Exercise has been a priority in my life since I was about 12 and I feel like in the past 14 years I have done it all. My favorites have been Bikram yoga, spinning, running, and Pilates. When I was pregnant and right after giving birth I took up more low-impact exercise, like swimming and walking, and that was just what my body needed during that time, but about 5 months post-partum I was craving cardio (my fave).

I came across this workout series called Bikini Body Guide (BBG) by Kayla Itsines and I just completed the first program, BBG 1.0! If you haven’t heard of BBG, t’s a 12 week program where you complete 3 HIIT-type workouts a week, 28 minutes each. The 3 days are divided into leg, arm/ab, and full body day (later in BBG 1.0 it switches to leg, ab, and arm day). The other days are for low-intensity sustained state (LISS) activities, which could be walking, jogging, cycling, etc. for at least 35 minutes. I used the “Sweat” app and I absolutely love that it explains how do each move, a horn sounds when time is up, and it tells you what to do when. It’s like going to a group fitness class in the comfort of your own home. And it’s just you. There’s a coordinating meal plan included in the program, but I didn’t pay any attention to it.

When I first began BBG 1.0, I thought it was soooo hard but that’s what I LOVED about it. The workouts were challenging, but not totally out of my league (which was great since I hadn’t done any intense exercise in a year!). As BBG 1.0 went on, it got progressively harder and I started to have a real issue keeping up at the very end. But after doing these workouts consistently for 12 weeks (I only missed 1 workout – the week we were in Florida), I see so much progress in my strength and body shape. I think this workout regime was the best thing I did for myself post-partum. I’ve never followed a program like this before, and it was a real challenge physically, so I am pretty proud of myself for completing the first 12 weeks! I am looking forward to the next 12! (I decided to start 1.0 over instead of moving on to 2.0 though. I feel like I am no where near ready for 2.0 since I struggled so much at the tail end of 1.0!)