Ahhh Christmas. Tis the season for eating, drinking and being merry. But, if you’re not careful, all that indulgence can leave you feeling a little blah. Exercise is a terrific way to keep your energy up and burn some of those extra calories. To help you stay active over the Christmas season and the rest of the year, here are 15 of my favourite 15-minute YouTube workouts.

This post was originally published in December 2021 and updated in January 2025.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that physical activity is the best thing you can do for your health. They suggest spreading out your activity throughout the week and breaking it up into smaller chunks to make it easier to fit in the recommended 150 minutes a week. In just 15 minutes every day, you’ll be 70% of the way there!

We can all find 15 minutes in our day to squeeze in some movement, right? Set a goal to do at least one workout a day over the Christmas holidays. Your body will thank you. And you won’t even need to leave the house, so these workouts are great for couch potatoes!

15-Minute YouTube Workouts

Jessica Smith

Jessica is a trainer whose workouts I enjoy. I find her style to be encouraging without being overly perky. Her YouTube channel has a variety of different workouts—all easy to do at home in a small space.

15-minute cardio + coordination

This is a fat-burning, agility-improving workout that you can do in a small space with no equipment.

In addition to cardio, it includes coordination exercises to improve balance—something we all need to think about as we get older.

15-minute quick at-home fat burning cardio blast

This is an easy low-impact workout with high-impact options that will make it a little more challenging. Again, it makes great use of space with a variety of movement.

1 mile walk & talk – The value of simplicity

Jessica’s Walk & Talk series is like going for a walk and having a chat with a friend. In this low-impact walking video, she discusses the value of simplicity. One of my favourite quotes: “Failure is an opportunity to begin again”.

Lucy Wyndham-Read

Lucy is a qualified trainer with years of experience. I love that all her workouts can be done in a small space with no equipment. With over 1,000 videos on her YouTube channel, there really is something for everyone!

Lucy is one of my favourites so I’ve included several of her 15-minute YouTube workouts here.

14-minute 2 week challenge for better health

In this video, Lucy provides a seated and standing option. It includes 14 moves—a 10-second demo followed by 50 seconds of exercise. It’s a great full body workout that anyone can do.

Walking workout – 2000 steps – Walk at home

An easy way to get your step count up, Lucy alternates 20 seconds of marching with 40 seconds of full-body movement. If you’re in the mood for a longer workout, combine this one with her 1000, 3000 or 4000 walking videos.

1 mile walking at home – walking exercise for weight loss

I enjoy this one because it has a split screen showing an outdoor path, so it gives you the feeling of walking outdoors. It alternates 60 seconds of low impact, total body movement with 30 seconds of high intensity movement.

15-minute no jumping – low impact cardio workout

This video has a beautiful beach backdrop—just what you need to brighten your day during the short days of winter. It has seven moves, each with a short demo followed by 50 seconds of movement. Then, after a short break, the seven moves are repeated.

It’s an easy low-impact workout with absolutely no jumping.

Walking exercises for weight loss

This video has 15 moves, each done for 60 seconds. Again, it’s low impact. For each move, Lucy adds a coin to the jar because exercise is an “investment in your future health”. It’s fun to watch the jar fill up as you get closer to the end.

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Fabulous 50s – Schellea Fowler

Schellea’s workouts are designed for women over 50 but, honestly, they are suitable for everyone. I enjoy her calming and encouraging style. Her workouts are done to music—usually energetic pop music, but sometimes more calming and relaxing music.

15-minute walking workout with (optional) dumbbells

This full-body workout includes five minutes of warmup and abs, five minutes of legs and glutes, and five minutes of arm exercises.

The moves alternate every 30 seconds, so the 15 minutes fly by.

15-minute indoor walking workout – low impact

With 30 seconds of walking, followed by 30 seconds of full-body low-impact movement, set to some fun salsa music, this one is a fun change of pace.

15-minute FULL BODY Christmas workout

Who doesn’t love working out to Christmas music? Schellea gets us ready for the season saying, “It’s the workout you do when you don’t feel like doing anything else”.

Again, it’s a full-body workout covering arms, legs, core and cardio with 50 seconds of movement followed by a 10-second rest. Dumbbells are optional if you want to add a little more challenge.

For more Christmas themed workouts, check out this post.

Marion Brand – Brand Fitness

I discovered Marion on YouTube a couple of months ago and I’m so glad I did. Wanting to add a Canadian fitness YouTuber to my existing lineup of British, Australian, and American ladies, I did some searches. Marion is fabulous. If you like workouts with no talking and great music, you will love her videos. Like Schellea, her workouts are targeted at the 50+ age group, but they’re suitable for all ages.

Cardio blast – classic rock – medium pace

In this fun video, we start with a “Magic Carpet Ride” which has us asking “Should I stay or should I go?” We get the answer to that with some “California Dreamin”. The video wraps up with some favourites from Queen and the Rolling Stones. What’s not to love?

Latin pop walking workout at home

This one is a fun and energetic cardio workout set to Latin pop music. It will really get your heart pumping! The 15 minutes and 2,000 steps really fly by!

New channels for 2025

I like to keep things fresh so I’m always on the lookout for new YouTube channels to follows. The final two workouts are from a couple of new fitness YouTubers I’ve discovered who produce content targeted at seniors and beginners.

Strength training at home for women over 50 – Improved Health

Jules puts together simple, easy to follow routines targeted at seniors. Her channel has a variety of short and longer workouts targeting all the important areas of fitness—cardio, strength, balance and flexibility.

This workout uses hand weights for some simple strength exercises. I love that she provides explanations about which body part you’re working and tips on proper form.

10 exercises for balance and fall prevention – Senior Shape Fitness

Lauren’s channel is a terrific place for beginners and seniors. Like Jules, she offers a variety of workout types and lengths, with many modifications and seated options for those with mobility concerns.

As we age, it’s important to work on our balance to maintain mobility and prevent falls. This workout is a bit shorter than 15 minutes but I included it because this is an area that’s often overlooked.

My full 15-minute workout playlist

I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks off work to spend with my daughters during their break from college. I hope you’ll join me and commit to staying active over the Christmas holidays. I’ve saved all these videos—and a few other 15-minute YouTube workouts—to a YouTube playlist so you can easily find them.

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I love to discover new workout channels. Do you have favourite YouTube workout videos or channels? Tell me about them below. And if you have any more 15-minute YouTube workouts I can add to my list, let me know.