YouTube fitness star, Em K fit has been putting the bops and the booty back into our fitness routine since the first lockdown hit back in March – and with over over 95,000 subscribers, there’s no denying that this girl knows how to make fitness fun again. With the UK back under lockdown, we caught up with Emily to talk about food, YouTube and working out at home.
Tell us about your love of fitness, how did it all start?
I was always active. I’m a former competitive dancer and I was used to dancing 20+ hours a week up until high school graduation. Then all of a sudden I went to university and realized how much I depended on exercise to stay in shape and even more importantly for my mental health. I was later diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD. That’s when I decided to give the gym a try. I had no idea what I was doing. But I knew I felt better. To this day, fitness has always been about mental health first for me.
What does your average week of training look like?
It’s a lot different now that I’m teaching both in class (or live classes during lockdown), and now filming for a YouTube channel. There’s such a thing as working out too much so between filming and recording all these workouts I don’t often get time on my own to workout for just myself. An ideal workout schedule for me is 2 leg days, 1 or 2 upper body days, and 3 days of dancing/ HIIT cardio a week and of course one potato day.
What do you eat in a day?
If I were to put an official term on it. I guess you could say I practice “intuitive eating”. Which basically means I eat what I want and when I want. I never deprive myself. And I find it helpful to focus on how I eat vs what I eat. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full. I love carbs, I eat lots of protein and of course tacos every Tuesday.
Your Youtube channel is flying, tell us how that began!
By complete accident. When COVID hit Canada in March, I lost my job at the gym, had to move home with my parents 8 hours away from the city and I had just broken up with someone. I knew that my mental health was in danger so I knew that it was so important to get my butt on social media and do some live workouts to keep myself accountable. One of my old roommates from university reached out to me. She runs her own Disney Youtube channel and asked if I would do a Disney themed workout for it! I said why not thinking it would get a couple hundred views. Well over 1 million views later, I knew we had done something special and that it was time to start my own channel. The rest is history!
Have you ever faced any negativity online, and if so, how do you deal with it?
Honestly I’ve been pretty lucky so far. Of course there’s always a few internet trolls but I’ve never experienced anything truly mean or negative (knock on wood). However, I’ve had to deal with a lot of copy cats—other you tubers that copy my class name, my style, my themes, etc. I keep my head down and don’t get involved. At the end of the day I know my content is all original and I’m very proud of it.
What advice would you give anyone training in lockdown or isolation?
We are all in this together. That’s the one unique thing about this whole situation, is that it’s completely global. We can sit and make excuses or we can try to make the best of it. Whether or not you have access to equipment there’s always something we can do. Going for walks, doing a pop blaster, I’ve even done workouts with bottles of wine! The point is, even if we don’t get the most amazing workout, if we get up and just do something it’s going to help so much more than we think.
If you could only do one exercise forever what would it be?
Sumo deadlifts. It’s a compound exercise that really focuses on hamstrings and glutes. And it makes me feel like a badass when I can lift something heavy.
What are you top 3 workout essentials?
- A good water bottle that keeps my water extra cold. I use the hydro flask or the stainless steal one from my merch.
- A banging playlist
- A sweat towel. I literally can’t survive through a workout without it. I get nastyyy.
What is your go-to workout track?
It changes all the time but people know how obsessed I am with the song “Bunx Up” by Deewun and Marcy Chin. It’s such a bop.
Ultimate cheat meal?
Tacos. And pasta. And wine. Preferably all 3 at once.
Tell us about your new clothing range!
I have been using the sayings “fake it til you make it” and “wrong and strong” since the moment I became a fitness instructor. They helped me through my own fitness journey so I wanted to share that with others. After the first Disney HIIT people immediately started asking for a shirt that said “wrong and strong” because I think so many people identified with the saying. In the fitness industry there’s a huge amount of pressure on everyone, whether you’re a trainer or a beginner, to do things perfectly. That is something I want to combat. Because it makes fitness less accessible and even more intimidating than it already is. And these clothes have helped us create an amazing community of clowns where we can celebrate being wrong and strong. We have something for everyone with sizes ranging from extra small up to 4XL. And people can pick what they’re comfortable wearing whether its a crop top or a sweater that has those sayings on it! I also have the best designer in the world who managed to make my vision cute and fashionable!
Shop Emily’s collection here.
Jen is our resident wellness and features editor here at The Daily Struggle. You will probably find her on the beach, painting her house or writing about magick and motherhood.
