Kayla Itsines's no-equipment workout whips you into shape — in just 5 minutes
Yahoo Life is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. This is day one of a 5-day workout challenge designed especially for Yahoo Life readers.
With people mostly staying at home during the pandemic, many have found themselves having to juggle both their job and their kids. That doesn’t exactly leave much time to fit in exercise — and even if you can squeeze in a workout, chances are you don’t have much equipment on hand.
That’s where fitness star Kayla Itsines, who has more than 12 million faithful followers on Instagram, comes in. The popular Australian personal trainer and co-creator of the Bikini Body Guides (BBG) workout program, has designed a 5-Day Workout Challenge for Yahoo Life readers that’s meant to be done right at home — and there’s no equipment required. Plus, Itsines is offering an exclusive reward for Yahoo Life readers!
Best of all: Some of the exercise sessions can be done in as little as 5 minutes.
Exclusive reward for Yahoo Life readers: Get a free 1-month trial and a 3-month SWEAT membership for just $39 (usual price is $56), or a 6-month membership for $58.79 (usual price is $83.99.)
3 months for $39 special offer click here
6 months for $58.79 click here
You can do these beginner-friendly workouts “anytime, anywhere,” Itsines tells Yahoo Life. “You don’t need to be in a gym to get a great workout in.”
While it can be hard to prioritize time for exercising, “having these workouts, especially if you haven’t worked out before, in the comfort of your home — that’s doable for everyone,” Itsines says. “Everyone can do them.”
Itsines came up with the concept of her new BBG Zero Equipment program during the pandemic. “We’ve gone from having the complete freedom of a gym with weights and classes to ‘I'm stuck in an apartment, no time, no energy, no money, no equipment, no space,’” says Itsines. “It took COVID-19 for me to be, ‘Hold on a second — we can be in a space with absolutely nothing and [still] get a good workout in.” That’s when BBG Zero Equipment was born — and clearly, the program struck a chord with her followers. “That launch went absolutely crazy,” she says.
Exclusive reward for Yahoo Life readers
Here’s another thing to go crazy over: Itsines is offering Yahoo Life readers an exclusive deal on the fitness app, SWEAT, which is packed with programs designed to be done at home or outside — including Itsines’s BBG Zero Equipment workouts. The program features 16 weeks of workouts that you can do anytime and anywhere. Enjoy a free 1-month trial and a 3-month SWEAT membership for just $39 (usual price is $56), or a 6-month membership for $58.79 (usual price is $83.99.)
3 months for $39 special offer click here
6 months for $58.79 click here
But hurry, this deal is limited. (Yahoo Lifestyle may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.)
Ready to break a sweat and get your body moving with today’s workout?
Watch the workout at the top of this article — and be sure to follow along this week for a new no-equipment workout every day. Pressed for time today? No problem. Itsines kicks off her 5-Day Workout Challenge with a sweat session that is only 5 minutes long — so even if you’re time-crunched, you can fit in this quick full-body, no-equipment workout.
I love to do the burpees with weights now. I feel like a badass, strong mom.Monica Forler, mother of two & BBG program enthusiast
The set features 5 exercises, which are performed for 30 seconds each, and then repeated. Each exercise works a different set of muscles, targeting your quads, glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, and abs. “You’ll feel empowered that you’ve done something for yourself,” says Itsines.
And don’t worry if you haven’t worked out in a while — these moves are beginner-friendly. But if you want an added challenge, Itsines recommends repeating the workout or adding high knees in between each exercise. She says that high knees are one of her favorite exercise moves. “It’s amazing,” she tells Yahoo Life. “If you want to work your abs — high knees. Improve your posture — high knees. You can add them in between exercises to make it harder. It works your whole body.”
Have more time? Try doing one of Itsines’s BBG workouts on the SWEAT app and then adding on this 5-minute exercise session at the end.
BBG success story: Monica Forler
You just might find yourself hooked on Itsines’s workouts, like Monica Forler — a mom of two in New Orleans, who first started following Itsines’s BBG programs back in 2014. But it wasn’t until after Forler had her first child in 2018 that she felt ready to stick to the workouts. “It was a kickoff for the New Year,” Forler tells Yahoo Life. “I’d just turned 30 and I said, ‘I’m going to do it.’ And then I was hooked.”
A post shared by M O N I C A (@momentswith.monica) on Jul 20, 2020 at 3:12am PDT
Forler, who had two C-sections, first followed Itsines’s BBG Post-Pregnancy program and then the BBG Zero Equipment program for 15 months, and felt her energy and strength increasing, calling the 28-minute workouts her “sweat for sanity.”
A post shared by M O N I C A (@momentswith.monica) on Oct 9, 2020 at 9:17am PDT
“I can actually keep up with my girls,” Forler says, adding that her young girls join her in the workouts. “I love to do the burpees with weights now. I feel like a badass, strong mom.”
But Forler says it’s the BBG fitness community that also keeps her coming back. “I had horrible postpartum depression and the community [Itsines] created is so supportive,” says Forler. “The passion and love she pours back into it is so authentic.”
Exclusive reward for Yahoo Life readers: Get a free 1-month trial and a 3-month SWEAT membership for just $39 (usual price is $56), or a 6-month membership for $58.79 (usual price is $83.99.)
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Life's newsletter.