At-home workouts are more popular than ever, and if you're looking to fill a yoga studio-sized hole in your heart, Alo Moves might be the virtual workout of your quarantine dreams. Alo Moves streams on-demand yoga, fitness, and mindfulness classes, and is an extension of Alo Yoga—the athleisure brand that counts everyone from Kendall Jenner to Hailee Steinfeld as fans.
Before social distancing, I used to balk at the idea of "sweating it out" in my apartment. I like running, but between face masks and dodging people on the street, exercising outside is as stressful as it is relaxing these days. Finding a workout routine that I could easily do at home is what first got me interested in Alo Moves—that, and the fact that I used to go to the Alo Yoga studio in SoHo pre-quarantine, but it's the teachers and variety of lessons that keep me coming back for more.
An Alo Moves membership works like this: For $20 a month, you get unlimited access to thousands of video classes from beginner level to advanced. But with everything going in the world right now, Alo Moves is making its platform more accessible by offering a 14-day free trial, plus a free month for all new members after signing up. If you want to commit long-term, it's also offering half off on its annual membership (so $99 instead of $199) for a whole year. It's a pretty sweet deal if you think about the price of a drop-in class, which can range between $15-$30 in New York City—or if you did ClassPass, which can be upwards of $49/month.
One of the most impressive things about Alo Moves—and the reason I'm not bored-in-the-house and-in-the-house-bored—is how many workouts there are. Every week, Alo drops new courses: some videos target specific concerns like tight shoulders, hips, or hamstrings, while others focus on strengthening individual muscle groups like your arms, legs, and core. And if yoga sequences are really not your thing, the platform also has other options like barre, HIIT, meditation, and prenatal stretching, which you all can pin to your virtual practice board.
It me wearing (you guessed it) a matching Alo set.
Alo Yoga Offset Bralette
Alo Yoga High-Waist Airlift Capri
If you're wondering how beginner-friendly Alo Moves actually is, rest assured, there's enough entry-level content to keep you occupied for weeks. Of course, if you're interested in advancing your practice, the platform makes it easy to learn more challenging poses like handstands, splits, and back-bending. For instance, I've been working towards doing the full splits with Kayla Nielsen's "Discover Your Splits" 30-day challenge. The challenge (or skill series) is spread out over four weeks, with each week including five 10-15 minute drills a day, a 35-minute flow on the sixth day, and then a rest day. The skill series are cool because they provide purpose, not to mention it's also nice to work towards something at your own pace and without having to feel self-conscious about others around you like you would in a full group.
About those teachers: I've been digging the classes by Briohny Smith, Ashley Galvin, and Kayla Nielsen, but the beauty of on-demand videos is that you can find the teachers you vibe with the most and skip the others without fear of a dreaded cancellation fee. They're all obviously ridiculously flexible and strong, but their teaching style is in no way intimidating. They joke about being tired from too many bicycle kicks, they fall out of poses… It's all very chill, like you're working out with a friend. Plus, they talk you through important posture adjustments, and I feel in some way that their attention to detail is even better than an IRL class.
Even a 15-minute flow (sometimes that's all the energy I can muster) gives my amorphous days a sense of routine, and moving my body just feels good after sitting in a chair for hours. I definitely didn’t expect to get hooked on a workout platform during quarantine, but I’m grateful I've found something that encourages me to woosah through these times.
Alo Moves One Year Membership
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