Several people have messaged me asking for my thoughts and experience on Kayla Itsines bikini body guide, so I thought it would be best to write a comprehensive Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide Review. Plus, I did promise to put my thoughts to pen, and share my thoughts with you. Without further ado, here is my full Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide Review!
kayla itsines bikini body guide review
What is BBG (the bikini body guide)?
Kayla Itsines offers three products within the bikini body bundle. These are the BBG 1.0 workout guide, the BBG 2.0 workout guide, and the HELP food guide. BBG 1.0 gives you 12-weeks worth of workouts and BBG 2.0 is the sequel to BBG 2.0 and gives you an additional 12-weeks of workouts. The BBG guides provide you with information on what to do for cardio (the amount of cardio varies every 4 weeks, and the majority of the cardio is LISS training) and also provides you with plyometric based circuit workouts which are done 3-days out of the week.
The circuit workouts are divided into weeks 1-3, weeks 2-4, weeks 5-7, weeks 6-8, weeks 9-11, and weeks 10-12. I did not realize that this was how the circuit workouts were arranged and stupidly I did the workouts for weeks 1-3 for the first 2 weeks .. always make sure to thoroughly read sometime from cover to end instead of assuming you know what to do! You can buy the BBG at www.kaylaitsines.com using a credit card or download her Sweat with Kayla app and have the BBG workouts conveniently on your phone.
The equipment you need for the BBG are two benches/steps, a mat (not necessary but better than doing sit ups on a cold and hard floor, right?), two hand weights (the weight recommendation is between 3-5 kgs each), a medicine ball (between 6-12kgs), a jump rope, and a bosu ball. It is a workout that was designed to be done at home, but since I lived in San Francisco at the time, where I had a tiny room, so I did all my workouts at the gym. Specifically in the group exercise room; lots of space!
Okay, now I am going to divide my thoughts on the BBG into weeks 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12.
**Update**
Kayla has since given her bikini body guide a design ‘facelift.’ It now has a pre-training section which lasts for 4 weeks, so that beginners can build up their strength, and feel confident in doing the workouts.
Weeks 1-4
When I first started the guide, I remember looking at the circuit workouts for weeks 1-3 and thinking ‘Okay, this doesn’t look sooo hard’. And like I said, they weren’t incredibly hard but they still made me red as a tomato and sweatier than a sweaty thing. The circuit workouts for weeks 2-4 are much harder, and when I finally got round to these workouts (in week 3 by accident lol), I realized just how hard the rest of the BBG was going to be. Weeks 2-4 introduce you to such lovely exercises as jump lunges and commando’s .. all my girls doing the BBG will know what I mean when I say that they are HARD and I always dreaded doing them. The amount of cardio you have to do isn’t too bad and was quite manageable. I didn’t see any physical results during this time, only performance related progress.
Weeks 5-8
This is where the BBG starts to get really hard. Kayla really steps up the circuit workouts, and there is significantly more cardio to do too (still just LISS though). The jump rope really comes into play during these weeks and my god, your strength is really tested. The way Kayla structured the BBG kept me so motivated because I knew that every week was different, and also because I knew that every 4 weeks, the intensity would get turned up. The amount of cardio you have to do was a little bit hard to keep up with. During these weeks I had to do a lot of split sessions – so for example, I would do a circuit workout in the morning, and then go back to the gym at night to do cardio. Or some days I would do cardio in the morning and then cardio again at night. It was a bit ridiculous and the only downside to weeks 5-8. I started to really see some changes in my body at the end of week 8 🙂
Weeks 9-12
Probably my favorite/most hated weeks ever haha. This is where the bosu ball comes in and it really tests your ability to do plyometric movements. The amount of times I cursed ‘bloody jump lunges!!’ in my head (and sometimes online, oops) was a tad ridiculous. I felt sore every week .. EVERY WEEK! It is crazy that I could still get so sore considering you are progressively increasing your strength and endurance over time. I felt kinda pathetic the amount of times I had to take a break during some of the exercises, but weeks 9-12 are just that hard. In terms of cardio, the amount decreases and now you have to also incorporate HIIT training into your workout. I hope this doesn’t scare you off from doing the BBG haha, because even though the final section was so hard, it felt absolutely INCREDIBLE to complete them and to feel so incredibly accomplished (and sore).
Honestly Fitness Approved
To sum up, I love the BBG. Sure, I may not have had as dramatic progress as some of the lovely ladies who have done the BBG but I did make progress. I became much stronger and can do more push-ups, burpees, jump lunges and all other manner of exercises than I ever could before. My stomach toned up (my problem area!) and my arms toned up a lot. My legs also tightened up and the outer thighs became much smaller. I don’t (yet hehe) have a super defined stomach, that stupid thigh gap (girls need to STOP focusing on this, just focus on losing fat, not getting a bloody gap), or rock solid arms. But I am closer than I was 3 months ago and I will never stop on my quest to be the healthiest and fittest version of me that I can be 🙂
Oh and my progress photo is on my Instagram if you were curious. I am repeating the BBG and will be buying Kayla’s bikini body guide v.2 when it comes out (update, I did buy Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide 2.0). I believe it comes out in September and I can’t wait for the next challenge.
If any of you want to buy her guides, click on the image below and you will be re-directed to her website. She also offers an Sweat with Kayla app, which hosts the workouts on the app itself. Click here to read my full review of Kayla Itsines Sweat with Kayla app.
I hope this review has helped you all. Please leave a comment if you have any more questions and I will be happy to answer them.
Honestly yours,
Alice xx
Disclaimer: I became affiliated with Kayla Itsines in September 2014, but this in no way changes my opinion of her products. My thoughts and experiences are and will always remain honest and unbiased. I am here to help you.