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The Best Online Courses for Cooking, Staying in Shape and Learning New Skills at Home

If your New Year’s Resolutions include personal betterment, here are some outstanding and convenient options.

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By Sean Tirman and Ryan Brower

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Whether you want to take up photography, cook like a world-class chef, become more productive or simply burn off those empty beer calories, there are online courses for just about everything these days. Here are the best online course platforms (both free and paid sites), along with examples of some of their best classes, offering an extensive array of online courses to help you pick up a new hobby or skill from the comfort of your home. That way, you can tackle your new year, new you journey in earnest, while making it as convenient as possible.

Not only does Aaptiv offer a tremendous number of workouts that you can choose from (and even processes by which you can figure out the best one for you on any given day) through the app, but the brand also runs a handy blog that illuminates some of its offerings while also helping to educate users regarding the available workout options.

Just to prove how versatile ClassPass can be, you can actually even use it to enter some of the larger gym franchises in the world (like Crunch Fitness, which you can see here), along with access to thousands of smaller local joints. That means, even if you just want to go get a quick lift in, this service is extremely valuable.

The value and importance of computer science literacy in the world of today can’t be understated — and learning some measure of it is one of the best ways to bolster your resumé, especially when you learn about Google, the largest and most significant search engine in the world (an 86% market share).

Across just about every modern creative endeavor — at least those with a visual element — Photoshop is an invaluable tool, but you need to know how to use it. This class will teach you enough to get you by and could end up helping with other projects and prospects in the process.

As this platform is more about setting you up with a trainer that fits your style and goals, there aren’t really specific classes to highlight. However, the match system is FYT’s premiere feature, as it’s the basis for the entire concept: getting you committed to your fitness journey through personal contacts with fitness professionals.

In business, time is money, and that means you might only have a few seconds to get your biggest, best ideas across to those that might be able to invest, approve and/or assist with them. This course will teach you how to do just that efficiently and effectively.

While this platform, as mentioned, offers tons of different classes, we’re still quite fond of the yoga offerings that started it all. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting into the practice, this is a great resource, especially if you don’t have a normal gym. 

One of the newest offerings available on MasterClass, everyone’s favorite television educator, Bill Nye, is offering a class on science and problem-solving — both of which the world needs more of right now. And who better to learn it from, truly?

Aaron Draplin, the founder of Field Notes, is an absolute legend in the realms of design and everyday carry. As it turns out, he’s also shared a modicum of his vast knowledge via this logo-focused typography and design course on SkillShare. To call this a must-attend class is perhaps not doing its significance justice.

As mentioned, computer science is one of the major highlights of Udemy as a platform. And this course, taught by Dr. Angela Yu (who has numerous excellent courses on Udemy) is one of the best for anyone trying to break into web development.