Meet BBG Community Member Gina

When I hear about a story from the BBG Community like Gina’s (she’s @gigigaribaldi on Instagram) I just think: “YES!”

She has gone from a point in her life where she felt like she had let herself down, to making a huge change by starting my BBG program and prioritising health and fitness. 

A year and a half into her journey, now she’s all about knowing her self-worth and becoming healthy as she can be. I LOVE that she has found motivation by training to become a nurse, so she can help others with their health too.

I find her outlook so inspiring, and I know you will too — meet Gina!

‘Believe in yourself — you are capable of doing this’

Gina: My name is Gina Garibaldi. I currently live in Sacramento, California.

Me: What has your relationship with fitness been like in the past?

Gina: In high school, I was playing soccer, and I actually ended up tearing my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] meniscus twice. So by senior year of high school, I had already had four knee surgeries. Due to more working out and inconsistent training, I actually had three more knee surgeries by sophomore year of college. It's just, it's hard to get back. It's really hard. Almost feels like part of your life has gone. 

Me: What’s the biggest personal barrier you’ve faced in your life?

Gina: It was for one of my best friend's weddings. And I was a bridesmaid. She had gotten us all of these really pretty flowery robes. I put it on, and honestly, it was the most humiliating I have ever felt in my whole life. It wouldn't close. It didn't even go over my arms. Like it was, like, stuck on my big arms. And I was so embarrassed because I don't think I realised how far I'd let myself go. I felt like crap. I was so humiliated, but I couldn't blame it on anyone else but myself. There were just certain things I couldn't do anymore. And I wanted to be this strong person. I wanted to be a nurse. And I knew that if I was trying to help people with their health, I couldn't be unhealthy myself. 

Me: When was the first time you did a BBG workout?

Gina: It was in my senior year of college and, oh my gosh, I died. I was dripping in sweat. I went to sit on the concrete, ‘cos I'm going to take a photo, and it was literally a sweat angel. And I was like, oh my God, I’m so badass. I'm like, I'm so badass. I did that shit. Like I was so excited. 

Me: What did you think of the BBG Zero Equipment workout?

Gina: I think I just took the excuse out of not working out. I think it just made it more doable, more friendly. It's 28 minutes. Like you can do anything for 28 minutes. You can have a towel, you can have a yoga mat, but honestly, all you need is yourself — which is why we all started this journey in the first place, is for ourselves. 

Me: What has your weight loss journey looked like?

Gina: Weight loss and fitness go hand-in-hand. At my heaviest, I think I was roughly around 250 pounds. And now, currently, I'm 164. I, like, literally lost [the equivalent to] a child off my body, which is so crazy.  

As the journey has progressed, it's more about how I feel and just being fit. I think it's no longer about being skinny or losing all this weight. It's like how I feel, and I like being toned, and you know, can I go do sprints with my niece and nephew? Like it's, it's the small things. 

Me: Looking back, what advice would you give yourself?

Gina: I would say, if you have a bad day, if you miss a workout, if you eat that piece of cake, don't let it set the tone for the rest of your day. And secondly, I would literally tell myself, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your butt up and go work out. Believe in yourself, have that bit of motivation within yourself that you are capable of doing this. So I think maybe I would say all of that, but maybe in a couple of sentences. I don't know.

Me: No, I love that. Sometimes you don't need a nice rub on the back and someone saying, “Well done, sweetie.” Sometimes you need someone to be like, “You're strong, you're powerful. You're more than capable — get up and just get it done.”

Gina: Everyone needs to have their own self-cheerleader.

It all starts with self-belief

Gina wouldn’t be where she is today without believing she was capable of doing more. 

She took a low point in her life, used it to make a change and started to turn things around. Along the way, she has discovered that fitness is about so much more than exercise. It can build your confidence, which can help you in other areas of your life too. 

My program BBG Zero Equipment has been created so you can make a change even more easily. You don’t need anything to start your journey but yourself and the belief that you can do it — you can literally start working out anywhere, anytime!