Catching up with Kayla

We took 15 catching up with Kayla Itsines, Instagram superstar and fitness queen, to talk training smart, finding a balance and getting that all-important beach body confidence.

Tell us a little about yourself and your fitness philosophy.

I’m a 23-year-old personal trainer from Adelaide, South Australia. I specialise in training women from all around the world as I have a passion for helping them achieve their goals, whether those are appearance, health or confidence based. I love to spend time my partner Tobi, especially at the beach, as I absolutely love summer. Tobi and I have two Siberian Huskies called Ace and TJ, they keep me very busy! I hope I continue to grow as a person and expand my knowledge to be able to bring more information to women all around the world. You can get access to my website here.

A typical day in the life of Kayla Itsines looks like….?

I am not hugely different from anyone else, I guess. I wake up at 5:30am to train my gorgeous girls at bootcamp, go home, eat breakfast and take Ace and TJ for a walk. I then spend my day creating blogs, talking to my millions of AMAZING Instagram followers and working out before I got ready to train my bootcamp at our evening session. After that, I come home, have dinner with Tobi, and relax with a nice big mug of peppermint tea.

Where did your passion for fitness come from?

Once I graduated high school, I actually started studying beauty therapy. However, my love of sport and basketball lead to me to take up personal training, and that’s when I discovered how much I loved helping people to become healthier and happier! I have never looked back since. For me, it was a great life changing decision. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Did you always have such an amazing body?

Definitely not. I had a really tough time at the beginning of high school. My classmates bullied me for being ‘too skinny’ and ‘weak’. This is when I turned this negative energy from my peers into a positive lifestyle change for myself. I have trained and researched for years to get my body to where it is today. Now I’m in the position where I can use this information to educate girls to feel happy and confident, like I do now!

How did you come up with your Bikini Body guide?

In 2008 I completed my course at the Australian Institute of Fitness. After working for a few years, I began uploading my workout circuits and inspirational client transformations, and quickly developed a rather large following online. In addition to working 60+ hour weeks with my one-on-one clients, I was receiving a huge amount of email enquiries from girls all over the world and was so upset that I could not help them all! This is when I came up with my eBook concept. I then spent the next six to nine months developing my first Bikini Body Training Guide, which includes all of the exercise methods that my clients were seeing great results from.

Why is your guide so different from anything else that already exists?

I guess the biggest difference is the overall goal. Rather than being a weight-loss or muscle-gaining programme, it focuses on achieving a particular look, and ultimately, the feeling of absolute confidence. However, most girls have found that it works in both ways – by helping you lose fat and gain strength! My Bikini Body Training Guides consist of 3-4 high intensity, plyometric/resistance-training sessions per week, as well as a comprehensive education section. My workouts aim to get the most out of your training in as little time as possible. It helps women target their trouble areas in a time-efficient, maintainable way to help them achieve healthy, toned and strong body. I also believe that the scientific basis for my style of training is just as important, which is why I incorporated such an extensive education section in each of my guides. I strongly believe that education is an important when committing to a new lifestyle.

Any tips for all the ladies out there looking to get bikini-body-ready?

Dedication! Find a simple plan and stick to it. Consistency is the biggest piece of advice that can ever be given to anyone. If you train 110% and eat well 10% of the time, you will still only get 10% results. I would rather eat and train well always and get 100% results.

Why is your programme geared more towards women?

First and foremost, I am a woman. I understand the problems we all have. Early on in my career in the health and fitness industry, I realised that no one properly addressed typical female problems or cared the same way I did. So many girls were scared of getting bulky from certain training styles or not looking the way they wanted. As sad as it was, I saw so many personal trainers who cared more about their paycheck than their client. As a result of this unfilled demand and my passion for the industry, I wanted to bring something unique to all of the women who had ‘tried everything’. I wanted to help them get the results and confidence they had been seeking for so long and show them that someone really does care.

