There's no denying our Instagram feeds are a prime source of motivation. So we've sourced seven of the best social media accounts to help you stay motivated and inspired, grouped by your goals.
For fat-loss fortitude
A Google search of ‘fat loss’ will see enough returns to bring on a migraine. We’ve sorted the sensible from the silly so you can maximise your shred.
Alexa Towersey @actionalexa
What you get:
Along with inspiring quotes and epic action shots (no squatting in a G-string here, folks), Towersey posts weekly examples of fat-burning circuits and booty-building exercises for you to try at home. And as a woman with years of experience and who trains some of Sydney’s top models, you are inclined to take her advice. With a scientific yet readable caption style, Towersey regularly reminds you of why rest, recovery and stress management are integral to your fat-loss goals – ’cause, let’s face it, it’s easy to forget come Monday morning.
What you don’t get:
Half-naked selfies or long opinionated rants, thank goodness. Just knowledge, working examples and ancillary training methods so you can max your goals.
Top tip:
“Train for your objective. Training to put on muscle is very different to training for strength, which is different to training for weight loss and different again to training for a specific sport. Remember, movement is not always progress. You can run in place and never get anywhere.”
Tom Venuto burnthefatblog.com
What you get:
Tips on leaning out from a natural bodybuilder – because why wouldn’t you take advice from those whose job it is to eradicate fat? A science boffin, Venuto posts about once a week and covers current fitness controversies – from the science behind eating more fat to whether you should be performing a crunch. If you’re looking for less-ordinary tips with the backing of a lab coat and academic studies to give you an edge, Venuto is your man.
What you don’t get:
One-size-fits-all workouts, training programs or nutrition plans. This blog is all about current research and the underlying factors affecting progress than cookie cutter routines. Sure, there are example workouts scattered here and there, but it’s not the place to go for daily pre-workout inspiration. You will have to plan your training yourself.
Top tip:
“Doing nothing but cardio is a mistake. But cutting out cardio completely is also a mistake. The truth lies in the middle. Maximum fat burning occurs when you combine cardio training and weight training together. For health and weight maintenance, I would suggest three short cardio workouts per week, about 20 to 30 minutes per session. But for maximum fat loss, I recommend four to seven days per week of cardio or other vigorous physical activity for 30 to 45 minutes (based on results) at a moderate pace.”
NEXT: Muscle madness
For muscle madness
If you’re looking to hit up the weights room to improve strength, tone and support fat loss (or just to look bad-ass – guilty!), these are the web accounts set to inspire.
Lauren Simpson (Snapchat: laurensimpsonnn)
What you get:
This young Sydney-sider is the perfect combo of body composition inspiration and information. You’ll be spoilt with regular rig/ab selfies as she preps for her next bikini comp, behind-the-scenes access to her numerous photoshoots, supplement discount codes, high-protein recipes and – our favourite – weighted workouts ripe for screen-shotting. She even encourages it.
What you don’t get:
Anything cardio based – she just doesn’t do it (ectomorph and naturally lean body shape perks). Simpson is renowned for her powerlifting and hypertrophy protocols to create the curves that have seen her win a recent WBFF pro card, so she may be hard to relate to for those looking to drop fat and create curves more steadily.
Top tip:
A recent leg workout from her Snap stream:
Superset
» Paused squat –
3 sets of 5 reps
» Hamstring curls –
3 sets of 5 reps (toes turned out, heels touching)
» Pendulum squats –
5 sets of 15 reps
» Split squats –
4 sets of 8 reps (each side, back foot elevated)
Nia Shanks (niashanks.com)
What you get:
Blog posts from a qualified trainer about everything from staying motivated to fat loss, but we particularly love her spiels on weight training. Not only do you get specific workouts and training programs based on your goals and time constraints (often with supporting video content), she also explains why you are doing what you are doing – whether that be a certain rep range or using a particular piece of equipment. It’s probably more suited to the intermediate weight lifter – although there are some body weight posts and beginner variations if you are just starting out.
What you don’t get:
Blogs about hitting the weights room to improve ‘flaws’ in your physique. Conversely, you also won’t get the ‘just love yourself as you are’ psycho-babble. Shanks finds a way to balance our mental health and self-confidence with our realistic desire to improve.
Top tip:
“If you strength train with the primary goal of improving your performance in the gym, you are setting yourself up for success. Unlike cardio, strength training is a great way to set positive, motivating goals that will keep you going in the gym week after week, month after month, and year after year.”
NEXT: For flexi fitness
For flexi fitness
The yogi yodas need their social fill too. To bring the zen to your computer screen, here are our top picks for scientific knowledge and practical tips to deepen the stretch.
Kate Kendall @activeyogi
What you get:
Let’s face it – sometimes we just want to chill on the couch, look at some pretty pictures and be inspired to hit the mat in the morning. Aussie-born and -bred yoga instructor Kate Kendall’s Instagram account is our go-to for beautiful bendy moves in obscene scenery. Her captions remind us to get outdoors, be with friends and just stretch. Plus, it’s always kind of interesting to see where her career as a Blackmores ambassador and her own yogi studio take her – whether that be instructing nighttime silent disco yoga sessions or standing side by side with other fitspo celebs.
What you don’t GET:
Actual informative tips on the practice of yoga – for that you will need to head to one of her classes.
Top tip:
Kate shared this quote from Sharon Gannon, founder of Jivamukti Yoga: “You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.” Deep.
Rachel Scott rachelyoga.com
What you get:
Yoga enthusiast and the director of Teachers’ College and Development YYoga, Rachel Scott’s website is all about education. With clean lines and easy-to-read spacing, her blog posts range from the quick and simple step-by-step instructions on a particular pose to a moving diary-style entry on anxiety and depression and how yoga has helped to heal. Encompassing the merging of spirituality and physicality native to true yogis, her blog posts are beautiful, short, sharp and informative, and you can pick and choose what you read depending on your mood or motives for the day – the archives are pretty extensive.
What you don’t get:
Regular updates – admittedly her posts are usually one or two a month, but at other times they are more sparse. If consistency is key to building your relationship with your blogger, then maybe look elsewhere.
Top tip:
“Our mats are not places to be perfect, or even places that we have to be particularly happy. They are places to be authentic. The mat is a place where it’s okay to cry. They are places to give ourselves permission to feel, practise self-care, and use our beautiful physical bodies to potentially shift our experiences. We can move with our feelings rather than cover them up.”
NEXT: For running ragged
For running ragged
For those who love to hit the pavement, these steady-state cardio training accounts will help get the blood pumping.
Deena Kastor @deena8050
What you get:
If you are well and truly sick of an Insta-feed filled with puppies, children (yes, he/she is adorable but…) and green smoothies, take a look at former Olympian Deena Kastor’s running Insta account. Her photographs will have you pining for an active holiday or a stroll around your nearest river with regular snaps of stunning sceneries from her track of that day. Her captions are a mix of inspiring quotes, reflections on the running life and diary entries of her favourite events and experiences. Okay and yes – the odd dog/child/green smoothie does pop up (she has all three). We love it really.
What you don’t GET:
Boring activewear selfies or overtly posed stretches. Refreshingly real, Kastor would rather give you a glimpse of nature and push you to pull on the running shoes rather than her own (albeit lithe) body.
Top tip:
“When faced with a challenge, it’s easy to feel small, but go down that trail as fast and safely as you can and feel as majestic as the mountains that stand over you.”
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