FINALLY! The day has come: I finished 12 weeks of the Kayla Itsines BBG workout program. I shared my thoughts halfway through (read that post HERE) and today I’m giving you the full BBG recap.
BBG Pros & Cons
These really have not changed since I shared them at the halfway point. My biggest complaint continues to be the repetitive nature of the workouts. You do each workout twice and many workouts repeat the same movements. Praise the lord that I don’t have to do another round of lay down push ups.
I’d say the biggest pro is the accessibility of the workout. We’re living in a time where it seems like you have to spend your life savings to be healthy and fit. BBG proves this wrong, you don’t need to go to the trendiest boutique studio and spend $40 for a good workout. These workouts are easy to follow and are effective.
BBG Tips
I’ve learned a thing or two during these 12(ish) weeks. Here’s how to make the program successful:
- Do it with a friend: I struggled hard core getting through this program. Having a friend to commiserate and celebrate with (even if we weren’t doing the workouts together) would have helped along the way. If you can find someone to do the workouts with you, even better. I bet I would have pushed myself a lot harder if I had a partner. If you can’t find a friend to do it with you, follow others doing BBG on Instagram for some virtual motivation and camaraderie.
- Stick to a schedule: I tried my best to do the workouts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. It wasn’t always possibly with my travel schedule, but it’s best if you can create a routine and stick with it.
- Try to avoid back-to-backs: Piggy backing on the previous bullet point, because of my travel schedule, sometimes I ended up doing the workouts three days in a row. I do not recommend this. It made my body feel weak and I could feel it in my joints. Due to scheduling I took a week off after the 6th week and I felt so much better when I finally started the 7th week.
- Don’t Just go through the motions: These workouts are tough, but only if you push yourself. Admittedly, some days I didn’t work my hardest and it felt like I was moving in slow motion. While it’s only natural to have some days be stronger than others, if you want to see results, you need to push yourself.
- Continue to challenge yourself: I mentioned it’s repetitive. If you’re getting bored or something feels easy, make it harder as you go. For example, a bunch of routines include weighted step ups. Each workout, aim for a heavier weight. This is the only way you’ll get stronger.
- Stretch: Like you should do after all workouts, stretch! Did I stretch after every session? No, but I know I should have.
- It’s okay to fall off track: It’s a 12-week program, but it took me more like 14 weeks to complete it. That’s ok. I took the time off while traveling (some places didn’t have the necessary equipment) and also I took time off when traveling to the US because I wanted to take my favorite group fitness classes that I’ve been missing. I’m usually focused on an all or nothing mentality and part of me thought that if I missed a week I either should restart at week 1, or quit altogether. I realized though that it’s okay to take a week off and came back to the workouts a bit later. It actually felt better to take some time off and I came back feeling stronger and ready to continue.
Before & After
Everyone is different and for me, the only way I’ll see true results is by shifting my eating. Simply changing up my workouts isn’t going to cut it. For the first half of BBG I didn’t change my eating at all. The second half though I made some adjustments (playing around with Intermittent Fasting and counting macros). I wasn’t super consistent with these adjustments (lots of travel again as my excuse!) so I didn’t expect major body changes. You get what you work for, and the amount of work I put in kept me pretty stable. No huge fluctuations one way or another. I don’t even think I feel that much stronger from the program. If I pushed myself harder and made bigger changes with my eating habits I’d expect to see much more impressive results.
The harder you work in the program, the more payoff you’ll see. Since I didn’t love the program, I didn’t work that hard. And my “results” show that.
BBG Recap Final Thoughts
It’s a huge relief to be done with the program. I said I’d get through 12 weeks, and I did it. But I kind of hated it along the way. I love structure, but these workouts were too repetitive and didn’t excite me. I want to look forward to my workouts, not dread them. While I definitely have no plans to do the BBG program again, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did a routine here and there when I need some ideas while at the gym.
Just because it wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it isn’t for you. The workouts are challenging and will make you work. However, YOU need to put the work in. Pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone takes a lot of discipline. If you’re ready to really work, I bet you’ll see the payoff.
If you’re somewhat new to working out and are seeking structure and routine, take a look at BBG. You may be down for all 12 weeks or just a workout here and there. If you’re more into group fitness, prefer lifting weights or enjoy a lot of cardio, this may not be the program for you.
And now that BBG is over, I’ll be exploring new fitness options and will share what I find along the way.
Have you done BBG? What did you think of the 12 week program?
*photo credit: Fitbit Blog
