For a long time exercise for me has always been about weight loss or at least weight management. But I’ve come to realise that exercise is equally as beneficial and essential for my mental health. I just feel so much better if I get a workout in each day. The problem for me however is fitting it in. I use to be a huge gym and group fitness fanatic. I love the social aspect of working out with other people around me. I find it super motivating.  But after having kids it just became too much of a hassle to get out of the house to exercise. So I needed something I could do at home  and that would keep me interested. Enter Beachbody on Demand. Beachbody on Demand has been around for a couple of years now. But I’ve only fairly recently become a convert. I was sceptical about subscribing to it at first because I had heard it was a scam. While there is definitely a MLM side to the business, I still think my subscription is totally worth it. Read on for my unbiased  Beachbody of Demand review.

Note: I’m in no way affiliated with Beachbody On Demand. 

How does Beachbody on Demand work?

Beachbody on Demand offers a suite of online workouts that can be downloaded on demand. It’s like Netflix – only with workouts. There are a huge array of workouts to choose from catering to all levels of fitness and interests.

Beachbody is probably best known for high intensity workouts such as P90x, Insanity, and PIYo but you can also chose from yoga, cardio, dance, barre, pilates, kickboxing, muscle building plus a lot more. To get a feel for just how many workouts they have, check out all their programs. 

Beachbody on Demand is not available in every country however – you can only join if you have a billing address in the US, Canada, UK or France.

Beachbody on Demand also has nutrition  programs that you can follow being the 2B mindset and the Ultimate Portion Fix (these cost extra). I haven’t tried these but presumably you’d see the best weight loss results if you combined one of the nutrition programs with the workouts.  Many of the workout programs also have eating plans, recipes and meal prep tips that compliments the workouts for maximum results. In my opinion, it is this holistic approach to fitness and health that sets Beachbody on Demand apart from the free workouts you can get on Youtube.

Beachbody on Demand is also part of a MLM where you can sign up with a Beachbody coach to keep you motivated and can also buy meal replacement shakes (called “Shakeology”) and supplements (called “Beachbody Performance”) through them. I didn’t want any of that so I just joined via the Beachbody on Demand website.

Some of the workout programs like PiYo, 21 Day Fix and Insanity Max can be purchased on DVD as stand-alone workouts through Amazon. I think these DVDs are from a time when Beachbody didn’t have their  online, streaming service.

Beachbody on Demand also has an app for your iPhone etc.

How much is Beachbody on Demand?

The minimum you can pay for a Beachbody on Demand subscription is US$59.85 for 3 months ($19.95 per month). This plan doesn’t include the Shakeology” shakes or the supplements or give you access to the 2 Nutrition Plans.  A 12 month plan that gives you access to just the workouts will set you back $99 for the whole year ($8.25 per month). The options to pay for just the workouts look like this:

Even though some of the longer Beachbody on Demand subscription plans work out cheaper in the long run, I recommend joining on the 3 month membership plan to see if it is right for you. The 3 month plan gives you a free 14 day trial (you still need to enter your credit card details). If you don’t cancel within the 14 day trial, you’ll  get charged for the full 3 months.

There is also an option to get a bundle which includes the workouts plus the Shakes and the nutrition plans.

Pros and cons of Beachbody on Demand

Pros of Beachbody on Demand

• For most workouts, they have a modifier who does an easier version of each exercise. You could therefore repeat each program and taken on different level of difficulty/ intensity each time.
• You can do the workouts anywhere.  If you are going to be working out in a place that doesn’t have internet, you could download the programs in advance.
• It’s cheaper than a gym subscription and you’ll save time on travelling to and from the gym. Plus if you have 2 more people in your house who want to work out, you can share the subscription.
• New workouts each day keeps things fresh.
• The workouts don’t require much room. 
• There are a tonne of workouts – there really is a program for everyone.
• If you struggle to motivate yourself, you can always get a Beachbody coach (I think it is free to use a coach but they would probably hassle you to purchase the shakes and supplements etc.)
• There is a huge online Beachbody on Demand community. It is easy to find information, reviews and tips on each workout and to see before and after photos which some people might find motivating. Some people will love the social aspect of having an online community to keep them accountable and help them feel connected with other people doing the workouts.
• The trainers are very good at what they do. Presumably Beachbody has put considerable effort and $$ into selecting the best in the fitness industry for their workout programs.
• Each workout program is very structured, meaning you’ll be less likely to skip a day.
• Each workout has a printable workout calendar so you know what the workouts will look like in advance.
• If weight loss is your goal, Beachbody on Demand offers a total solution of workouts plus “nutrition plans”(aka diets) and accountability (the 2 main nutrition plans come at an extra costs). This is not something you can necessarily get for free on Youtube. The nutrition plans seemed way too prescriptive for me and I wouldn’t be able to following them long term. But I feel like if you wanted to reach a short-term weight loss goal for a special event such as a wedding, Beachbody on Demand would totally help you get there.
• I feel like Beachbody on Demand would be great if you needed to do something drastic to overhaul your health and lose weight. The Ultimate Portion Fix nutrition program for example aims to re- educate the way you think about food portions.

