Kayla Itsines prioritizes cardio and circuit training in her fitness routine.
Kayla Itsines is a globally recognized fitness model and entrepreneur who has inspired millions of women to achieve their health and fitness goals. Surprisingly, Itsines once feared the gym as a child. This article explores her journey of overcoming that fear through discipline and determination, transforming her into the goal-driven individual she is today. We’ll also take a closer look at Itsines’ training programs and disciplined nutrition practices that have helped countless others on their fitness journeys.
| Full Name: Kayla Itsines | ||
| Weight | Height | Date of Birth |
| (52.2-56.7 kg) 115-125 lbs | (165 cm) 5’5″ | 05/21/1991 |
| Professional | Era | Nationality |
| Fitness Model/Fitness Trainer/Influencer | 2010-Till Date | Australian |
Kayla Itsines’ Biography
Kayla Itsines was born in Australia on May 21, 1991. She loved playing sports and traces her interest back to her passion for basketball. However, earlier in life, the concept of going to the gym intimidated her.
Going to the Gym
She eventually got encouragement from a personal trainer to try lifting weights. This boosted her confidence, gave her the boldness to overcome her fears, and step into the gym for the first time. When spending time in the gym, Itsines discovered the satisfaction she derived from working out. She spent a great deal of time at the gym and abandoned her original plans of becoming a beauty therapist to focus on fitness.
“My love of sport and basketball led me to personal training. That’s when I discovered how much I loved helping people to become healthier and happier, and have never looked back since, for me, it was a great life-changing decision.”
— Kayla Itsines
Journey to Becoming a Personal Trainer
At 18, Kayla Itsines enrolled in the Australian Institute of Fitness and studied to become a Master Trainer. Not too long after her graduation, she found a job as a trainer in a women’s gym in Adelaide. During her time there, she discovered some major needs women desired, which were:
- More toned arms
- Flatter stomachs
- Smaller inner thighs
- Not looking too bulky
So, she ditched most of the traditional gym equipment to focus on more aerobic exercise routines, which the ladies were happy about.
Breakthrough Moment
While Itsines was growing her brand and satisfying her clients’ needs, her 12-year-old cousin suggested she post before-and-after pictures of her clients on Instagram. Within a few months, she gained thousands of followers and was receiving requests from women about how to improve their bodies. Itsines saw this as an opportunity to grow her brand and even compiled some of her workout routines in an eBook to sell online.
Business
In 2014, Itsines and her ex-fiancé Tobi Pearce founded the Bikini Body Training company. Shortly after, they produced and published the Bikini Body Guides, which contained Kayla Itsines’ routines and diet practices. That same year, the Bikini Body Guides achieved over one million downloads.
Itsines embarked on a world tour in 2015 called the Kayla Itsines Bootcamp World Tour. She organized meetups and free group fitness classes. This tour included major cities such as New York, London, Los Angeles, and several cities in Australia.
She turned her eBooks into a printed copy in 2016 titled The Bikini Body 28-Day Eating & Lifestyle Guide. In August of the following year, Itsines published another volume titled The Bikini Body Motivation & Habits Guide.
Keeping Up with “The Times”
Kayla Itsines has always credited her success to her social media followers. She prioritizes her clients more than herself. Itsines believes in her brand and is always careful how she’s represented in other publications. In 2016, The Times named Kayla Itsines one of the 30 most influential people on the Internet, and by 2018, her net worth was estimated to be around $63 million.
Training
Kayla Itsines loves to incorporate cardio into her workouts and attends about three to four gym sessions per week. Some of her favorite exercises are planks and cable pulldowns. Planks strengthen the core, while cable pulldowns work the back, arms, forearms, and posterior delts. This study shows that planks are effective in enhancing mental endurance, physical strength, and fitness (1).
She limits her use of free weights to light dumbbells, but when performing these routines, she employs proper form and slow, well-controlled movements to engage her different muscle groups fully.
Here is what a week of training is like for Kayla Itsines:
- Monday — Ab & Arm Workouts
- Tuesday — 30-Minute Brisk Walk or Any Other Cardio
- Wednesday — Lower Body Workouts
- Thursday — 30-Minute Brisk Walk or Any Other Cardio
- Friday — Full-Body Workouts
She completes each workout in a circuit of approximately seven minutes, repeating the circuit two to three times with one-minute rest periods between circuits. Before starting her routines, she likes to do specific warm-ups. This helps improve exercise performance and reduce the chances of injuries (2).
Ab & Arms
Circuit One
| Exercise | Reps |
| Lying Down Press Ups | 10 |
| X Mountain Climbers | 10 (for each side) |
| Bent Leg Raises | 15 |
| X Planks | 10 (for each side) |
Circuit Two
| Exercise | Reps |
| Caterpillar Walks | 10 |
| Side Planks | 30 (for each side) |
| Commandos | 10 |
| Ab Bikes | 30 |
Lower Body
Circuit One
| Exercise | Reps |
| Pop Squats | 12 |
| Reverse Lunges | 10 (for each leg) |
| Double Pulse Squats | 12 |
| Burpees | 10 |
Circuit Two
| Exercise | Reps |
| Lateral Lunges | 10 (for each leg) |
| Glute Bridges | 12 |
| Plank Jacks | 20 |
| Jump Lunges | 8 |
Full-Body Workouts
Circuit One
| Exercise | Reps |
| Reverse Lunges & Knee Ups | 10 |
| Mountain Climbers | 10 (for each side) |
| Bent Leg Jackknife | 20 |
| Press Ups | 10 |
Circuit Two
| Exercise | Reps |
| Jump Squats | 10 |
| Hover Leg Extensions | 10 (for each side) |
| Drop Press Ups | 10 |
| Straight Leg Raises | 15 |
30-Minute Brisk Walk or Any Other Cardio
On days when she isn’t doing any resistance exercises, she does some low-intensity steady-state routines. This involves cycling, jogging, taking brisk walks, swimming, and dancing for about 30 minutes.
Rest & Recovery
Rest and recovery are also part of Kayla Itsines’ routine. She takes time to recover after an intense week of training. Part of her routine is ensuring she gets at least eight hours of sleep every night, even when she’s traveling.
Nutrition
Kayla Itsines is a healthy eater who finds it easy to stick to a balanced diet, regardless of her location. Her main meals include avocados, toasts, tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggs. Her snacks are mostly yogurt and fresh berries. After her workouts, she occasionally has a tuna sandwich. Here is what a daily meal plan for Kayla Itsines looks like:
Meal One
- Poached Eggs
- Avocado on Toast
- Tomatoes
- A Cup of Herbal Tea
Meal Two (Snacks)
Meal Three
- Chicken Wrap
- Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes & Homemade Sauce
Meal Four (Snacks)
- Tuna Salad
- Fruits
Meal Five
- Chicken Soup
- Lemon
- Rice
Meal Six
- Peppermint Tea
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References
- Park, S., Choi, B. H., & Jee, Y. S. (2023). Effects of plank exercise on respiratory capacity, physical fitness, and immunocytes in older adults. Journal of exercise rehabilitation, 19(6), 332–338. https://doi.org/10.12965/jer.2346536.268
- Abad, C. C., Prado, M. L., Ugrinowitsch, C., Tricoli, V., & Barroso, R. (2011). Combination of general and specific warm-ups improves leg-press one repetition maximum compared with specific warm-up in trained individuals. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 25(8), 2242–2245. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e8611b
