I decided to try an experiment with a Beach Body program. Often times these programs try to sell you their Shakeology, an eating plan, and a dream of this amazing before and after. When it comes to BeachBody I feel that most of the before and afters may be sponsored or posted by “Coaches”. That stuff makes me hesitant.
I don’t have the care to try Shakeology, and I do not have time for their meal plan in my life right now. So my question was how the heck does this plan fit into the life of a young busy professional?
Lets talk about the methodology for this experiment.
I ate relatively healthy, and what I mean by that is I didn’t regulate myself too much and I occasionally had sweets. I mean both valentines day and our anniversary fell on week 6 of this program. I also drank a few drinks on week 5. I did regulate my caloric intake to around 1,700 cal. as much as possible. To do this I used my FitBit app to record my food everyday, or almost everyday, I’m human ya know. One key thing I tried to do as well was to increase my water intake. I also used my FitBit to log my water. I have the FitBit Blaze which is discontinued and replaced by the Versa (though I mention my FitBit a lot here I am not sponsored by them or anyone else).
The equipment you will need for this program is a set of dumbbells, and some type of mat. I purchased my weights from both Target and Walmart. The mat I used was a inexpensive yoga mat from Tj Maxx.
LIIFT4 is an 8 week program designed by BeachBody trainer Joel Freeman who also walks you through the 8 weeks. It is a combination of lifting weights and HIIT workouts. For weeks 1-6 there are 3 workout styles: LIIFT 50/50, Circuit, and LIIFT Interval. Every-other week for the first 6 the forth workout is leg focused HIIT. On weeks 7 and 8 the forth day is a full body HIIT. Reading all that is some what confusing, but the Beach Body on Demand website does a good job of laying out the weeks and the workout days. See the example below.
SO. Where did I start before this program? Below I’ve added an image of the measurement sheet that you can fill out during this program. I had a total inches of 195.75 and weight of 180 Lbs.
My favorite of the work out types were the LIIFT 50/50 days. I’d track my work outs on my FitBit under the “Weights” category and I loved seeing that I was burning close to or over 300 calories on these days. With the amount of work you do during these it was definitely an encouragement, because if I felt like I was dying and then only burned 150 calories I’m not sure it would be worth it. That being said on the circuit days I wouldn’t burn as much, but my muscles really, REALLY felt it during these days. I firmly believe that these days made me stronger.
The program gives you a weight tracker to monitor what you start with and end with. You are supposed to write down as you go through the work outs what you are lifting. I’ve included my sheet here but also a typed one that is a bit neater and easier to read.
As you can see I was able to increase my weights throughout the 8 weeks. The hardest move was the shoulder fly. I started week 1 reps with using no weights after I tried 2 pound dumbbells and was able to work my way to 5 pounds. The swimmers were also brutal and I finished the program using 7.5 pounds starting in week 3 at 2 pounds.
During the circuit days there is a “burn out” and it is almost always a killer. I guess that my be self explanatory but now you can’t say I didn’t warn you. Everyday of the program has a “core component” which I have come to really appreciate. Which you will understand when we talk about my results here soon.
You can see above in my weight tracker that on week 4 I have written HARD!, and it was a really difficult week to get through. Week eight the last day of the program and full body HIIT had me about in tears. It was awful, but worth it.
SO. My results. Lets take a look.
I lost a total of 6 inches and 7.3 pounds. I lost the most inches around my natural waist (belly button) which I was a real stoked about. My hips also reduced 1.5 inches which I was equally stoked about, too. One place I wish I had lost more would be in my arms. I started knowing with lifting I would potentially be gaining in that area, but I hoped that more of my under arm fat would vanish. Naturally, like most people with wings…
I really enjoyed this program and the fact that it had weights involved. My goal in my health journey is to be strong, and toned. I truly feel that this program can give me that without the Shakeology, and compartment eating that they promote. I will say that during the actual workouts the Shakeology wasn’t mentioned so much that it was a turn off. Mostly it was just “make sure to drink your Hydrate.” I feel that if you are looking for something you can do at home and start using weights it is a good program. Beach Body On Demand is a subscription program and you can find out more about that here at their website.
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