To be entirely honest, I don't mind working out. After a challenging workout my body feels great and I feel extremely accomplished. I enjoy when my body has that sore feeling the next day, proving how hard I pushed myself. And while all of this is true, I am no super-human-workout-addict, for I am an average sized twenty year-old girl that could definitely work out more than I do.
Regardless, I consider myself pretty athletic. I played Varsity field hockey throughout high school and completed a half marathon last fall in two hours and ten minutes. While I like to keep myself active and enjoy working out, going on hikes, swimming, etc., I, like many other freshman college students, packed on the freshman fifteen like it was a prerequisite class two years ago.
When I returned home my mom described me as always "looking bloated" and jokingly pointed out my somewhat floppier arms whenever she could. And I couldn't agree with her more. I didn't feel like myself; I felt lethargic and wasn't consistently eating healthy foods.
One of the most important life lessons you learn in college is simply taking care of yourself. It is up to you and you alone to stay organized, go to class, become involved and try as many things as you can. More importantly, however, you are the only one who is looking after your health. There are no parents watching what you eat, when you go to sleep, how much alcohol you are drinking and telling you that you really don't need that second grilled cheese from Starbucks.
So when I returned home that summer after Freshman year, I knew I had to seriously commit to getting into a healthy regimen again. I understood that getting in shape again and balancing what I ate and put in my body would be my key.
I had some friends who suggested Kayla Istines Bikini Body Guide (BBG), a twelve week interval training workout program that provided instructional tools for working out seven days a week. The guide works like this: on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you do a 28 minute interval circuit training and on the remaining days go on low intensity long runs or high intensity short runs. This, combined with advice on how to create a balanced and nutritional diet, helped me gain confidence and achieve my summer goal.
Don't get me wrong, Kayla's BBG is HARD. I was dripping in sweat by minute 10 minutes into the workout and had to really motivate myself to keep going. However, completing a Kayla workout reinforced my affinity for exercise. I was always so happy and confident after finishing a session, for I was continually proving to myself that I was capable of reaching my goal.
One of the most inspiring (and I think sometimes misunderstood) mantra's of BBG is that the program is not intended for people to lose weight. The entire point of completing BBG is to become healthier and stronger, which at times can even mean putting on weight from muscle gain!
To anyone who wants to really make a change in their lifestyle, I highly recommend BBG. After completing the 12 week program you might even be ready to climb a mountain.
