I often get asked – what’s the best beachbody workout, particularly for women? My answer is always “it depends on your goals and fitness level”, but in this post, I’ll tell you what I really think the best workout is, across the board.
First, what determines “a good workout”?
Putting the actual programming and technical elements aside for a sec, I think the best workout is the one you love enough that you’ll do regularly. Personally, I have a rotation that includes
- 21 Day Fix Extreme for weight lifting (because it’s short but intense)
- Turbo fire HIIT 20, 25 and 30 minute classes (because they’re short and intense)
- Transform 20 (because … you guessed it… it’s short and intense)
- Barre Blend, Yoga and Piyo – because they’re not-so intense, but feels REALLY good.
Now, there’s a lot of workouts on the platform that I didn’t mention above, but these are my personal favorites because I prefer to be done sooner rather than later when it comes to a workout.
The Best Beachbody Workout Offers Strength Training, Cardio and Recovery Workouts
For someone who is doing a program from home, from start to finish, the best plan incorporates strength, cardio and recovery workouts, most days of the week. This not only ensures you’re covering the basic requirements for body transformation, but it also ensures you’re building a habit of making fitness part of your day. This is SO important!!
Case in point, I used to workout when the urge struck me back when I was just a runner. One day, I picked up P90x, a 6-day per week workout program and I followed it religiously. It was a game changer for me because from there, I went on to do a bikini competition. Not something I recommend for everyone, but I felt up for the challenge because I had built a habit of working out regularly.
Pro tip – You may think that working out 6 days a week is too much, and maybe it is for you, but when you have workouts you can do from home, it’s much easier to fit into the pockets of time you have in your day.
The best Beachbody workout is the one that doesn’t kill your joints
I’m going to disappoint a lot of people when I say that workouts like Insanity which are predominately plyometrics (jumping) is not the “best” workout. It’s just too much on your joints. It’s fine to do it here and there, but every single day is just too much for the average Joe, looking to get in shape from their basement.
The Best workout challenges your strength limitations
I love body-weight workouts (think push ups, squats, lunges, etc, all using just your body weight). They’re simple, require zero equipment so you can do them anywhere and they just feel good. Your body is typically really good at working with the weight it already has. However, this will NOT improve your strength enough. You need to add weights to really push yourself to improve muscle composition.
Why would you want to improve muscle composition? Simple – muscle is healthy. It’s a marker of longevity, it helps with fat loss, improves metabolism and it’s also beautiful – particularly on women.
Lifting weights is hands down one of the most important things anyone can do from a fitness standpoint. Improved strength will not only make you look better naked, it will combat the diseases associated with aging like osteoporosis and even metabolic syndrome. It will keep you strong, healthy and independent until the day you die.
The Best Workout will help you recover from your hard workouts
A well rounded program will not only challenge your strength and cardiovascular endurance, they will help you recover from those hard workouts, too! This means stretching, doing core work to protect your back and focusing on those fine muscles around your joints that don’t often get strengthened enough. This is where yoga, and pilates come into play. They help to round out a solid workout program by helping your body recover on your “off” days so you can bring your max effort to your really hard days.
So with all that said…
What’s the best workout that Beachbody offers?
I’m going to say it’s 21 Day Fix, or if you’re more advanced, 21 Day Fix Extreme. Both programs have the perfect balance of strength, cardio and recovery workouts (pilates and yoga) that’s laid out across 3 weeks.
There are technically no days off (your rest days are the yoga and pilates days), but that’s a good thing because it trains you to make room for fitness in your life every day. The good news is that each workout is only 30 minutes long, so you can find that time.
It’s an efficient well-rounded program that delivers results without compromising on safety. I have worked with coaches and trainers for the last 8 years and I am a certified personal trainer myself, and honestly, I think this is the best programming I’ve seen in the industry.
How to buy 21 Day Fix (or Fix Extreme)
If you want to give either program a whirl, I recommend ordering Beachbody On Demand all Access with the Performance line of supplements. Yes, you can do just the Beachbody On Demand access without the supplements, but the pre- and post workout supplements really do make the difference. Try it for 30 days and in that time, if you don’t like it, you can return it.
But I don’t think you will.
I think if you show up for the workout, even if you’re a little sore and tired, you will see results that no other program or personal trainer can deliver. That’s what I have seen over and over again in my work with clients who have gone through the program, and from my own experience.
Hope that’s helpful! Happy sweating 🙂
Caren is a certified yoga teacher, fitness instructor and author of The Fit Habit. Here she shares simple, low carb recipes, quick home workout ideas and practical ways to foster mind + body wellness.
Leave a Reply