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Pamela Reif, Mady Morrison, Anna Engelschall & Co: A training expert analyzes five well-known YouTube athletes.
Pamela Reif is one of the most successful fitness influencers. The 24-year-old has 7.4 million followers on Instagram and 6.2 million on YouTube. Her fortune is estimated at around 4.7 million euros. Unsurprisingly, the marketing machine is still running at full speed. She now has (almost) everything: muesli, protein bars, nut balls, chocolate chips, cookbooks, a fashion collection, her own app and training sessions for at home. It owes its breakthrough to the latter. And we want to know: How good are they actually? Fitness expert Klara Balla analyzed her workout videos and those of four other internet athletes for us.
Pamela Reif
A small point of criticism in advance: Your workouts always start immediately without a warm-up. There is a separate video for this, but the reference to it is missing. This tempts you to start immediately. Warming up is extremely important in order to avoid injuries. Most of the videos are without comments. There are a few and I think they are particularly good because they draw attention to important things during training. Except for proper breathing. This is essential. The focus is on the stomach and buttocks, the focus is more on Burning & Shaping than on muscle building. Most of the time there is no break between exercises. I think at least five seconds would be good, because you lose time just to change positions. You also have the option for a sip of water in between.
What is very positive: There are videos of various lengths. So even if you only have a little time, you can find a workout. The execution is good and variations are also suggested. There are also extra training courses for beginners. I think the visualization is nice and together with the time the next exercise will be faded in. So you know exactly how long the sequence will go. The exercises are mostly at a brisk pace, which is not a bad thing in principle, but you should pay more attention to the quality of the exercise than to the speed.
Anna Engelschall
All videos remain uncommented, but the execution of the exercise is particularly nice. There is always a warm-up and a cool-down, which is very good. It's also great that there are exercises with weights. Otherwise, the focus is on high intensity & full body, but combined with a good portion of strength. What I also find very nice is that in the short break between the exercises the next one is already shown as a video. Time runs by the way and you can see how much you've already achieved. The exercises are all very concentrated and carried out precisely, a beginner would certainly be able to follow them. Unfortunately, there is no training information that indicates abdominal tension or a straight back.
Mady Morrison
It gets a huge plus point for the fact that all videos are well commented. While there are a few fitness clips, the other main focus is on yoga. What I would like to praise are the many videos for beginners. Most of the time, the sequences are rather short and they are very precisely instructed. What is also great: The wide range of mobilization and relaxation exercises that others usually miss out on. But they are essential to keep the body functional and to get as much out of it as possible. In addition to the rather calm workouts, there are also power flows that are tough and combine strength with coordination, endurance and mobility.
Anne Kissner
Another big plus for Anne: She comments on all workouts, gives the right coaching tips and authentically shows that even we trainers sometimes get out of breath.
At the beginning, she always gives a brief overview of the training and how the intervals work, so you can better prepare for what is to come. It is warmed up and stretched at the end and, in addition to the time, variations with / without equipment or lighter or more demanding alternatives are repeatedly displayed for the exercises. The break time is used to explain the next exercise.
The workouts are therefore also great for beginners, the pace is not too fast and if the exercise is too difficult, then try the simplified version.
Rebecca Louise
Rebecca also comments on her workouts. Almost too much for me personally, it is difficult to keep an eye on the essential points. For many, however, it is very motivating when people talk to you all the time. In any case, the most important points to be observed are mentioned and attention is also drawn to breathing. Some videos have included warm-up and cool-down. On the other hand, some don't, you should check that before you start so that you don't go to the exercises without warming up. There are short pauses between the exercises in which the follow-up exercise is faded in. The workouts are good for an intermediate level, sometimes too difficult for beginners and a little too easy for advanced users. It would be great if there were additional variations and adapt the exercise accordingly.
Klara Balla is a personal trainer at John Harris Fitness in Vienna.
