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Inside Our June Issue

Photo: Supplied

If you’re an Insta junkie like me, you’ve most likely watched Kayla Itsines (it’s ‘It-seen-ess’) build her ‘Kayla’s Army’ empire with snaps of her at stomach so chiselled it could cut, relatable body transformations of her fans and adorable Siberian huskies... and thought, what the hell? I could’ve done that. But you know what? She did and around five million Instagrammers worldwide are now interested in #thekaylamovement.

We’ve had a lot of discussions about the 24-year-old at WH HQ – analysing her Bikini Body Guides (BBG), her Sweat With Kayla app, the validity of her qualications (“I have an Australian Institute of Fitness Industry – Certicate III and IV in personal training and a Master Trainer course,” she confirms), and the perfect fitness-girl image she sells. If I’m honest, I sat on the fence about it. There were bits I rated: her self-deprecating personality and strength of her BBG community. But her penchant for body-part sel es didn’t sit right with me. That is, until I met and trained with her.

It was a humid Sydney morning whena bunch of bloggers, celebs and media types squashed into a room for a much-anticipated 28-minute workout with Kayla. Her training was solid, I sweated and I liked it (and that’s not just because The Bachelor’s Tim Robards was sweating next to me). And this, she says, is the secret to her success – her app works: “It’s 28 minutes, high intensity, circuit training... everything you need. Women just love it. It’s maintainable, you can do it forever.” This global tness mogul is so sweet, down-to-earth and likeable, I knew immediately we had to put her on our cover.

When chatting to Itsines, it’s like all ofthe fame and fortune she’s quickly amassed is almost an accident (read more in her story p84). Heck, she was just named one of Time magazine’s global online in uencers ofthe year alongside none-other-than the Donald Trump and Caitlyn Jenner!

She manages her own social account and is on it “24/7 – I don’t switch off. I don’t care. I really love what I’m doing. It’s fun.” And what about all those sel es? “I know whoI am as a person. I am just so normal. You don’t sexualise yourself. [My feed is] mostly of the girls with some food and me thrown in.” OK. Fair point.

For the moment, she’s travelling, working on “new ideas and things coming out – more innovation and listening to [the] community about what they want.” Itsines is the real deal. But rst, she wants to share an exclusive workout with you. We hope you enjoy it... along with ‘The CrazyHot Sex Issue’ as well. See you next month!

Felicity