Hello! As a follow up to my previous post about BBG – I wanted to write about my experience with PWR by Kelsey Wells! As some of you know, BBG is a 12 week, at-home resistance-based workout. There are three 28min sessions per week that you follow along in the Sweat App. The Sweat App is subscription-based and includes 4 other programs: BBG Stronger, Body and Mind, Post-Pregnancy and PWR.
I’ve personally completed 4 rounds of BBG by Kayla Itsines, 2 rounds of BBG 1.0 and 2 rounds of BBG 2.0. I began finding BBG 2.0 to be extremely repetitive and I was lacking the motivation to keep going. Enter: Kelsey Wells PWR. Last Monday was my first PWR Workout, and here’s how I feel about it:
BBG vs PWR: The Structure
All 12 weeks of BBG have three resistance workouts, an optional Challenge, 3 LISS sessions, and 1 optional HIIT. PWR weeks 1-4 have three resistance workouts, with an optional arms + abs session, 3 LISS sessions with an optional HIIT. With PWR, after week 4 you increase the resistance workouts to include a required arms + abs, with the option to add an additional abs session. That’s 5 resistance workouts, if you include the optional abs sesh. Starting Week 9, you reduce the cardio to only 2 times per week, and have another optional resistance workout you can complete. Follow me? So Week 9-12, you have 4 required resistance workouts, with 2 additional as an option.
BBG vs PWRr: The Workouts
As someone who had not done a resistance workout in awhile, BBG was amazing. It doesn’t require a lot of equipment, so you can virutually do it anywhere. It’s also not very intimidating because you don’t have to worry as much about form. The resistance workouts include burpees, push ups, lay down push ups, mountain climbers, and something called commandos, which I was completely new to. They were pretty hard for me as a beginner, but I started on my knees and eventually was able to do them the “right” way. Seriously, proudest moment of my adult life. I even came home and showed my husband, I was that proud (lol).
PWR is definitely gym-based. A lot of the exercises require machines and equipment, although I was able to complete an arms + chest session in my home-gym. The app has videos to show you correct form, which is great. One thing I wish the app demonstrated is how to set up the machine. I find that sometimes I am looking at the contraption trying to figure out how to adjust it for my height, etc. If you’re not a beginner like I am, you probably don’t need this. However, the gym I go to I’m pretty much the only woman in the weight room, and although I’m gaining confidence from my first week, I’m still pretty intimidated. Hopefully in my next PWR Reflection Post, this will change!
Bbg vs Pwr: The Number of Burpees
PWR > BBG on the burpee front! I loathe burpees. My joints ain’t what they used to be, and I’m prone to get lightheaded when doing burpess (probably my diet). In the first week of BBG, assuming you complete 2 laps per round, there are 80 burpees in week 1. Not to mention jump squats. UGH the JUMPING. PWR Week 1: 0 burpees.
My Week 1 PWR Review:
I love it! The weights have me feeling so strong, and seeing more definition already. I enjoy the workouts, and I like the structure. You can tell that Kelsey has put thought and reasoning into the workouts. I’m sure Kayla did the same with BBG, but it’s nice to know you’re activating your muscles, doing pyramids, supersets and burnouts. It makes me feel more knowledgable than the beginner I used to be. Something I’m still getting used to is scheduling about an hour for PWR, especially if there is a wait for a machine. I’m pretty used to working my schedule around a 30 min workout, but that will come with time. Having said that, 7 minutes into BBG I’d be thinking “Kayla! Are you trying to kill me?!” but by the time I’m thinking that during PWR, it’s almost over. So that’s nice. And finally, PWR has me focusing on muscles I just didn’t even think about during BBG workouts. Namely, my back, chest and tris. If you’re deciding between another round of BBG or PWR – so far I’d highly recommend PWR!
Want to know the 1 product I highly recommend for PWR? See it here.
Wanting to try the workouts without a gym membership? Here are some items I think could help:
Hey Megan,
Just happened upon your lovely blog as I googled BBG vs. PWR 😉 I did BBG in 2016 before my wedding and now I’m considering PWR. How’s is going for you thus far? My main goal is currently weight loss as I’ve slide back a bit since completing BBG, so I’m concerned PWR might just build muscle but not provide enough cardio. Have you found the cardio to be sufficient? I too live in CHI by way of LA! Thanks in advance BBG sista!
Yay! Well, welcome! I’m glad you found this! To be completely honest, I love the workouts in PWR much more than I did with BBG (BBG seemed to get repetitive) BUT my goal is weightloss as well, and I haven’t really lost any pounds. I haven’t been 100% on my diet though either, so that definitely doesn’t help. I feel skinnier and have lost a pants size, but the scale hasn’t really moved. If you can be 100% with your diet, you’ll probably be likely to lose fat because you’re building muscle and burning more calories throughout the day, but the cardio days actually decrease with PWR to make room for more weight training days. I think if you’re more into cardio that BBG would be better!
Hi! With PWR are you able to modify if you don’t have the right workout equipment in your gym? Thanks!
Hello! I would say yes! If you have resistance bands, free weights and a stairwell or sturdy chair you could definitely improvise!
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The PWR resistance workouts typically take 45+ minutes to complete, which is a good bit longer than the 28-minute circuits I was used to doing with BBG. Since there are 4-5 resistance days per week, that adds up to a lot of time! And that doesn’t even include the time for LISS and HIIT workouts that are included in the program.