachel is sensitive to the fact that people were, and are still, struggling. She asks her viewers to support what they can.

Rachel was already pretty well known in the fitness world before she created this platform. She is the director of training development at Barry's Miami. Barry's is a training studio and HIIT workout with locations all over the world (Philadelphia included). You may also recognize Rachel from MTV's Road Rules.

What I appreciate the most about Rachel is that she is relatable. She is a mom of three young children, who have been home with her for a majority of the past year. Because of that, her kids sometimes are floating around her during the workouts. For me, this took the pressure off of my own workout time. I allowed my kids join to join in too! In fact, they have gotten used to Rachel's voice. And my little guy is always extra interested when Rachel's daughter, Ari, appears on the scene. During the Christmas Eve workout, Rachel's son kept playing the techno Rudolph song over and over again. I could not stop laughing through that entire workout. Another time, Rachel was spinning her son around and knocked her daughter over, live on camera. It's these imperfect, unplanned and relatable moments that make Rachel so endearing. I feel like I know her and her family even though I have never met any of them!

This is pretty standard for me. This guy loves to climb on my back when I am holding a plank.

You can check out Rachel every weekday on Instagram, 8:30-9 am. She usually is a few minutes late, so hang tight if you don't see the Live pop up exactly at 8:30 am.  Here is her weekly line-up:

Monday🏃FULL BODY (my fav)

Tuesday👏 BACK AND CHEST

Wednesday 💪 ARM DAY

Thursday🦶LEG DAY 

Friday🍑ASS AND ABS

Rachel also does individualized small group Zoom training sessions, which I have done a few times. It was a fun way to workout "with" friends when we could not physically workout together.

Me and some friends doing a private Rachel Fitness session over Zoom back in January.

Rachel's has no plans to stop these workouts. As the world reopens, she hopes to tour or plan retreats to bring her community together. Rachel, please be sure to put the Main Line on that world tour!