Cardio or strength training? Which do you think is more important?

It’s so important to understand that both are vital. One training method will not surpass another as both have different benefits. In conjunction with recovery, there should be a balance between the two training methods.

What do you believe is the biggest misconception about weight loss?

More exercise = more results. Most people are under the illusion that you have to train twice a day, seven days a week and weigh all your food to the gram to get results. This could not be further from the truth. I have heard of many people increasing their training amount just because they weren’t getting any results. Overtraining places a whole lot of unnecessary stress on your body, which can actually make it harder for you to lose weight. Whether exercising for a long time in a single session or exercising multiple times per day, every day, this will raise your cortisol (stress hormone) levels and inhibit your body’s normal functions and reaction to training – including hormone production, weight loss and energy production. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as calories in vs energy out.

Any advice for girls who can’t live without a certain ‘bad’ food?

Moderation is the key. Have it if you need to; if you can’t live without it, see if you can accommodate it into your meal plan as one of your cheat meals, but at the end of the day if you can’t live without it be mindful it may affect your progress.

What is the number-one mistake you see women make when they’re trying to get fit?

Girls so often have the all-or-nothing attitude, where they fluctuate between taking their health seriously by eating extremely healthily and exercising every day, to doing absolutely nothing at all. Going through these constant changes is only going to have a negative effect on your body. This yo-yo type of attitude is the primary cause for rapid weight gain or weight loss, bloating, disappointment and emotional eating.

How did you launch such a communal movement? Especially on Instagram?

I believe that I have drawn a rather large following on social media because I have always been 100% honest with my followers from the very beginning. My account started off as a personal account for my family and friends to see what I was up to, and despite its success, I have continued to maintain my honesty in sincerity in each of my posts. I honestly see my BBG girls as my extended family, and love sharing my day and my knowledge with each and every one of them. I do everything I can to provide my followers all over the globe with as much assistance as possible, and to remind them that they CAN achieve their goals if they dedicate themselves and set their mind to it.

Where the idea of posting pictures before and after your programme come from?

The ‘before and after’ photos of my clients started when I was training my clients in my parents’ backyard; it was a great way to keep my clients motivated and on track as they could see their own progress.

Do women need to have a coach or go to a fitness centre in order to achieve results from your training programme?

Not at all! The best thing about this training program is that I AM your personal trainer. Both my Bikini Body Training Guide and Nutrition HELP plans contain extensive education sections in order to provide my clients with as much information as possible. To me, this education section is just as important as the workouts as women need to be able to understand what they are doing in order to place their trust in it. You do not need a gym membership to complete my guide. All you need is a few basic pieces of equipment, hard work, and of course, dedication!

What does ‘balance’ mean to you?

Balance to me is so important as I believe that it’s unhealthy to have too much or too little of something in your life. One of my main tips to keep a healthy balance is to create a daily to-do list and plan your day in advance. That way you can aim to make sure that you are fitting in all of those things that are most important to you, such as exercise, work, family and friends. Mine would of course involve spending time with Tobi, Ace and TJ!

What are the things you absolutely need in your gym bag at all times?

I would never go to the gym without my headphones! I cannot work out without music! As well as these I’d make sure that I have a drink bottle with lemon and ice, and my sweat towel.

Many women say that they exercise regularly yet see no changes to their body. Do you have any tips?

It’s not all about exercise; a healthy diet is fundamental to the longevity and consistency of an individual’s results. Not only while going through the ‘weight loss’ phase but also while maintaining their energy levels. As you start to get tired it is very easy to lose motivation, so keep your energy levels high by nourishing your body with the right foods.

Your best advice for those just starting out, or getting back into exercise after a long time off?

Be smart about it, don’t get fed up straight away. Be patient, change isn’t going to come instantly. Try to work yourself back in slowly and your body will soon develop a habit. Poor lifestyle patterns take time to rewrite and you won’t see significant results in a week. Stick to it and you WILL get there!