Local fitness instructor going global with YouTube channel

COVID-19 restrictions have left many people stuck at home over the past month, and one local woman’s YouTube fitness channel has seen an international boost in popularity among those who are tying to stay active.

Jennifer Lewis’ channel, Cardio Party Mashup Fitness, is going strong during the pandemic and all of the restrictions that have come with it, and her in-home workouts have been a bright spot for many people who have been forced to stay at home in recent weeks. 

Lewis, who also teaches fitness classes at the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, said she first started her YouTube channel a few years ago to share some of her fitness routines with people who couldn’t attend in person, and began posting on a more regular basis around a year ago.

Her channel, which features cardio workouts set to the beat of popular music, has more than 56,000 subscribers, and many of those have come over the last several weeks as more people are looking for alternatives from going to their gym.

“It’s been growing quite a lot as of late,” she said. 

Lewis said she has always had international subscribers thanks to some of the music that she uses with her workouts, but lately there have been even more people outside the United States that have found her channel. 

When Italy was recently being hit hard by the virus and most of its citizens were quarantined, she had several comments from people who live there who were happy to have the fitness routines, Lewis said. 

She said her channel’s growth has continued over the last several weeks, and she has seen more people subscribing to her page from the United States and from all over the globe, including Korea, Kenya, Indonesia and Australia. 

Many of those people have also expressed their gratitude at having the videos while they are quarantined or staying at home and unable to go to the gym, and seeing so many people using her videos to stay active and stay connected with others has also served as an inspiration for Lewis. 

“It just inspired and encouraged me,” she said. 

Lewis said most of her workout videos feature high-intensity, high-impact exercises, but she also makes sure to include lower intensity motions on the screen at the same time as the higher impact ones. 

She has also made a few videos featuring some of the workout moves in a chair for people with limited mobility who are unable to get up and move around. 

Lewis said there are a lot of people who want to get started with an exercise routine but are intimidated by the high-intensity workout videos that they find on YouTube, so she tries to include the different skill and ability levels so everyone can watch the same video and do the workout routine that works best for them.

“Fitness should be, and is, for everyone,” she said. “I want everybody to feel that I can give them something that meets their needs.”

For those who are at home and looking to become more active while they are unable to hit the gym, Lewis has a simple bit of advice for their first time. 

“I always just say aim for 10 minutes,” she said. 

She said people should find a routine that matches their fitness level and try to do 10 minutes of physical activity. Once those 10 minutes are up, most people will want to keep going, and they can turn that one day of working out into a regular routine. 

In a time like now, when people are having to spend more time in their homes and are unable to get out, it’s important to be active not just for the physical benefits, but the mental ones as well, Lewis said.

She said people may be feeling isolated, depressed or anxious if they are stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a successful workout can bring a sense of accomplishment that can help carry them through to whenever things get back to normal. 

“Focus on what being active can do for you,” she said.