How much does a Live BODi experience cost and Is it worth it?
Hey there if you read this title and clicked the link than perhaps you (like me) considered a $20 a month requirement too much to invest in Live Workout programs? Initially I agreed with that! So what (If anything) has changed?
I told this story today twice. So I figured that I should write it down now while the idea is hot on my mind.
So I was into my old workout habits. Doing recorded workout sessions that I have done over and over agin for years. The new OpenFit Bike workouts were a bit of a new addition to me as those workouts had been recorded pretty recently and were therefore new to me. I was quite happy with this situation. I typically do a bike ride (or dancy cardio workout ) in the AM and a resistance workout like Body Beast in the PM. I saw no reason to shift. I was not excited to workout live nor have a schedule timed to show up for.
- Then BODi started -
I first subscribed to it as it was the only way to get the new Beachbody Bike workouts. And I quickly found MORE value in it than I had expected.
As soon as I received the bike I logged into the new BODi system. When you login and select your profile, I was amazed that:
You can add up to 5 profiles on each BODi account so that the membership is actually for you and 4 other family members or friends!
After logging in, I had just expected to see the “Bike” workouts but with the BODi add on Subscription you also:
Have access to the entire BOD Library. With Hundreds of workouts on there. It is like if your NETFLIX account came with a TOUCH Screen TV to watch all of your favorite shows and movies on.
All of my old favorite program were there and it was actually easier to just turn around the bike monitor to face my weights. Then it was to log into the Apple TV and find the workout I was looking for. A big part of these is now I can use the touch screen at exactly the right height for me, instead if having to use that tiny & silly Apple TV remote.
So on this day I choose my typical Body Beast afternoon Resistance workout.
However when the workout launched I noticed that it didn’t have my heart rate on the screen.
So then I put on my heart rate monitor.
The Heart Rate Monitor that comes with the bike is not those long chest straps (that I used to hate wearing).
Now the Heart Rate monitor is a small optical band that you can wear around your forearm and charge right on the bike, or you can use an Apple watch.
Because the Monitor on the Bike allows you to connect a Heart Rate monitor (Even an Apple Watch) now I can see how many calories I burn during my workout. It is easy to select the bluetooth heart rate monitor that you want to use.
So with the heart rate monitor connected I can see my pulse and therefore calories that I burn during the workouts.
It was an unintended advantage to See my Heart Rate, Have my Caloric Expenditure Calculated and to have all of that info logged into my BOD account and posted to my Challenge Groups - All Automatically!
Another advantage I liked about using BODi on the Bike is:
You have the option to use Bluetooth Speaker or Headphones during your workouts
With the BIG monitor on this bike and how easily it swivels around, this bike can become your complete fitness Media Hub. Meaning that (especially in smaller spaces, like apartments) you no longer need a TV, DVD player, Complete Stereo System, and Fancy Speakers. The Bike does it all!
Now if you do want even better Hi-Fi Sounds you can add speakers like Sonos or Harman Kardon. In other situations where you may want to be quiet, any bluetooth headphones can be used so that you don’t disturb others.
Now when it comes to actually doing a Bike workout
The Selection of Bike Workouts is HUGE!
They have years of recorded workouts that have come over from the MyX bike and the Open Fit platform.
I typically select which instructors I want to ride with:
And also what Duration of a ride I feel up to that particular day, for a HUGE selection like shown below:
So as you can see this is ALREADY more that I had planned to get for my BODi monthly Subscription.
And there is so much more VALUE to talk about!
So I immediately enjoyed the Bike rides there are many great classes from several different trainers. There are tons of studio recorded videos and also past live Rides that are now available to watch as a recordings.
There are also:
Many Scenic rides to choose
Many people may enjoy these self paced rides even more than a fast paced instructor led class.
So now that I got comfortable with doing Old Programs, Recorded Classes and Scenic Rides on the bike I decided to look at these LIVE classes.
You see some of the recorded Bike Classes that I was doing (The very most recent Ones with some of the best Music) were the Previous Live - Now Recorded workouts.
So I checked out the Beachbody Live Schedule! You can actually see it LIVE in Real TIME here:
The workouts with a Red Lightning Bolt are LIVE workouts that you can (But you never have to) broadcast your videos on . I understand not wanting anyone to see you sweating in your PJs in a messy room. That was the case for me in my first few live classes.
In these Live classes because they are limited in numbers (for now):
You can typically choose to do a workout at anytime of the day that is most convenient to you.
OR
You can choose to do a workout with one of your most favorite instructors.
I typically choose to do a ride with one of my favorite instructors. These cycling classes seem to earlier in the mornings which actually works out great for me.
The thing I next noticed is that
When there is a class I really want to goto, Then I wake up early to get to it on time!
There are not very many times when I wake up at 6:15 AM to go do a recorded workout, because I know it will be there for me anytime. However, if you really want to make a Live workout with one of your favorite instructors you need to get there on time!
This Helps keep me Consistent!
The first thing I noticed in a LIVE workout was all the people willing to share their real-time video streams with the class!
