I’ve had a few gym memberships in my time. Virgin Active, Fitness First, local council funded gyms and the list goes on. In my pre-baby days, when I had acres of free time after work and on the weekends, I’d find it very difficult to drag myself to the gym and get a reasonable cost per visit from my membership fee.
In my post-baby world, I need to maximise every minute of my life to get what I need to get done, done. This is no joke. Between working, school work, chores and life admin, on the days I’m at home, if I don’t take the opportunity to workout during J’s naptime, then I won’t have the chance until he goes to bed. And then something will inevitably get in the way and working out will have to wait. So for me, it’s just easier to squeeze in workouts, when I can, at home. I cancelled my gym membership last year and I’ve never looked back.
Just workout when he’s awake, you say? Hahahahah. I’ve seen YouTube and Instagram videos of mums working out with their kids around them, and that just seems like science fiction to me. When I’ve attempted to do it, I get a 14 kg toddler climbing on my back during push ups and crawling through my legs during burpees. Which is why for me, effective workouts are restricted to nap time, bed time or at spin class.
I’ve been doing Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guides (BBG) at home since last August, combined with lots of walking (I live in London, with no car, so walking is like breathing – you need do a lot of it!) and weekly sessions at Psycle, the best spin studio in London.
What’s interesting to me is that the guides are ideally meant for someone who has access to a gym and all its equipment, but because I love the structure of the guides, i.e. they tell me exactly what exercises I need to do, how many and for how long, I’ve figured out a way to make BBG work for me.
And as I was setting myself up for today’s workout, I realised that I’ve managed to acquire a veritable mini-gym in my flat, the majority of which I use for the Bikini Body Guide.
So it is possible to do the guide at home, it just requires a bit of planning and some expense.
What I use for the Bikini Body Guide workouts:
- Kettlebells (7.5kg, 12kg and 16kg): substitutes for dumbbells or handweights
- Medicine ball (8kg)
- Hand weights (2kg each)
- Reebok step: substitute for a box and a bench
- Easy Shaper Pro (a bar with resistance bands attached): substitute for a barbell and weights
- Yoga Mat
- Foam rollers x 2
I’ve had to be creative and substitute where I can. I’ve picked up inexpensive quality equipment via Ebay, Amazons and various birthday / Christmas presents and it’s all added up to a very nice collection that makes working out at home really easy.
Do you workout at home? Have you done BBG at home? What are your tips and tricks?
