Hello everyone! I’m super excited to announce that I have been certified in yet another group fitness format – HIGH Yo!

What is HIGH Yo? It’s the latest format from HIGH Fitness, which I’ve been certified in since 2020 (yes, that was a pandemic purchase for me haha).

The website describes HIGH Yo as:

Yoga inspired, music driven stretching. HIGH Yo was created to help people fall in love with stretching and start including it into their routines on a more regular basis. This lighthearted format incorporates stretching, strength and balance to improve overall health, and show what a difference stretching can make in our lives and for our bodies. HIGH Yo was created to leave you feeling amazing, help you appreciate and take care of your body, help prevent injuries, and maintain overall good health. With HIGH Yo we embrace the fact that every body is different, and we hope to inspire and encourage participants to embrace and love the body they have, both on and off the mat. Most importantly, HIGH Yo is FUN – say goodbye to boring old stretching and say hello to HIGH Yo!

HIGH Fitness website

In the virtual training I did in October, the creator Amber Zenith kept emphasizing that HIGH Yo is NOT yoga but rather yoga inspired. I think she was always careful to make this distinction because she herself is a certified yoga instructor, so she knows how many hours and hour and hours of training people have to put into becoming yoga instructors. HIGH Yo certification was just a one day training, and it’s really more about the stretching rather than the whole philosophy and mindset of yoga.

Yoga hasn’t really been my favorite way to workout anyway. It’s sort of too slow for me, I guess. But I know that stretching is important. So I was excited when HIGH Yo was introduced to the HIGH Live platform last year. Like the rest of my workouts, if I’m not having fun I probably won’t stretch like I should. HIGH Yo was perfect for me to ensure I gave my muscles what they needed, without feeling like I had to force myself to do it. I’m never consistent if I feel that way!

Just like HIGH Fitness and HIGH Low, the class is set to real music that people know and love. Not the royalty-free stuff that most group fitness classes are set to. I mean, that music is fine. But it really never gets me as excited to workout as the real songs do.

Unlike the other two HIGH formats, which have four class lengths, there are only two HIGH Yo lengths: the 50 minute and the 30 minute. The former is a full workout in itself because it has stretching, cardio and strength tracks. The latter is more about full body stretching.

I have anxiously been waiting for the chance to get certified and now I finally am! Who wants to take a virtual class with me? Comment with what days and times work you!