I Let Pinterest Inspire My Workouts For a Week — Here's What Happened

When it comes to the gym, I'm a creature of habit. I stick to the same three machines, say hi to the same group of people, and exercise around the same time of day (I'm a morning workout kind of gal). But with a chronic illness and unpredictable flare ups, it's not always easy to stick to my routine, and in fact, there's lots I'd love to try. There's also some elements of my routine that definitely deserve a little more attention (rest, recovery, flexibility, upper-body strength . . . just to name a few).

I've turned to Pinterest to inspire my life before, most often using it to help visualize my manifestations (a new apartment, a move to the west coast, success in my career, etc.). However, according to Rachel Hardy, Pinterest's director of consumer product marketing, Pinterest might also be the perfect tool to help revamp my fitness regimen. "There are so many ways to use Pinterest to inspire your workouts," Hardy tells PS. "You can really use the platform to create a workout routine completely tailored to you and your needs all in one place."

Encouraged by her words and seeking a boost of motivation myself, I decided to let Pinterest switch up my fitness routine for an entire week. Read on to see what I added to my board, what I did in real life, and how I felt about my Pinterest-ed routine in the end.

As I set out to build the "gymspo" board that would inspire my next week of workouts, I thought about the best parts of my current routine. I had recently re-started my post-work yoga sessions, but wanted to be a little more consistent with my practice, so I added a few at-home yoga set-ups to my board. Similar pin suggestions also made me realize I would like to work on flexibility and mobility. As a former dancer, this is something I used to take for granted, but now — no way. So I saved a few videos with simple stretches for splits and hip openers to get me started.

"At Pinterest, our goal is to give our users inspiration to create a life they love, and fitness can definitely play a role in that," Hardy says. To this point, most of the gymspo pins I added helped me visualize exactly what I wanted my workout routine to feel like by the end of the week. I pinned gym sessions, yoga flows, and mat Pilates, but also sunny outdoor walks, early mornings, and nightly stretches. While Pinterest is full of more specific workout plans — usually in the form of notes-app style lists or week-long regimens — I personally found this visual element the most impactful.

One thing to note: the body checking is real. When looking for "gym girl" inspiration, several of my searches had less to do with fitness, and more to do with physique. At times, I caught myself feeling tempted to pin a post because I wanted to look like the person in the photo — not because I genuinely enjoyed what they were promoting. If you find yourself going down a similar rabbit hole, take a break and try a different search or get more specific with your keywords.

"As you keep searching and interacting with pins, your home feed will begin to change and serve you more content that you may be interested in," Hardy says. "If you've tried a workout or a recipe that doesn't work for you, you can simply remove the pin and find new ideas that inspire you instead."

My energy is typically highest at the beginning of the day, so I prefer to get my workouts in early. That said, prior to this experiment, I'd fallen into a tough cycle of staying up late, doom-scrolling, and struggling to wake up on time for the gym. One of the elements on my board was to go to bed and wake up earlier, and I'm happy to report I did this successfully.

Don't go into an experiment like this trying to turn your life into a literal Pinterest board. Take it from me: the reality of your picture-perfect gymspo is likely a lot harder, sweatier, and more demanding than it looks online. But that doesn't mean it can't motivate you to up your game.

Having a visual representation of what you want to accomplish is massively motivating. It makes you think about what you truly value, what you can improve upon, and what you want to try. I didn't re-write the entire script, but in a mere week, Pinterest helped me get more consistent, tweak my existing gym routine, try some new workouts, and add a few new fitness goals to my list. The final regimen might not look as pretty as it did on my board, but it did yield real results, and honestly? I'd pin that.

Chandler Plante (she/her) is an assistant health and fitness editor for PS. She has over four years of professional journalism experience, previously working as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributing to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group.