Long Island Belly dancer Kirah review Beachbody's 21 day fix.

Hey look, this Long Island belly dancer has managed to put up a new post and it hasn’t been three months this time (and there are more coming). This week I am reviewing/ sharing my thoughts on Beachbody’s 21 Day Fix workout program.

For some quick background: I have been dealing with several injuries that make exercise let alone strengthening and conditioning very difficult. Over the years I have tried a lot of different at home programs to various success and boredom. I just prefer being home to a gym and I had been curious about Beachbody for years but never had taken the plunge. Fellow dancer (and now Beachbody coach), Daniela started posting about her experiences with it and I decide to take the plunge. She suggested 21 Day Fix and I followed her advice.  So let me start with the likes, besides the obvious benefit of being at home.

Variety – There are 9 different workouts on the main disc sets and between bonus and upgrades you could get an additional 3. Each workout is very different than the others and focuses on a specific goal or area.  I appreciate this variety both mentally and physically. I get very demotivated doing the same workout day in and day out.

Structure – Tying into variety, I really like how the workouts themselves are structured. The moves and workouts feel like they go quickly. All of them last about 30 minutes but some are 4 rounds 2 movements each while others are 2 rounds with 5 movements each. Each move is over in a minute so it helps the flow.

Simple Movements – Most of the movements and combos they use are simple and all fall into what I would consider normal movements. Meaning I don’t feel strained, confused or worried about being injured putting them together, they just make sense.  Even though some of the crazy combinations I have seen in other workouts are fun, I like the simplicity and I find it easier to modify while still getting benefits.

Modifying – I will get into some bummers in the dislikes but overall I was very pleased and impressed with this aspect of the program. There was a REAL modifier the whole time and there were legit modifications a large percentage of the time with various levels that you could modify too. I made up a few of my own specific to my injury but it was nice to see. There were also many, continuous well placed safety reminders.

Diet – I am not an advocate of diets, more so of eating life style adjustments.  Do feel it is worth mentioning that the eating plan was much more open than I thought it would be. It was also useful to use to keep track of how much of what I was eating.  I ended up having to eat more than I was “suppose to” but trying to loosely follow the plan helped remind me to make good eating choices and be aware of how much I really consume in a day.

Now for everyone’s favorite part (or at least mine when I read reviews) my dislikes, though there aren’t too many and none were deal breakers for me:

Advertising & Shakeology – I get that shakeology is their powerhouse product and I have no comment on if it is a worthy investment or not but they really push it a lot and it got quite annoying to me. They also put commercials at the beginning and end of each workout. That I think was my number one annoyance. I already spent money and bought the product, I don’t want ads all the time. On the upside you can click “next” chapter on your remote and skip it.

No Rest Day – The program has two active “rest” days but no actual rest day. This took a toll on me personally after a while so I started to incorporate my own rest day after the first round of 3 weeks was done. 

Modifying – so this really wasn’t the programs fault but I was unable to modify the bonus PIYO disk and large chunks of the leg day due to my knee injury. Jumps and squats are just not my friend which leads into the other dislike.

Squats – There were a decent amount of squats in the program. This is understandable because they are a great layer to combine with other movements. Except for the leg day I have been able to mostly modify around them and benefit.

Overall I would recommend this program in general regardless if you are a dancer or not. I found it very easy to do and made sure it was the first thing I did when I got home every day to make sure I put my time in. It felt nice to finally be able to complete a workout after so long with my injuries and something is better than nothing and is a good start. However, let me stress that you should modify to your level and please talk to your doctor about your limitations if you are injured and always listen to your body.  I am excited to try other Beachbody programs and I will keep you updated!

Have a DVD/Event/Book/Programs etc you would like this Long Island belly dancer to review? Let her know here!