Well, here we are. Already rolling through February! Did you make a resolution to get healthy this year?! How’s it going so far? I’m guessing you might be a bit overwhelmed if this is a new thing for you. Working out can be so confusing and maybe you don’t know where to start. So today, I want to share a little bit about my favorite workout program. But before I get into it, you need to know this isn’t a sponsored post. I’m not being paid to share this info with you, and I’m certainly not a fitness expert! Not at all. But I found a workout program a few years ago that I love, and I think a lot of you will too! It’s 28 minutes/3 times per week, and I’ve been doing it for about 2 years!

If you’ve been around a while, you might remember that I wrote a post a few years ago about how to become a runner. I ran consistently for about 6 years and enjoyed it for so many reasons – mostly because it made me feel sane, and also because it allowed me to eat AND still zip my jeans. #winwin But I eventually got bored with running and noticed I was getting a little thicker around my midsection. (That’s where I always hold weight.) Running just wasn’t doing it for me anymore, and I wanted to try a different type of workout.

Around that same time, I came across Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred and fell in love with the program. It was my first time doing HIIT style workouts, and I could see changes in my body within a few weeks (and without any diet changes). So I did several rounds of 30 Day Shred, and before I knew it, the workouts starting to feel like they were getting too easy. It was time to move on to another program.

I started following FitSugar (a fitness website) regularly and was reading a lot about a program called Bikini Body Guide or BBG. The program sounded so simple: 3 days a week you do 28-minute HIIT workouts and the other 3-4 days you do LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) exercises for 30 minutes. LISS can be walking, jogging, hiking, etc. I researched a lot and couldn’t get over all the body transformation pictures on the BBG Instagram account. They were amazing, so I decided to go for it! I downloaded the SWEAT app and began the program. And I only made it through HALF of the first workout. IT WAS SO HARD! I was convinced that I was in cardiac arrest! ha! But I just did the second half the next day and kept going until I could complete them all. It was slow progress in the beginning, but I did it! And now I’ve been doing BBG for 2 years.

Here are a few reasons I love this program:

1. The workouts are only 28 minutes a day. Like many of you, I don’t have a lot of extra time in my days for things like exercising. So I just don’t want to go to a gym or even do an hour long workout. I have a mental block about doing long workouts, because there are too many other things I have to do in a day. But 28 minutes? Heck yeah! I can handle that.
2. BBG is hard. That’s the trade off for only being 28 minutes long! You know that amazing feeling you get after finishing an intense workout? I have it after every BBG circuit. It’s just as good for me mentally as it is physically. I’ve also learned that my body can do hard things, and I didn’t believe that before starting this program! When I started out I used 2lb dumbbells and now I use 8lbs!
3. Running built up my leg muscles a bit and definitely kept me slim, but BBG has helped me build muscle tone all over. It’s cool to look in the mirror and actually see results from all the hard work! I didn’t change my diet at all during my first 12 week round, and I still saw changes in my body.
4. The program is 12 weeks, but you can just keep cycling through. I’ll probably want to start something new and more challenging this year, but so far I’ve just started a new BBG cycle every 12 weeks. (There’s also a BBG 2.0 that I’ve done a few times.) Each time I start a new cycle I try to add a little more weight or do the reps faster, etc.
5. It’s recommended that you do LISS activities for 30 minutes on “off days” and sometimes I do. I still run around my neighborhood on a lot of LISS days. But I also like trying different things, like Pilates or other toning workouts. You can find lots of great FREE! workouts on the PopSugar Fitness YouTube channel – everything from Tabata to yoga. I’m constantly trying new ones, so I don’t get bored. But I have a few favorites too. I’ll share them in another post!
6. When you sign up and download the SWEAT app, you get access to all the BBG workouts, but if you want to try them for free (shhhh!) or just like having someone to workout with, check out this girl’s videos on YouTube. She filmed herself doing the entire 12 week program, so there you go! Just don’t follow her form… it’s really bad! 😉

The only downside of BBG for me has been that after several rounds of this program, I’m starting to get a little bored with it. I’m about halfway through a 12-week round right now and might be ready for a new challenge soon! If you have any questions about any of this feel free to ask. I’m not a fitness pro, but I’ll do my best to answer!

And PS – If you’re looking for a fun pair of running shoes, my Nike’s came from here.

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