Beachbody versus BBG (Sweat); A review and comparison.

It’s been almost a year since I started my health and wellness journey. While the journey hasn’t been perfect, I have continued to focus on my health and strength regularly. Previously I would solely focus on my diet but this time I am focusing on both diet and exercise. I started off my journey with Beachbody and for the past three months, I’ve been doing the BBG exercises. I do love both workouts, but I definitely think there are pros and cons to both. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either, you just need to find the right one based on your personality, your familiarity with working out and where you are in your own journey.

For those of you who are contemplating starting to work out, or if you are already doing one of these programs but are considering switching, I am going to give you the good and bad on both. I will try to compare them as much as possible. Please weigh in too and let me know if you disagree or if I missed anything in my review.

Before & After
February 2018 and January 2019

Beachbody – overview

Beachbody is like Netflix but for workout videos. You can find anything on-demand, including cardio, muscle building, a combination of the two, dancing and yoga. All programs are meant to be done at home. A big part of beachbody is their nutrition program, based on their Shakeology protein drinks. They also work through direct marketing so to sign up you need to do it through a coach. I’m currently only using their on-demand workout program. The cost for the yearly membership to their on-demand program is $99.

BBG (‘Bikini Body Guide’)- overview

BBG is a workout program created by Kayla Itsines. The weekly workouts consist of 3 resistance sessions and at least 3 cardio sessions. The workouts build up and get tougher over time. There are currently six 12 week workouts available. Other programs available on the app include Body and Mind Yoga program, Post-Pregnancy, BBG Stronger (meant for the gym) and several other gym-based programs. You can buy second hand gym equipment to be able to do this workout program at home. A nice benefit of the app is that it includes a food plan for every day (3 meals and 2 snacks). The price for one year access is $120.

Exercise Length

BBG exercises are 28 minutes in length. During a workout, you’ll have two circuits, each with four moves, where you’ll do a certain number of reps. You repeat circuit one as many times as you can within seven minutes at your own pace. You’ll take a one-minute break and do the same thing with circuit two, which will be a new set of four exercise moves. After completing circuit two, you start circuit one over and then circuit two. You have a one minute break between each circuit (after 7 minutes). While not standard, it is recommended that you do a warm-up and cool down, 5 minutes for each. If you include these in your workout, you’re looking at a 40 minute workout.

Beachbody exercises range from 20 minutes to one hour. A warm up and cool down is always included in each program. These workouts, unlike BBG, make you feel like you are in an exercise class with a personal trainer right in your room. I prefer this because they encourage you to work hard and keep going and they focus on form so you know you’re exercising correctly. In BBG, you see Kayla complete one move of each exercise – basically a GIF. The downside to this is that your form may be off and you be doing the exercise slightly incorrectly if you’re new to these type of workouts. As well, you might be moving through the exercises too slow or too fast. It’s hard to know what ‘healthy’ pace you should complete the workouts.

Exercise types – Beginner vs. Advanced

Overall, I would say that both type of exercises can work well for beginners and someone who has been working out for years. However, I like that on beachbody, they always have someone in the ‘class’ showing a modification move of the exercise. For example, I have bad knees and I can’t do jump lunges, which are a repetitive move on bbg. While I know how to personally modify this move, not everyone does. So I appreciate that Beachbody has that built in to their workout videos. Both BBG and Beachbdoy exercises are typically repetitive. A little annoying, but effective for muscle building. For reference, I completed the 80 day obsession and LIIFT 4 programs on beachbody and I’m on week 10 of bbg 1.0.

Another thing that I prefer beachbody for is that the instructor / coach, leading the class, always reminds you to note down your weight and to change it up as you move along. For BBG, it’s up to you to know and think about switching up your weights as your progress through the weeks and exercises. I did about 9 weeks of BBG before I realized that I should probably move up weight size (from 8 to 10).

Also, with BBG, when it comes to LISS (low intensity cardio), it’s up to you to figure out what you want to do. Will you run, bike or swim (or something comparable). If you’re not self motivated to get out there and do these things, you’re only going to get half of the benefits of this program. So if you’re not self motivated and pushing yourself to get out there and do these cardio workouts, this might not be the right program for you. Personally, I love to run, and prefer it over a cardio class so it’s a better fit for me personally.

Equipment

I would say that Beachbody programs require minimal equipment compared to BBG. You basically need a yoga mat and a set of weights to complete most Beachbody programs. When you do require additional equipment (like a band and sliders for 80 day obsession), you can purchase those directly from Beachbody or get them at a store. However, it’s still minimal.

With BBG, you need a yoga mat and weights, but also a bench (sometimes two), an aerobic step, jump rope, weighted ball, balance ball and more.

Of course, you can modify the exercises or use other things you have at home (I often use our built in bench by the bay window or a dining room bench instead of an actual workout bench). If you’re committed to doing this long term, there’s nothing wrong in investing in exercise equipment. However, the costs can definitely add up quickly.

Technology

BBG was specifically built for consumption through their @Sweat App. Beachbody, on the other hand, was initially created for connecting via desktop. While there is a Beachbody App, I would say that it’s not as user friendly as their desktop version (it doesn’t have a search ability and if you’re not familiar with their exercises, you may feel lost). However, I do like that I can access it on my laptop and connect it to my large TV screen at home to follow along. Both work well though for working out while traveling.

Other

I think one of my favourite things about Beachbody was my coach. She was truly invested in everyone who joined her group and she always checked in with us. She also created a private FB group for us that we can either share our progress on, or ask questions. It was nice knowing that I had someone that I could reach out with any questions whether it was about the exercise program or the diet. While you can definitely find a community of BBG people online, you need to search for them and make a connection. No one is going to set one up for you so you need to make an effort. Most BBG users share their progress on IG (posts and stories). There is also a ‘community’ menu on the @sweat app, but I don’t really use it. Either way, the support and community for both programs is amazing and engaging, so that’s a bonus!

Beachbody programs are definitely intended for both men vs women. Although it appears that more women use this program. I would say that the same is true for BBG, but it also seems to be mostly used by females.

So that’s the long and short of it. If you feel that I missed something or have a different perspective about something that I shared, please weigh in! The more input we have, the more informative we all become when it comes to our health and wellness. Overall, I would say that you can’t go wrong with either program. Or do what I do, and subscribe to both. For approximately $200 a year, it’s minimal investment in your well being!