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What I Learned From Completing 12 Weeks of BBG

What I Learned From Completing 12 Weeks of BBG

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I finally made it. Can’t believe it, but I actually finished a work out program and did 12 weeks of BBG. As a serial quitter, this is a huge accomplishment. I want to be clear that I made many modifications to the online program and made this work for me. If you want to learn more about what BBG is and where to find it, I recommend you read this post. I don’t want to bury the lead, so here are answers to all of your questions including my results, if I would recommend the program, and what modifications I made.

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What Do My Results Look Like?

My goal when I started this was never to lose weight. I had pretty much lost what I wanted to lose before I started BBG (give or take 3 pounds) and I really just wanted to get stronger and add muscle definition. I would say that I did both of those things. I started by lifting 5 pounds weights and they got heavy after a while. I ended by lifting 10s and feeling like I could do more. I remember halfway through when 7.5 felt like a LOT. I’m proud that my body is able to handle the additional weight.

Was It Hard To Stay Motivated?

There were days that I didn’t want to keep going and days that flew by, but that’s the beauty of what three months looks like – you will have it all. Times that I felt super strong and others that I could barely hold a plank. I said it in my 6 week review, and I’ll say it now. I still never crave a workout. I’ll feel guilty and say that I should go workout. But my body loves sitting and relaxing way more than exertion.

Related: If You HIIT Train, You Need This

How Quickly Did I See Results?

It’s funny, I saw results pretty quickly because I was changing what I was normally doing. In the first three weeks I lost a pound a week, and then I started to realize why people say not to trust the scale.

Did I Follow The Program Exactly?

Hard No. Kayla’s program is designed to train people at a standard level, but as we all know – everyone’s bodies are different. I’ve been going to studio classes for nearly 3 years with ClassPass and doing about 4 classes a week there. I do a mix of strength and cardio between spin classes, megareformer, and bootcamp style classes like OTF and Barry’s. I continued to do these at least 3x a week in addition to BBG. Another big change that I made was that I ran 1 mile before every BBG workout (I think I only missed 2 and that was because I forgot my shoes!) This got my heart rate up and allowed me to burn DOUBLE the amount of calories with only an added 15 minutes to my workout.

Related: My Updated Fitness Regimen

Did I Ever Miss A Workout?

Yes. I think it’s unreasonable to do otherwise. Life happens and so many times we are discouraged from starting a program because we think of all of the reasons we may miss a session. I took two official breaks: 1 about 4 weeks in when I went to Europe and the 2nd about 8 weeks in when I got sick. Both times, I just paused where I was at and picked up the following week. Could I have worked out when I traveled? Yes. But I wanted to enjoy my vacation and for that, I needed to give my body a break. In addition to my official ’skip’ weeks, I also missed about 3-4 workouts in the entire twelve-week program. It was usually when I had a busy week at work and did a crazy workout that had similar moves to that week’s BBG session in my weekend class. I took it as a sign and went ahead and gave myself the green light to move forward.

Would I Recommend It?

Yes. Depending on your fitness goals, there are so many programs that you can follow. I had previously tried Cassey Ho’s PIIT Training Program and although I loved her, the workout just didn’t work for me. The crazy thing is, it is SO similar to BBG. It’s also 28 minutes and 4 rounds of 7 minutes, but the difference is that with BBG you do the moves for a set amount of reps and then repeat that section until your 7 minutes are up. For PIIT you do that single move as many times as you can until your minute is up. Small change, but knowing how many reps I have to do helped me push my limits and ultimately worked better for me. PIIT is also a 6 day a week program and BBG is only 3 active days.

Related: The Best Free Workouts You Can Do Anywhere

Would I Do It Again?

Yes, and I will. I’m started my second round of BBG this week and will keep you guys posted on my progress. My goal is to finish before the end of the year which means I really can’t take any time off. However, if I do get sick or decide to take time off, that’s okay too. We will roll over into the new year!


Overall, I learned that you really need to step away from the scale. I wanted to be under 110 and within the first 4 weeks, I lost about 5 pounds putting me at nearly 108. The crazy part is that as I saw my muscles get more defined, I also saw my weight shift accordingly. I am somewhere around 110 or 111 when I write this, but the truth is – who cares? My clothes fit better, I’m stronger, and I feel healthier. Can this program help you lose weight? Sure, but you need to add cardio to it. You can’t spot reduce (trust me, I’ve tried). If you want 3 days in a gym and want to know what to do, then yes I recommend this program. Is it magic? No, but it’s worth sampling the format to see if it works for you and your lifestyle.