I’d heard of Beachbody for years before I ever joined. I stuck to going to the gym, which, let’s be honest, was very inconsistent. The first time I signed up for it was in 2016, a year after the birth of my second child. Not only did I want to feel better in my body but I mainly wanted to get ‘wedding dress’ ready. I was excited, I wanted to be a coach, I wanted to inspire other women to feel as good as I did. The thought of inviting other women to add a fitness routine to their lives AND potentially get paid for it was a dream, one that would allow me to stay home with my babies. But it didn’t happen like that. It’s a lot harder than it looks, but most things are. After not being able to make anything out of it, I quit it all together. Back then, DVD’s were sent for the programs you paid for so I still had those to do even though I wasn’t technically signed up. I did them every now and then and tried the gym. The gym is a scary place, especially for someone like me that has no idea what they’re doing. A couple of years later I started going to the gym with a friend on her membership but with the inconsistency of being able to go because of our work schedules and sharing custody of my kids, obviously the wedding didn’t happen, I quit, once again. The gym was inconvenient for me, I needed something I could do at home. Something where I didn’t have to think, something that was already laid out, something like BEACHBODY.

I’ve seen a lot of negativity around Beachbody and the MLM side of it. I am no longer a coach but I am signed up for their on demand programs and workout 5-6/week with them. When I first became a coach it was about selling the challenge packs that included the monthly subscription to the Shakeology drink they offer. Now THAT is very expensive and I was drinking it daily for a long time until I stopped. I decided their protein powder wasn’t for me and I switched to a different one but guess what, I still did the workout programs. There’s a choice when you do Beachbody as a coach, you can sell everything they offer OR you can sell the ease of working out in your living room. The ease of including a fitness program into your routine. The ease of finding confidence in your body again. There is no comparison between going to the gym and doing Beachbody programs, I will choose Beachbody every time. Why? Because I am able to do it in the comfort of my own home, when my kids are sleeping, at any time of day I choose. I don’t have to make time for a class, I don’t have to wait for them to be at their dad’s house. Sure, having to purchase a certain amount a month as a coach is a little excessive because you don’t always go through the product as fast you ‘should’ but there are alternatives to that. They could be used as a giveaway or first time sign-up ‘bonus’. It seems like most of the frustration stems from the cost of being a coach and the cost of what is being sold but in reality, the on demand membership is a yearly 180$ fee. You GET 12 months to use the on demand programs and there A LOT of them to choose from. That’s 15$/month for guided programs that you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home for. You can’t get that at the gym. How much would it be to have a personal trainer 5-6 days/week for a whole year? I couldn’t tell you but I can tell you it’s a whole lot more than 15$/month. I do get that having to pay all at one time is a lot but it’s worth it.

I think when people buy-into the idea of coaching, they get caught up in all or nothing. That they don’t want to sell anything but the challenge packs that come with the on demand yearly subscription AND the monthly Shakeology subscription. The most valuable thing that Beachbody has to offer is the yearly access to their on demand programs, THAT is what should be the main focus for signing people up. But because people got caught up in selling the package deal instead of breaking it up, they feel like they get burned and that’s why they stop being a coach. Yes, there are some people at the top that make money but that’s a small number. We can’t blame them for being any kind of successful for what they’ve accomplished. I hope Beachbody doesn’t go anywhere, I’ve been able to transform my body, thanks to the trainers. I am able to stay consistent, thanks to the ease of being able to watch it on my phone and do it in my living room.

Being a Beachbody coach is about building a community and supporting the ones that sign-up with you. A community that encourages each other and wants to do a good deed for their bodies. Fitness is a form of self-care, it doesn’t have to be scammy. I don’t pay for anything extra. When new programs come out, I wait for them to be part of the free workouts on demand then do them. If they don’t ever go into the free catalog, then I don’t do them. There’s a choice you make and you have to make the ones that work for you.