From the Archives. A Throwback to April 2016 and my first impression of the Bikini Body Guide by Kayla Itsines. Please read my current thoughts about BBT at the end.
THINGS I LOVED ABOUT BBG:
– The Community. This was my main reason for doing BBG. The support, the motivation, the encouragement. I think Kayla has a lot to owe to her followers for sure. They’re not dubbed Kayla’s Army for nothing.
– The Challenges. The workouts itself will push any person on any fitness level. I would say I’m on intermediate having started my journey about 5 years ago. My aim was to repeat the circuits twice in 7 minutes, & with that timer clicking I felt a little anxious trying to finish but I pushed hard.
– The LISS. I’ve never loved running EVER. I despised it. My chest would burn & the stitches would be unbearable. But then I started small with my furkid, Max (he’s a Weimaraner and this breed NEEDS exercise every day). Initially I would attempt a 2km run which took me 10min to complete. Now 3 months later, I do double the distance. My asthma is definitely more bearable & I’ve discovered a love for something I never thought I’d ever enjoy.
– The Workout Length. Let’s face, it’s 30 minutes of Death By Kayla & it makes you sweat like a mofo. Full disclosure though, because I was used to working out for 45 to 60min a day, 4 to 6 times a week. I added my own little HiiT cards to the BBG workouts which included cardio, toning for abs, arms & butt as I really wanted to hit my daily activity goal on my fitness tracker (I’m OCD like that!). I didn’t do all the LISS days as I still continued to do functional training classes about twice a week.
THINGS I FELT NOT SO GREAT ABOUT:– The Workout Itself. I love a great challenge but being used to a lot of variety, repeating the same 4 moves 4 times in a workout became a little boring. The jump training was a lot and I modified a lot from weeks 9 to 12 as it felt a little hectic on my knees. I also put in more weight training for some of the upper body workouts. I ensured the modifications kept my heart rate up & I still felt that burn that the Kayla move would have provided.
– The Equipment Required. I don’t have a gym membership with any of the big gyms so exercises where benches/bosu were required was an issue. I had to use whatever I had at home which can be risky especially if it’s something that can slip easily & which is not meant to be used for exercising. Also if you will be doing BBG at home, you will need to invest more cash in buying the required equipment on top of buying the guides or subscribing to the app. Which brings me to my next point.
– The Cost of the App/Guides. Having worked out at home for about 2 years already, I’ve managed to set up YouTube to stream to my TV & therefore have access to loads of FREE workouts. The internet has endless amounts of resources for any person that is on their fitness journey & I felt the price of the app was definitely a little too much so I got the guides instead. Comparing it to the Nike Training Club App which is FREE with way more workouts, different programs for different levels of fitness plus it has video instructions for each exercise, Kayla really has to consider giving her army discounts and more value for their money.
– The Lack of Video Support. As mentioned, even free apps have instructional videos. With her following, Kayla should consider setting up a YouTube channel with tips on not to get hurt & to do the exercises with proper form. Visual assistance is way more helpful than reading instruction. Beginners run the risk of hurting themselves with no PT present and videos will really help avoiding this.
In conclusion, I really loved the support and structure of BBG & will definitely be attempting BBG 2.0 once I have the cash to get a barbell & kettlebell.
PS. My stats over the last 3 months were:
- Weight 50.2kg to 48.6kg (1.6kg down) < THAT WAS WAY TOO LITTLE FOR ME LOOKING BACK NOW
- Body Fat 11.7% to 9.8% (1.9% down) not sure how accurate my body fat monitor is but I’ve been using this since the start of my journey 5 years ago.
- Total cm’s lost = 6cm mostly around my butt, waist, tummy & outer thighs
Current Thoughts on BBG:
Looking back now, my opinion and perception of the guide has changed as my training goals changed and I matured. I do feel that the pressure surrounding the community/guide to be featured on Kayla’s page started to play havoc with my thoughts. Comparing progress and feeling as if I was not doing enough to get noticed. Seeing her perfect body and abs was inspiring at first (still is at times) but it does make me feel uncomfortable when the caption in a post does not match the picture.
After doing BBG for a second time in 2017, I noticed a similar behavioural pattern after finishing another round. I pushed really hard during this round as I was mixing up the workouts to avoid boredom (Doing a 45min BBG workout + 5km run, 3 x week + 3 Functional Training Classes). I pushed myself to hard and did not give my body the rest and fuel it needed.
There is no doubt that Kayla has a great guide and formula for training but I do feel that you have to be very aware of your reasons and feelings, especially while tracking your journey on Instagram. I fell into the trap of wanting to lose weight as opposed to maintain weight or build strength.
Luckily, I was adult enough to take a step back and realise that I am on this journey not to be featured on an Instagram page but to FEEL great about myself and to be strong, physically and mentally. From April 2017, I started focusing more on weight training with running twice a week.
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