Generally, I write about programmes after I’ve thoroughly tried them out. And 80 days from now, I’ll indeed to a proper, after the event review of this, to go with all my others. For now though, the programme officially starts tomorrow, and this is a bit of a forward look. In between this intro and the official review, I’ll be attempting to blog my progress each day – both thoughts on the workouts I do and honesty about the ones I miss, along with reflections on the diet and everything else. If you’re doing the programme too, please follow the blog and comment with your own progress.
Beachbody made its name with two programmes – Insanity and P90X – that were famous both for being physically challenging and for demanding a fairly major time commitment. And therefore, for getting amazing results. Recently, it seems to have departed from that in two ways. Firstly, programmes aimed at absolute or relative beginners, such as YouV2 or Country Heat. And secondly, programmes that are as challenging as the earlier ones, but either featuring short workouts (Insanity Max 30, 22 Minute Hard Corps) or designed to be done for a few weeks at a time (21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme being the obvious examples).
It’s interesting therefore that with 80 Day Obsession, Beachbody have doubled-down on their original approach. This programme isn’t for beginners and it’s not messing about. It consists of 6 workouts each week, each of which are 40 to 60 minutes long, with most skewing towards the top of that range. While I haven’t tried them yet, if A Little Obsessed (which features similar, but shorter workouts) is any indication, they are going to be intense. It has a very strict diet plan, based on the wonder that is Portion Fix, but with tighter restrictions on what can go in each box and new rules about what you eat when. It’s also designed to work alongside Beachbody’s range of nutritional supplements. Hand on heart, I’m slightly nervous about how I’m going to balance this one against my busy and unpredictable work schedule, but I’m really excited about going all in.
The main focus of the programme is on getting flat, toned, visible abs and a rounded, lifted bum. But with 6 long workouts a week and careful nutrition, it seems certain to also help participants lose a ton of weight. And there’s lots of total body work too. So a nice combination of a good all-rounder with a specific focus that exactly fits my – and I suspect, a lot of women’s – particular concerns. There are already some amazing before and after photos coming out of the trial groups, which you can see here.
The other thing I’m really excited about it that, unlike most programmes, where you repeat the same workout several times, there are eighty individual workouts in the series, so you’re never going to get bored. As someone who loves Chalean Extreme and 21 Day Fix, but can pretty much recite the scripts, this is a major plus and a bit of a gamechanger in the world of exercise videos, where repetition is one of the few major downsides.
There are six types of workout: Total Body Core, Booty, Cardio Core, AAA (Arms, Abs, and Ass), Legs, and Cardio Core, plus two recovery workouts, one based on stretching, the other based on foam rolling. My reviews of the similar workouts in A Little Obsessed should give a sense of what each of them involve. It’s a nice combination of strength and cardio, and of whole body workouts and targeted moves. A lot of effort seems to have been taken to ensure that whatever body part you’re working, the core and booty are getting a workout and calorie burn is maximised.
One of the fun things about the programme is that it makes use of some interesting accessories, notably resistance loops and strength slides, which are challenging but enjoyable to use, add a whole new dimension to the workout, and really help you target the bum and abs.
The programme is only available on Beachbody on Demand, which I 100% recommend. This is quite an interesting departure. BOD has always have some great exclusive content, but it’s tended to be short programmes or extra workouts for existing, well-known programmes. This, on the other hand, is a huge, flagship undertaking.
If you don’t currently have access to BOD, you can get a year’s subscription, a month’s supply of Shakeology, and all the accessories you need for 80 Day Obsession for just £180 here
If you’re already a Beachbody on Demand customer, you can get everything you need for 80 Day Obsession (workout calendar, resistance bands, strength sliders, portion fix containers) with Shakeology here, with performance supplements here, or with both here.
There are a variety of different combinations of BOD access, 80 Day Obsession accessories, Shakeology and performance supplements available. Do drop me a line if you’re not sure which is right for you or if you’d like more information about this programme or anything else.
Munday Morning Fitness 