5 Fitness Instagram Accounts You Should Be Following This April

Are you after some kick-ass women to follow on Instagram? You’ve come to the right place.

Every month we search Instagram’s discover page in search of new and exciting users that will have you running to the gym. Some of these women are at the top of their game and others have only just begun their fitness journey, but they all have something in common –they will all inspire you.

Christie Bailey (aka christie__bailey)

Our April cover star and Bodybuilding.com Spokesmodel Search 2017 winner, Christie Bailey, is a fitness model who honestly, is inspiring. Leaving her job behind and dedicating herself to the health and fitness industry led her to fulfilling her dream of being on a magazine cover. Her impressive training and discipline saw her through the competition and now she’s left her unchallenging 9-5 job behind and is living her dream.

Follow if you want: To be inspired.

Today was a day that I had waited two years for. A day that I thought.. was so crazy, so unattainable, that it could never possibly come. . Today my dad and I went to the grocery store and we saw my magazine cover right there on the stands. ???????? . That was such an incredibly special moment for me, because less than two years ago I remember writing down in my @passionplanner that my three year goal was to be on the cover of a fitness magazine, and to be sponsored by a fitness company. (Hi @bodybuildingcom and @built_apparel ????????) . I remember feeling SO silly and embarrassed for writing those goals down. Feeling like they were so far-fetched. (If you’d like to see all my goals that I wrote, swipe left! I took a picture.) . I’m showing you guys this because I want you to know that no matter how crazy your dream is, or how ‘unrealistic’ other people will tell you it is – it’s NOT. The reason people think your dreams are unrealistic is because they don’t have the courage to dream big themselves – they are afraid of failure and therefore tell themselves it is impossible in order to avoid this fear of theirs. And soon, after too much exposure to these naysayers, you start to have those doubts too. . Don’t doubt. DREAM BIG, WORK HARD. That is why I have that saying in my Instagram bio, to remind you, and remind me, every single day, that anything is achievable if you’re willing to envision it and PUT. IN. THE. WORK.????????❤ I believe in your crazy dreams! Now it's time you do too.

A post shared by Christie Bailey IFBB Pro (@christie__bailey) on Apr 1, 2017 at 5:47pm PDT

Courtney Daniels (aka courtneysfitlife_)

There’s no denying that Courtney is a gorgeous lady. The scientist/wife/mama/yoga teacher (and all round bass-ass woman) has over 65k Instagram followers and a hugely successful blog. She knows what it’s like to not have enough time to workout, especially being a new mum.

She discovered Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide community in 2014, got hooked and has since become a frequent guest on Kayla’s own page. Her feed is filled with beautifully shot pictures of fitness, food and her baby and dog.

Follow if you want: Someone who shares the negatives as well as the positives.

I'm all about self-love and cultivating that at every stage in your journey. It's a beautiful thing. But, I'm going to be real here, that shit is hard sometimes. Last week I took a progress photo and had a mini freak out for about 3 days. I saw clear regression in my body that made me feel inadequate and disappointed. I refused to recognize how far I've come physically and mentally and I started comparing current photos to photos of myself at my leanest and comparing myself to others. I was sinking into old patterns of associating how I looked with what I was worth. I am not at my leanest or strongest. I've been tracking my nutrition more loosely than normal. I've been training my best given my life at the moment but not how I usually do and not my hardest. I've been injured and sick, I've been managing routine changes and total schedule overhauls. I'm weighing heavier and measuring larger. My definition has softened as have my hips have rounded out a bit more than I like. It's not ideal, but this is life. I want you to know we all go through these phases. No one is immune. No matter what you look like or where you are in your journey, those negative thoughts still creep in sometimes. For me, self-love is a process, it's not something where you just decide "well I guess I'm going to try that whole self-love thing now" and the next day you're totally in love with yourself and glowing. It's something you have to strive for and work at. Negative thoughts still creep in no matter what you're body looks like. Insecurities still pop up. You still have times where you feel like you're not enough, and that's okay. The important thing is that you recognize it. You recognize those thoughts are coming from an irrational, destructive, place of fear, and that they do not serve you, and you let them go. We have to embrace our imperfection, trust our journey, and accept that we will have set backs and come backs. We have to feel all the feels, go through all the things, make the many mistakes, learn from these things, and just keep right on moving forward. Our worth is not tied to a result. We are flawed and we are beautiful. #perfectlyimperfect #keepingitreal

A post shared by C o u r t n e y (@courtneysfitlife_) on Mar 23, 2017 at 7:45am PDT

Jessica Pack (aka plankingforpizza)

Orlando born fitness blogger, vegetarian and social media influencer Jessica Pack uses her platform to shine fitness through a 360 degree light. Her feed doesn’t focus on physical fitness single-handedly; it’s all about, nourishing the mind, the body and the soul. It’s body positivity in it’s truest form.

She released her first book this year (Planking for pizza) which is a self help book for anyone wanting to get out of their unhealthy habits and start getting mentally fit so that they can become physically fit.

