Howdy fellow Warriors! Have you ever tried doing a fitness program in hopes of transforming your physique in a certain window of time? Well, I’m about to tell you my experience with one of my favorite fitness programs you will ever find.
For a long time I felt that I was just going to be stuck being skinny with low muscle tone for the rest of my life, like it just wasn’t meant to be for me to get “swol.” Then I found Body Beast by Beachbody. With one glance at the program, I was lured in like a fish. I got the pack of workout DVD’s, which came with a checklist, a meal guide, and a flyer for other Beachbody products.
What is Body Beast?
Body Beast is a fitness program designed to help transform your physique in 90 days. The kinds of physique transformations Body Beast can help you achieve are building muscle as well as losing unwanted body fat. If you fall into either of these categories, then Body Beast is the ideal program for you! Now, there is going to be some work involved. If you want to make the best transformation you can in the 90 day window, you have to work for it. I’ll explain more on that below.
How Does it Work?
The program is divided into 2 different types of programs, each in 90 day windows. One is called “Lean Beast,” where in a 90 period, you will try to build muscle and try to lose some body fat. There is more cardio in the lean program, about 2 per week. Along with an abs workout to compliment the cardio. The other program is called “Huge Beast,” where in a second 90 day period, you will try to build as much muscle as you can. This program is more focused on lifting heavier weight. There is less cardio involved, only about 1 per week.
The programs are divided into 3 blocks, Build, Bulk, and Beast. Depending on which program you’re following, the blocks have different sets of weeks. For example, the Bulk block in the Lean program is for 5 weeks, while the Beast block is for 4 weeks. In the Huge program, the Bulk block is for 6 weeks, while the Beast block is 3 weeks. The weeks have you going for 6 days on and 1 day off per week.
Sagi recommends you take before and after pictures of yourself, as well as measure your body weight and your body fat % before and after you do the program. The purpose of doing so is so you can see how much you transformed in 9o days.
Who is the Trainer?
The trainer is named Sagi Kalev, a bodybuilder and fitness model from Israel. He used to be really skinny when he was a kid and he was also bullied. But he transformed himself and now he’s going around looking like the second coming to Arnold. When he is walking you through the exercises, he likes to use humor and funny ways to motivate, like “You want this? You gotta earn it!”
He also likes saying funny things after the workouts. For example, at the end of the back workouts, he would flex his back and compare it to an airplane because of how wide his back is. He would say something like “Body Beast Airlines.” Before the leg workouts he would nickname you “Quadzilla.” During the arm workouts, he would say the classic gun show.
How Long Is it?
Both the lean portion and the huge portion of the program is 90 days long, or 3 months. Each week has 6 days of training and eating and following the program, with 1 day of rest. So for a 90 day period, you will be eating and training like a beast for 6 days on, and 1 day off. Personally, I was able to adapt very well to this training schedule. Now I invest in training for 6 days and resting for 1 all the time.
Where can You Find it?
I was able to purchase the DVD bundle on eBay in 2017. Unfortunately, the program is no longer available on DVD in 2021. It is available on Beachbody On Demand.
Does it Work?
It depends on how much effort you put into your workouts. Not everyone is going to get the same results, results vary from person to person. Remember, if you want to look a certain way, like big and bulky, or lean and cut, the only way you will get that is by putting in the work. Because, it will not come overnight. You have to be patient and trust the prcoess.
As long as you commit to the program and don’t fall behind, you will get the results you’ve been dreaming about and get bang for your buck.
Who is it For?
Body Beast is for anyone who wants to commit to working hard to make the ultimate transformation in their physique. It is for anyone of any age, and any fitness level. You could be a beginner at weight training just starting out, or you could be an expert looking to take your weight training to the next level.
Diet
One of the biggest key components to making any kind of physique transformation is diet. You won’t see the results you want if you’re doing the exercises but not eating the right food. Which means that if you want to either lose fat or build muscle, you can’t be pigging out on ice cream and pizza throughout the week. Save the “fun” food for your rest day.
You’ll need to consume the right amount of macronutrients depending on which portion of the program you choose to do. If you’re following the huge portion, your calorie intake and your carb intake will be higher. With the lean portion, your calorie and carb intakes will be lower, and your fat intake will be higher. If you want to learn more about the different macronutrients, check out my post on how to calculate your macros here: Calculating Your Macros for Bodybuilding – How do You do It?
Exercises
The kinds of exercises you can expect are ones that will target every muscle group in your body. According to Sagi Kalev, he combines different exercises together into a style of training which he calls “Dynamic Set Training.” I have more details on the different types of sets down below.