Cons of Beachbody on Demand

• The way BeachBody pushes their Shakeology shakes, nutrition bars etc. can be a bit off putting. The cynic in me wonders what happens after you finish the program – are you meant to just keep buying these forever?
• It’s pretty cheap at around $100 per year if you sign up for a 12 month subscription but it is not free like Youtube workouts.
• Some equipment is required for various programs. You’d also need to store this equipment which might be a problem if you don’t have much room at home. If you have a gym membership I suppose you could always do the Beachbody workouts at your gym and use their equipment.
• No Beachbody on Demand review would be complete without mentioning the whole multi-level marketing business model. Some people might be turned off by the fact that Beachbody is part of a MLM. But you can just ignore all this and do the workouts without a coach and all the supplements they try and push.
• Some people might find that there are too many workouts to choose from.  This is probably more of a problem when you are just starting out with Beachbody on Demand. They list there most popular programs so this might be a good place to start. You can also filter workouts by fitness level, workout length, type of workout (e.g. yoga, strength, cardio etc. ) and by trainer.
• Each workout includes an eating plan but if you want to get access to their 2 nutrition plans being the 2B mindset and the Ultimate Portion Fix, you need to pay extra. Their supplements and Shakeology which I believe form parts of these nutrition plans are expensive especially if you plan to use them long term. People apparently become Beachbody coaches purely to get discounts on Shakeology and the supplements. 

Is Beachbody on Demand worth it?

Okay so to date I haven’t completed all the Beachbody workout programs. You can see the programs I have completed below and also read my 80 Day Obsession review here and my Barre Blend review here. But so far it has been totally worth it. I’m just too time poor to go to the gym frequently. Sure, I could do workouts for free via YouTube which I have totally done in the past.  But I like having a whole program laid out in front of me with promised results at the end. And I also like not having to hunt on YouTube for interesting workouts. The Beachbody workouts are also usually much slicker than your average YouTube workout too. I like that Beachbody has a huge social media following behind it so it is easy to find information , reviews and tips on each of their workouts. I’m also just that little bit extra motivated to workout if I’ve paid for the workouts.

I also think that Beachbody does a pretty good job at keeping its subscribers motivated. You can find a Beachbody coach if you want to, join various Facebook groups, and most Beachbody programs have workout calendars so you can see in advance what your day’s workout looks like. Beachbody on Demand also has tracking tools to log your daily workouts.

I’m honestly excited to pick my next workout program. I think I’m going to do Country Heat next.

If weight loss is your goal, I feel like doing the workouts while following one of their nutrition programs such as the Portion Fix would definitely get you results above and beyond what any free workout program can offer.  I would imagine however that if you wanted to follow the nutrition program plus do the workouts plus use their shakes and supplements plus use one of their coaches, it would start to get pretty expensive. If you like the whole meal replacement shakes approach to weight loss, you could look into cheaper options on the market. Even your local grocery store would probably have some meal replacement shakes presumably at a fraction of the cost. The same goes for the supplements.

The multi-level marketing aspect to the Beachbody on Demand business model did worry me before signing up to Beachbody on Demand (there are whole Reddit subs devoted to why the business model is evil). And while  Beachbody On Demand does promote their Shakeology shakes and supplements and Beachbody on Demand equipment (such as their weights and mats) during the workouts, you can totally ignore all this and just focus on the workouts.  I also love the social aspect of Beachbody on Demand that you don’t get doing free Youtube workouts. You don’t need to get a coach to feel connected to others doing the various workout programs.

In a nutshell I feel like Beachbody on Demand is great for:

• people who are time poor or struggle to leave the house to exercise for whatever reason
• people who want to lose weight and want to be told exactly what they need to do to achieve that weight loss
• people who like variety in their workouts.

Beachbody on Demand programs I’ve completed so far:

Have you tried Beachbody on Demand? Do you think it is worth it? Let me know in the comments!

Court Williams

Courtney has a passion for all things fitness on a budget. She loves home workouts and trying out different fitness gear.