Follow if you want: To become mentally fit.

LET GO ????it's the first day of spring, time to thaw, and let go into the bloom of finding, realizing, and becoming the purest forms of our truth. . I have been to yoga that past 2 Sundays as a way to refresh, recharge, tune in with myself, set positive intentions, revive energy, and bring total awareness to the present moment and my current state of being. And it truly has been so refreshing and a needed self care practice I want to continue. The instructor said something that really resonated with me during shavasana yesterday. This is a summary of it: . Human beings cannot let go of the things they don't understand especially when it comes to our thoughts and emotions. For it's the consciousness of our thoughts, actions, and feelings, that surrenders us to the understanding of our mind. The knowing and awareness of our mind brings us to a deeper appreciation and clearer perception of our truest selves. "Letting go" is close to impossible without the diligent understanding, processing, hurting, feeling the pain of our thoughts, emotions, and actions. It's when we sit with these things and ourselves that we begin to transition into wanting to control the "letting go" process into letting it just be. The letting go comes naturally because the mind is in tune with our truth and that's where we find calmness, and it's in the calmness that we find inner peace ????✨???? . Outfit: @popflex_active ????

A post shared by Jess (@plankingforpizza) on Mar 20, 2017 at 1:09pm PDT

Alexa Towersey (aka actionalexa)

Celebrity trainer, nutrition and lifestyle coach, Alexa Towersey, is a woman who is not to be messed with. Her no nonsense attitude to fitness has seen her train some of the top in the industry, including New Zealand’s world champion rugby team, the All Blacks. Featuring her tanned skin, toned arms and a killer core, Towersey’s Instagram is packed full of training videos, ab shots and plenty of inspirational pictures.

Follow if you want: No nonsense workout tips.

MONDAY MOTIVATION ???????????????????????? . . . I love boxing. I get an adrenaline rush merely from putting my wraps on, and the sound when the glove hits the sweet spot in the pad is like music to my ears. And I only box for fun ???????? It's a sport that panders to my perfectionist streak, continues to school me in technicalities and patience and it's one of the few workouts I can still do that challenges my high end cardiovascular fitness and endurance like no other session does. But yes, there are days when the pain in my hip makes it hard to finish a whole session or go as hard as I want to. And I'm slowly learning to work with my body when it comes to that fine line between "Just suck it up" and "you really need to stop or you won't be walking tomorrow" ???????? . . . Being injured has obvious physical ramifications, but less recognized are the psychological or psychosocial ones. And you don't need to be a professional athlete to have these validated. I used to have a healthy sense of dread before Friday FYFs, now I actually miss being able to take part. When you're injured, you're more isolated and that can be hard. It can also be hard having to acknowledge a new set of boundaries, self imposed limitations and physical capabilities below those you're used to. However – and this is the good shit – it is also prime time for learning and developing in other areas, least of all physically. It's the perfect time to take a long hard look at yourself and as a good friend would say, really get to understand and know "your why" ????????✔️ . . . I consider myself incredibly lucky because pain aside, I can still train. And I will always find an excuse to make time to get it done, instead of the many excuses there may be not to. I believe that this comes down to Passion. I don't just DO what I do, I LOVE what I do, and you can't teach that. So next time you want to skip out on something you thought was important to you, ask yourself why you thought it was important to do in the first place. Then get it done ???????????????????????? . . . ????@jamesjoel | @adidasau . . . #boxing #fitness #injury #motivation #pain #passion #hiit #focus #mindset #inspiration #noexcuses #nofear #nolimits

A post shared by Alexa Towersey (@actionalexa) on Mar 27, 2017 at 1:12am PDT

Nikki Rees (aka activelyrees)

Mother-of-one, Nikki Rees, is a home workout wonder. Followed by over 220k fans, Rees documents her struggles of working out while running around after a toddler. She is a huge role model for exercising from home, no gym membership required. Her feed is filled with transformation pictures, hilarious memes and plenty of ab shots.

Follow if you want: At home workout inspiration.

Morning lovelies! Guess what??!! Me and Moo are taking over the @fableticseu Instagram stories all day today (how exciting! ????) so …for all our normal chats and toddler antics, please come see us over on the @fableticseu Instagram page… . . in other news…I just did BBG legs! … whooooop! Ok,????well i did take out ALL the jumping but it still counts! I just added in a resistance band for as much as possible instead ???? happy Friday loves – feeling goooooooood! . . . Wearing : @fableticseu (obviously) and how amazing are the orange/red tights ????????????????. (They Look so much like the adidas ones its ridiculous ????) . . . #fabletics #instagramstories #takeover #activewear #ootd #bbg #kaylaitsines #12weekchallenge #bbggirls #getfit #workingoutfromhome #mumlife #toddlermom #fitmum #bbgmums #bbgmoms #bbgover30 #girlswithabs #morningmotivation #fitspo #fitnessblogger

A post shared by Nikki Rees (@activelyrees) on Mar 24, 2017 at 3:28am PDT