If you want to see a sneak peak of what to expect from the Body Beast program, check out the Beast Basics video on YouTube, here: Beast Basics [HD]
Types of Sets
The sets for each exercise are usually set up where you lift heavier weight and do less reps. Sagi calls this style of training “Dynamic Set Training.” For example:
- FIRST SET: Light weight, 15 reps
- SECOND SET: Medium weight, 12 reps
- THIRD SET: Heavy weight, 8 reps
Other sets include:
- SUPER SETS: Super sets are where 2 exercises are done back to back with no rest in between. The exercises are still done in the same format, with the weight increasing and reps decreasing with each set.
- DROP SETS: Drop sets are the same as normal sets, only with an added 4th set of 8 reps with light weight.
- PROGRESSIVE SETS (PYRAMID SETS): Progressive sets are where an exercise is done in a pyramid format, with the weight increasing and the reps decreasing, followed by 3 more sets of the exercise with the weight decreasing and the reps increasing.
- GIANT SETS: Giant sets are where 3 exercises are done back to back to back with no rest in between, similar to a giant set.
- FORCE SETS: Force sets are where an exercise is done in 5 sets of 5 reps each, with super heavy weight.
- COMBO SETS: Combo sets are where 2 exercises are combined into 1 and are done in a single set format.
- MULTI SETS: Multi sets are similar to giant sets, where 3 exercises are done back to back to back. Only this time, the number of reps and the weight is usually the same throughout the set.
For Example…
Here’s what each set looks like, in more depth.
Single Set
Light, 15 reps
Medium, 12 reps
Heavy, 8 reps
Drop Set
Light, 15 reps
Medium, 12 reps
Heavy, 8 reps
Light, 8 reps
Super Set
First exercise, Light, 15 reps
Second exercise, Light, 15 reps
First exercise, Medium, 12 reps
Second exercise, Medium, 12 reps
First exercise, Heavy, 8 reps
Second exercise, Heavy, 8 reps
Progressive Set
Light, 15 reps
Medium, 12 reps
Heavy, 8 reps
Heavy, 8 reps
Medium, 12 reps
Light, 15 reps
Giant Set
First exercise, Light, 15 reps
Second exercise, Light, 15 reps
Third exercise, Light, 15 reps
First exercise, Medium, 12 reps
Second exercise, Medium, 12 reps
Third exercise, Medium, 12 reps
First exercise, Heavy, 8 reps
Second exercise, Heavy, 8 reps
Third exercise, Heavy, 8 reps
Force Set
5 sets of 5 reps, all with heavy weight
Combo Set
Light, 15 reps, 2-in-1 exercise
Medium, 12 reps, 2-in-1 exercise
Heavy, 8 reps, 2-in-1 exercise
Multi Set
First exercise, reps vary
Second exercise, reps vary
Third exercise, reps vary
First exercise, reps vary
Second exercise, reps vary
Third exercise, reps vary
Remember…
If you’re going to be committed to this program, you have to remember that with all exercises comes the risk of injury.
If you’re not doing the exercises correctly with proper form, or if you’re lifting more weight than you can handle, you could potentially injure yourself. I know that because I was actually in danger of injuring a ligament or a tendon in my arm. I developed tendonitis and I had to wear elbow sleeves while lifting for a while. Soon afterwards, I abandoned using free weights and switched to using cables and machines instead.
Remember to take pictures of yourself and measure yourself accurately before you start and after you finish so that you can see your results and how much you changed in 90 days. You might also want to take pictures of yourself month by month so you can track your progress and make adjustments if you need to.
This program is very physically demanding. In order to avoid getting tired quickly, remember to conserve your energy and drink as much water as you can.
What Was My Experience?
When I first started the program for myself in 2017, I fell in love right away. I did the lean program because I still had a layer of fat that I wanted to lose. After 90 days, I gained a little bit of muscle mass, but it was before I really buckled down on taking protein supplements (I was a poor college student at the time).
There were other times during my college years when I started the program again, but I had to stop because I was slammed with so much homework. I would be up all day and all night trying to finish my schoolwork that I didn’t have time to go to the gym.
Now that I have graduated from college, I started the entire program all over again. I started shortly after New Year’s, in January 2021. I did the Huge Beast program first. In order to get the best results possible, I made sure I calculated my macros and kept a food chart. After completing the Huge Beast program, I switched over to the Lean Beast program and completed that. The first few workouts were highly intense, but I got used to them over time.
When I first started Body Beast, I was still in the beginner stage of my weight training. I had some gym experience, but not as much muscle size or definition. But after doing Body Beast a few times over, I got hooked with the program and I have moved up to the intermediate level.
Closing Words
Now you have something to get excited about with Body Beast. I would highly recommend this product to you if you want to get in the best shape of your life. If you decide to do it, I wish you the best of luck! Remember, the program is very demanding, so you have to stay committed and put in the work. If I can do it, I know you can too!
Show me your before and after results in the comments below if you decide to do it! Remember to take before and after pictures of yourself as you go!
Now let’s gear up and GO INTO BATTLE!