With just a few scrolls through your Insta feed, you’re likely to come across a photo of a friend or your fave blogger in a workout pose, along with the hashtag #bbg. Click on that hashtag and you’ll find almost 4 million hashtagged photos from workout selfies to healthy snack choices and, perhaps the most common, incredibly inspiring before and after shots which all give credit to Kayla Itsines, the 25 year-old fitness sensation.
She created The Bikini Body Guide which is the origin of the #bbg hashtag and the fitfluencer also boasts over 5.5 million followers on Instagram. BBG and her new app Sweat with Kayla has become a social media phenomenon with women all over the world supporting and encouraging each other to get their sweat on. We had the chance to sit down with Kayla and chat about all things fitness and what else she has in the works!
How did you come to create the Bikini Body Guide?
I was using my Instagram page to store the transformation photos of the clients I was training at my studio in Adelaide. I started receiving messages from women requesting advice as to how they could achieve the same results. It was then that my partner, Tobi, and I decided to put my workout routines into an eBook, which we called the Bikini Body Training Guide (BBG). It wasn’t something we planned or ever anticipated for it to do as well as it did.
How do you think BBG became so big?
I think the BBG community of women is the reason it has become so big. These women motivate and inspire both myself and the entire community each and every day. I’ll never forget my bootcamp in New York last year where I was chatting to a group of women who all lived in different states. They had all become friends online through the BBG program and the New York bootcamp was the first time they had ever met in person. Thinking about this gives me goosebumps! I absolutely love how these women have united together to get fitter, stronger and most importantly, feel confident.
How is your workout different from other workouts out there? Why does it work?
There are no secrets, it’s not a fad or a quick fix. It’s a healthy, maintainable lifestyle change that is adaptable and realistic for women of all ages, body shapes, and fitness levels. The workouts seen in my Sweat with Kayla app are a combination of plyometric, resistance circuits, and two different types of cardio (HIIT and LISS). All of the resistance circuits are 28 minutes long which is only 2% of your day. They require minimal equipment and you only need the space of your own body to complete them. The training recommendations featured in the app have been specifically tailored to suit a woman’s body and lifestyle.
What is the biggest mistake you see women make when it comes to health/diet/fitness?
It’s not necessarily mistakes women are making. I believe that it can be attributed to the misconceptions in the weight loss industry which cause women to believe that they may have to take exercising to extreme measures to achieve desired results. Some of these include cutting out certain food groups, training multiple times a day, not eating after a certain time or doing only cardio as weight training will make you “bulky.” These are some of the reasons women burn out and give up as it’s unmaintainable. The key is a healthy, maintainable lifestyle change. It’s important to remember that every individual is unique in their own special way, and what might work for one woman may not work for another. My mission from the beginning has been to uncover these misconceptions and provide women with the tools to feel happy, healthy, and confident in a maintainable way — long term.
What are your top three tips to get your health/diet/fitness on track?
• Educate yourself ‐ I believe education is an important factor when committing to any new lifestyle. If you do not understand something, you will not place trust in it. If you do not trust it, you will not dedicate yourself to it.
• Write down your health and fitness goals ‐ When you are lacking your motivation, use them to remind yourself why you started or want to start.
• Progress photos ‐ Be your own personal motivation by taking progress photos! I don’t think there is anything more motivating than looking back and seeing your own personal progress.
xx, The FabFitFun Team
