I had put off trying this program for the longest time. I don't really know why, maybe because I just loved Tony Horton and Shaun T so much and their style of workouts. I will say that Tony and Shaun tend to push me a little harder than Sagi. Sagi definitely knows how to lift weights though, and that is what I really enjoyed about this program. I used to love going to the gym and lifting weights but I have now learned I was doing it all wrong. I had a general idea if I wanted to work certain areas that I should do certain lifts but the science of dynamic set training that Sagi brings with this program is just great.
This program is laid out into 3 phases and a total of 90 days. There are two different approaches you can take, you can follow the Lean Beast calendar or the HUGE Beast calendar. I followed the Huge Beast calendar since my goal was to put on some weight. Laura is currently doing the Lean Beast, you can look for her review in a little bit. There are 3 phases that you go through with either calendar; Build, Bulk, and Beast Phases. You will start "building" a base of strength in the first phase. Followed by the "bulking" phase where you change up your lifts and if you are looking to gain weight, you add more calories to your eating plan. The goal here is you will add muscle but you will also add some fat. Then in the final phase, you trim the fat and keep the muscle.
This program is laid out into 3 phases and a total of 90 days. There are two different approaches you can take, you can follow the Lean Beast calendar or the HUGE Beast calendar. I followed the Huge Beast calendar since my goal was to put on some weight. Laura is currently doing the Lean Beast, you can look for her review in a little bit. There are 3 phases that you go through with either calendar; Build, Bulk, and Beast Phases. You will start "building" a base of strength in the first phase. Followed by the "bulking" phase where you change up your lifts and if you are looking to gain weight, you add more calories to your eating plan. The goal here is you will add muscle but you will also add some fat. Then in the final phase, you trim the fat and keep the muscle.
Equipment Needed
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Length of Workouts
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Overall Review
This is a great program for pretty much anybody. Whether you are a guy looking to gain some serious mass, to a 70 year old grandma. Lifting weights is so important for everyone, as a way to at least maintain muscle mass. The intensity of this workout can easily be scaled up or down depending on your current strength level. You will get stronger and you will gain muscle mass during this program. If you combine your lifting with a strict nutrition plan and controlled calorie intake you will be able "bulk" up. For me personally I didn't start putting on weight until I was consuming 4,000 calories per day. Prior to that I was eating around 3,000-3,200 and was gaining minimal weight. So for anyone (women mainly) that are scared of "bulking" you don't have to worry, because you really need to a crazy abundance of calories on top of the right hormonal situation going on (lots of testosterone) to add serious mass. I'll let Laura give more perspective on this topic when she reviews it. If your goal is fat loss, get stronger and to tone or gain muscle this would be a great program to do that. You likely won't be ready to run a marathon after you are done, since the cardio component is a just a smaller piece of this program. It is enough to keep you in decent cardio shape and burn fat.
One concern is the amount of equipment that you might need to do this program. A great way around that especially if you are a gym regular you can stream this workout from a phone or tablet and do it at the gym and use all of their equipment. You would just need to become a Team Beachbody Club Member for that.
One concern is the amount of equipment that you might need to do this program. A great way around that especially if you are a gym regular you can stream this workout from a phone or tablet and do it at the gym and use all of their equipment. You would just need to become a Team Beachbody Club Member for that.
My Results
My goals going in was to add 10 pounds and go from 160 to 170 pounds. I definitely underestimated my metabolism and fell short of that goal. Over the first 6 weeks of the program I put on around 4 pounds total. That is when I bumped my calories up to 4,000 per day and went from 164 to 169 in the final 3 weeks of the Bulk Phase. Had I been eating like that the entire time I would have maybe hit my goal. I will say that I did have some insecurities when that scale crept up north of 170 a couple times when I weighed in at night. I hadn't seen it that high since I first started my weight loss journey. I was a little nervous about leaning out and getting it back down.
I did take some supplements while I was doing this program which I think definitely helped. First one was Shakeology. When I was consuming 4,000 calories a day I would usually have 2 shakes per day, each one around 700 calories. It would have been next to impossible for me to eat that many calories if some of the calories didn't come from a shake. So that was huge, plus it kept my nutrition on point. I also used a l-glutamine supplement that aids in muscle growth but also in intestinal health. When you eat 200+ grams of protein per day your digestive system needs all the help it can get. So this helped along with the digestive enzymes and probiotics in Shakeology. I also had some leftover creatine from a previous workout that I used on occasion. It tends to give me a headache so I use it sparingly and about half the dosage recommended.
Looking back to, I now realize how hard it is to gain muscle and 10 pounds in 90 days maybe wasn't the most realistic goal. My final totals were, I gained 5 total pounds, I lost one pound of fat and gained 6 pounds of lean mass. Overall I'm pretty happy with my results from a measurement standpoint and visual standpoint. I think the thing that I see the biggest difference in is my back.
I did take some supplements while I was doing this program which I think definitely helped. First one was Shakeology. When I was consuming 4,000 calories a day I would usually have 2 shakes per day, each one around 700 calories. It would have been next to impossible for me to eat that many calories if some of the calories didn't come from a shake. So that was huge, plus it kept my nutrition on point. I also used a l-glutamine supplement that aids in muscle growth but also in intestinal health. When you eat 200+ grams of protein per day your digestive system needs all the help it can get. So this helped along with the digestive enzymes and probiotics in Shakeology. I also had some leftover creatine from a previous workout that I used on occasion. It tends to give me a headache so I use it sparingly and about half the dosage recommended.
Looking back to, I now realize how hard it is to gain muscle and 10 pounds in 90 days maybe wasn't the most realistic goal. My final totals were, I gained 5 total pounds, I lost one pound of fat and gained 6 pounds of lean mass. Overall I'm pretty happy with my results from a measurement standpoint and visual standpoint. I think the thing that I see the biggest difference in is my back.
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Beginning Measurements
Weight: 160 Bicep: 13" Chest: 38" Waist: 32" Hips: 37" Thigh: 22" Body Fat: 8.2% |
End of Bulk Phase Measurements
Weight: 169 Bicep: 14.5" Chest: 39" Waist: 33" Hips: 38" Thigh: 22.5" Body Fat: 9.3% |
Final Measurements
Weight: 165 Bicep: 14.5" Chest: 39" Waist: 32" Hips: 37" Thigh: 22" Body Fat: 7.4% |
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If you are interested in this program you can head over to our Body Beast Page to watch a short demo of the workout. Feel free to hit me up with any questions that you might have too.
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