Beachbody – Body Beast

OUR RATING

Rating: 80/100. Body Beast is a Beachbody home fitness plan focused on strength training for men and women. Beachbody advertises that you can go from “Average Joe to JACKED” and from “Ho-hum to HOTTIE” over the 90-day course. All of the workouts are led by award-winning bodybuilder Sagi Kalev. The Base Kit is centered around 12 video workouts that are shipped on four DVDs and also streamable online. Meal guides are included with each DVD set to help keep you fueled and able to recover quickly from exercise.

Results vary but overall you can expect significant weight loss, total body strengthening, and all-over tightening as a result of completing one Body Beast workout per day, six days per week.

The most dramatic Body Beast results are enjoyed by people who are relatively new to serious strength training. As you quickly gain muscle you’ll burn more fat than before (even as you sleep!) because your resting metabolic rate will rise. But if you’ve already been at it for almost a year, Body Beast might not help you break past a plateau.

The Body Beast DVD Base Kit costs about $50 including $9.95 for shipping and handling. With purchase of the DVDs you can also stream the videos to TV, a computer or your mobile device. All Beachbody DVD sets are sold with money-back guarantees.

Pros:

• Brings dramatic results. Training six days a week with Body Beast videos, science says that beginners can get dramatic results in terms of weight loss and strength gain. Keep in mind though that Body Beast before-and-after pictures might show the effects of two or three rounds of the program (not just 90 days).
• An introduction to weightlifting. The name “Body Beast” is meant to be intimidating, but really the program is an introduction to strength training with free weights; you aren’t expected to be an advanced “beast” when you begin.
• Supports a lean or bulked-up goal. Many exercisers, women in particular, are concerned that with weightlifting they’ll become bulkier than intended. The Body Beast program explains how you can use different exercise videos with a specific nutrition plan to get your desired effect.
• Available online and with DVDs. The Body Beast Base Kit is sold on a 12-DVD set. With purchase of the DVDs you’ll also get online access. (Stream videos to your computer, TV or mobile device.) A second purchasing option is to sign up for the Beachbody digital fitness service. Called Beachbody On Demand, the service gives subscribers unlimited access to Body Beast videos and hundreds of others.
• Free trial for Beachbody on Demand. Customers get 14 days to try Beachbody On Demand for free.
• Satisfaction guaranteed. Body Beast DVDs are returnable for a refund (minus shipping and handling) within 30 days when purchased directly from Beachbody. You may keep the two bonus workout DVDs, which feature the same personal trainer Sagi Kalev.

Cons:

• The beastly grunt. In the best personal training scenarios, you like the personal trainer’s workouts AND their style. A small percentage of Body Beast customer reviews mention disliking Sagi Kalev’s “beastly” grunts during lifts. Others aren’t bothered or even think the exaggerated grunts are amusing.
• Few women are included. Unlike most other Beachbody fitness series, Body Beast mostly has men in its videos. This could be discouraging to women who’d like to see female role models or demonstrators for most of the exercises.
• Not for advanced users. If you have already been strength training for awhile, you might think Body Beast isn’t an adequate challenge. The exercises are standard, so you probably won’t learn a lot either.
• DVD troubles. The main complaint in customer reviews of Body Beast is that sometimes the DVDs fail to play. It’s a good idea to try playing them all right away to make sure they work. You’ll have 90 days to return the DVDs for a refund or request an exchange.

INTRODUCTION

Body Beast is a three-month home exercise series focused on strengthening the body. It can support either lean muscle mass or bulking up, and in both cases a side benefit is fat loss. The twelve main Body Beast workouts primarily use weight lifting or resistance exercises, and they’re led by personal trainer Sagi Kalev for Beachbody. Each month of the program is a distinct Training Block with its own workout focus and diet recommendations.

HOW IT WORKS

The 12 Body Beast workout videos can be streamed to your TV, computer or mobile device. You can also play the videos on DVD. You will exercise six days/week for 12 weeks.

A booklet that arrives with the DVDs explains how to set a video workout schedule to support your fitness goals. Another guide explains how eating foods (and supplements) with specific nutrient proportions can help fuel your workouts and speed up your recovery time. For personalized advice you can contact other program users and Beachbody fitness experts at an exclusive online forum.

Most of the videos require use of resistance bands or dumbbells and other simple home gym equipment as listed below.