I don't know how much I'm supposed to post on here, I don't want to be annoying, but I feel like only doing once a week is kinda lame - going to get better with that. When I was deciding what I'd make a post about on this shitty Monday, I noticed I have a lot of inboxes asking about BBG & my favorite workout gear (specifically sneakers,) so I figured I'd combine the two! This is my quick little update on BBG 6 weeks in (HALFWAY!! My legs are almost always sore!!) and my favorite sneakers for the gym & "it looks like I went to the gym but I'm going to Trader Joe's to get toaster waffles" looks.
When I started BBG (yes yes yes the PDF workout Bible by Kayla Itsines) I was nervous for a few reasons; 1) I had my own workout routine going for awhile and even though it wasn't giving me my best results, I didn't want this to be too easy (lmaooooo) 2) I don't have the body type to support the shape that Kayla is in & I didn't want to get too top heavy (again, lmao) and 3) once I actually did a workout, I thought I would never be able to get through this program. It's HARD. Both mentally and physically, this program has whooped me. I had never done HIIT training before, mostly just weight training and a little cardio to warmup/ cool down, and this damn near killed me the first time around. I am HORRIBLE at competing against myself and that's exactly what the circuits demand of you. I hated that she wouldn't just say "do this circuit 3 times" and that I had to do as many as I could in seven minutes. It's difficult when you're someone like me who ALWAYS thinks they should be doing better than they are, but its the only way to get the most out of the program. I had never been as physically exhausted as I was after my first workout (also had never actually experienced doing reps until failure - not fun). The more workouts you do, the easier they get. They're really tough, but I think a lot of the program's difficulty comes from mentally convincing yourself you can push through the workout (as well as learning to not compare your workouts to anyone else's - as long as you're putting in 100%, the amount of times you get through the circuit doesn't matter). I actually enjoy going to the gym to do these. Some times the anticipation sucks (for example, I am absolutely dreading my workout tonight) but once you're there and doing it, it feels great. I have so much more energy now to the point that I think I officially annoy Rob 24 hours a day & I'm somehow much more strong than I was when I was lifting. This might not be the case for everyone, but I think doing this workout that relies so heavily on using your own body weight for strength training has allowed me to get stronger, more toned, and not nearly injured as much.
In case this is news to people, I have never had much of a butt. No matter how much I squatted or how many cutesy workouts I did from Vogue - no butt. My quads and calves have always been jacked, but balancing that out has been mission impossible for me. Personally, that made me feel like I had a really masculine build & was contributing to some major back problems. By doing these workouts that for the most part only require small hand-weights or your own body weight - magically have a butt now. Only been 6 weeks - somehow got a butt. For reference, this first picture right here was peak skinnieee for me my senior year of college (plus like, maybe a full box of wine idk) when I was squatting pretty heavy 2 times a week. Second picture, I am, in fact, standing on top of a toilet, but doing no heavy lifting, 3-4 days of resistance bands and 3 days of HIIT with some walking/interval sprints. Idk man, but I'm not going back to my half-assed,if you will, workouts wherein I spend a half hour trying to not have one of my knees give out at the squat rack. That is cancelled from here on out.
After years and years of battling with my body type & my ED, I never would've though I'd be excited to have a butt. I remember the first time during recovery I could actually feel that I had a butt and that the back of my thigh wasn't connected to my back and I LEGITIMATELY SOBBED. The first time I took a step and felt I had a butt - cried so hard I was right back in my therapist's office 20 minutes later. Big stuff here.
I am so gross in both of these pictures whyyyyyyyy.
Not to mention my waist is way smaller and my arms have leaned out - big wins all around.
I'm hoping the next half of the program gets my abs in better shape and I slim down a little more on the top (maybe my legs, would be nice) but all in all I can't believe I am alive at this point and I can't believe I actually wake up at 5am to go to the gym. Girl on the left there woke up consistently around 10:30 am. If you've ever considered going on a workout program - I couldn't recommend it more. It's the extra push I needed to really get myself going AND you know what you're doing is going to give you results (whereas I was just doing whatever I saw Karlie Kloss doing and turns out - wasn't meant to look like that. Didn't work.) I feel stronger and more healthy than I ever have & that's just as good as any physical result for me! Plus I stopped counting calories fucking finally!!!
NOW FOR SNEAKS - Full disclosure, I don't do long distance running. I don't have the mental stamina (or physical, if we're being honest) to stay in my own head for that length of time and sometimes for me, running becomes like saying a word too many times - my legs will just spaz and forget what I was doing. Is that something I should get medicated? Maybe, but for now just know that I only really use these sneakers for workouts and interval sprints/walking.
The Adidas Edge Lux are the comfiest sneakers (right next to flyknits) that I've ever worn. My feet don't cramp when I'm working out & they're made of really strong material. I've had a few Adidas sneakers I ran my toes right out of, but these are still holding really strong after months of being worn everyday. I loooove love love them. They're really affordable as far as athletic sneakers go & they come in a lot of cute colors! I always get compliments on them & will for sure be repurchasing once these get too gross (they're getting there, I drop weights on my feet a lot (help) so the light pink ones are a little scuffed up). They go on a bit like socks and feel like you're not even wearing shoes. If you are lifting, I'd recommend wearing just socks or very, very flat shoes (i.e converse) because these sneakers can hurt the arch of your foot when you're lifting heavy, but so has every other sneaker I've ever worn that didn't have a flat bottom.
I know I'm trash for wearing my gym sneakers outside, I'm sorry.
So this was just a quick update on BBG & my recommendation that you give it a try! It changed how I look at working out completely & I'm only halfway through! I have a couple requests to post some athleisure sneakers that I love and running sneakers (admittedly don't know much about the latter) so I'll try to get that post up for tomorrow. Hope all of you had a great Monday and this can be a little gym-spo if you needed it!
Ally :)
#blogging #blogger #fitness #BBG #KaylaItsines #healthandwellness #gymspo #fitspo #workouts #fitnessblog #healthy #lifestyleblogger #lifestyleblogger #lifestyleblog #fashion #fashionblog #fashionblogger #athleisure #sneakers #adidas #lululemon #nike