The girl in the photo above and to the left was having a blast, but felt super self conscious and not at all happy with her body. Now before you start rolling your eyes – I never thought I was in any shape or form “fat”. However, I felt tired, gross, and unhealthy. I had just started going to Zumba once a week (versus doing nothing at all) but I was still eating terribly daily and I wasn’t very active outside of that one hour a week.
After looking at photos like the photo above from that same week, I decided I needed to do something. But I’m gonna be honest, guys…I didn’t do much to fix it right away. I had healthy spurts here and there as well as times I would do more workouts at home than others, but I didn’t have any sort of real routine outside of weekly Zumba. While doing SOMETHING helped slightly, I still spent most of 2018 not feeling good about myself.
A friend mentioned wanting to try BBG on the Sweat app after New Years 2019 and asked if I wanted to do it with her. So, in late January/early February, we started! And guys, it was HARD. I got into a routine, I felt better, and I was starting to see a change, but after a few weeks the moves started getting really advanced for my level to the point that I felt like I was going to injure myself. So, I decided to try Tone It Up, since I’ve seen several others use their app and love it. This post goes through the differences between the two and which I liked better.
Cost
Tone It Up:
- $12.99/month or $83.88/year ($6.99/month) for the app
- Free workout videos on youtube
- Free recipes on their website
BBG:
- $19.99 a month for the Sweat app, which includes several workout programs (in addition to BBG) based on your personal needs and level as well as a meal plan.
Workouts/Overall Experience
Tone It Up
Pros:
- There is more of a variety to choose from. With their On-Demand section of the app, you can choose which part of your body to target and then there are tons of workout “classes” to choose from.
- Karena and Katrina (and all of the other instructors) make some really fun videos to follow along with. They act like real people and even goof off a little. It gives you the workout video experience of them talking to you like you’re in class. They also empathize with you when it’s a hard workout. 😂
- They show you modifications if a workout move might be a little more advanced and not quite right for your personal experience level, so it’s open to all levels!
- There are set weekly “live” classes that you can join and there is even a live chat feature on the app with other users.
- You can cast the videos on your TV so you’re not straining to see what’s going on on your phone.
- There are free videos and recipes online so you don’t really need to purchase the app!
Cons:
- You kind of have to come up with your own plan. You’ll figure out when you want to do arms, abs, glutes, etc. So you don’t really get that personal trainer feel for what you “should” be doing.
- Since there is not a set plan set out for you, I have a harder time sticking to doing it several times a week. I’m the kind of person that needs someone to tell me what to do and when.
BBG
Pros:
- With the Sweat app, you get a set workout AND meal plan with calendar for both.
- Instead of videos, you get animated gif-like photos/videos to show you how to do the moves, with written detailed instructions.
- There is little to no sound (except for Kayla Itsines’s voice telling you what you are doing next) so it’s better to take to the gym with you, or if you like to watch TV or listen to music while you work out you have more freedom to do so.
- The workouts change up a little every week so you’re not completely doing the same thing over and over, but you’re still staying consistent.
Cons:
- It got really hard really fast for my level. The 4 week BBG beginner program was not long enough to prepare me for the “actual” BBG workouts. Though you can repeat the program several times, I hate doing the same workout moves every time. I need variety.
- There are no modification options, though I made my own. (i.e. Modified push ups because I’m weak.)
- A friend of mine that trains athletes for a living noticed that the balance of the workouts was not good for someone of my lifestyle, who sits at a desk all day for work. For instance, there were a lot of “press” moves but no “pull” moves. Therefore I was working my chest and none of my back, so I was making my (already terrible) posture worse. The Tone It Up workouts, however, do offer a good balance.
- It expects you to have equipment at your house that normal people who don’t work out a ton don’t have, like two benches.
Results
It all depends on your body type and what you are doing, but for me I was seeing results faster with BBG. However, it was not worth the fact that I was bound to hurt myself soon with how quickly the workouts were getting advanced. As long as you are getting out there and moving, you’re going to see results. I do still see results with the Tone It Up workouts, even if it’s not as quick. So, overall I like Tone It Up better, though I still enjoyed BBG for its pros. If there was a slightly less advanced version with more balanced, varied, and realistic workouts, I wouldn’t mind going back to the Sweat app.