There are only 2 4x4 sections of the live feed video screens so only 32 participants can show their screens live. It was fun for me to not only watch the instructor but to watch the other people at home.
Some of the things that I felt was interesting was:
Were they struggling as hard as I was? Interesting to see the insides of their home gyms. How do so many of these ladies keep a smile on their face for a whole bike ride?
There are many different shots that they show from the Studio and in each different shot you notice different members of the BODi Cast (The participants sharing their videos from home).
In the shot above for example. They show 3-5 riders very clearly. When the instructor looks in their direct they sometimes mention riders they see often or help fix their form. You can see different fitness levels for all of the riders. Again I just feel that it makes the ride more interesting I suppose from a curiosity type of perspective.
In fact one of the reasons why I don’t like the Peloton ride as much as i used to is now they have no in-studio riders. It used to be fun to watch and compare your results with those folks in the studio or actually goto a live ride and then you could watch yourself in a recording. Ever since COVID they stopped doing any in-studio riders. Now you oinly see the instructor.
Some shots are more intense than others.
You can see that the BODi Cast sometimes gets highlighted. Being shown this big onscreen might be pretty intimidating. The Instructor will for sure talk to a rider that is featured in a shot this big. Sometime they just comment on their outfit, gym or background. Other times they actually help the rider with their form or bike adjustments.
There really is not any worry about accidentally being featured on a big screen like this. The producers look for the best camera angels. They almost never show the tiny camera on the bike. Only 100 participants can show their cameras and only 32 cameras can be shown so to get featured like the picture above you must be trying pretty hard. This person had a different camera streaming from a laptop or phone.
These are all the things that made me want to be in the BODi Cast. So I too started streaming my camera. I wanted to see what it felt like to be on the screen.
Going Live with my camera makes me workout harder
So yea ok you can turn on your Monitor camera and chances are you won’t ever make the BODi Cast unless you are in a class with less than 32 people. First of all the real secret is to use a second camera and show up early. I typically use my cellphone. I place the cellphone in a holder far enough away where it can see the whole image of me and the bike both while seated or standing. I log into BODi 15 mins early (that is as soon as you can log in). Before the workout starts the producers have to choose 32 cameras to use. For me they can choose between my bike monitor camera and my cellphone. If they want to use your video they might ask you to reposition the camera. Sometimes they ask you to sit on or stand up on your bike to make sure the shot is good. After a while you kinda know what they are looking for and you just set it up that way.
Now with your cameras live you tend to workout harder. You want to see yourself on the screen. So you make the gym look clean, you might wear interesting clothes, you practice good form. All of these things will make the producers notice you better and give your camera a better placement on the BODi Cast. You are effectively trying out for a spot on the Live workout so you git it your best looks and form and energy.
Notice in this clip I was starting to get hot. I had to remove my warm up jacket that I sometimes wear to heat up quicker. Kinda fun to keep it interesting on the video. During a normal bike workout i try to keep my heart rate at about 120. It is my fat burning zone.
But, when I see my own video on the my heart rate goes up and I am working harder because I know others can see me on screen.
When they show my screen my heart rate typically goes up to 130-140!
Mistakes do happen. And they can deal with it at on BODi.
This was an interesting one!
First of all you can see my video position shifted. I think the screens auto rotate to the right as the workout goes on. It may be automatic or it may be manual. Normally your position shifts throughout the workout.
Next, notice that my screen freezes. This actually happened because my iPhone had a low power warning. It came back up as soon as my colleague plugged the phone back in. But, notice that the production didn’t mess up. They switched to my Bike Monitor Camera. I suppose they could have just selected another rider and it was sort of encouraging to see that they could handle the frozen screen. After the phone was plugged back in they did switch back to the full length camera.
It was just sort of exciting and reassuring to see that they can handle a real time problem in the live cast.
So this is what it is all about!
When you get picked by the producers to be in the cast they keep watching you! They have to feature a few riders during each workout to keep a variety of shots and keep it interesting. This give me extra incentive to do good have a nice camera angle and have good form. Then occasionally you get a featured shot like this. In this clip my screen is even bigger than the instructor.
In this case the Instructor for sure will say something about you. Either just encouragement or comment on your form or something in your shot. If you show up enough this will eventually happen to you too and the instructors will get to know you. Maybe even the producers remember you?
When I get featured like this (it has only happened 2x in the last 40ish rides) I get super excited. I have seen my heart rate go up to 160 and beyond!
It feels great to challenge yourself and hopefully encourage others
To get in a featured shot like this I feel it helps to be male. Sorry Ladies its just that so many ladies are in the workouts I feel that the producers try to show more men on screen to keep the appearance that more men are participating. For you guys this is one case where it is easier to be a man. I have said it before and I say it again. One of my goals it to bring even more men into this company! More men need health and fitness. The ladies that are building a nice business need support from their husbands. Support your ladies. If you are single gentleman interested in keeping fit, making a nice side income and enjoy helping others - Well then I strongly encourage and invite you to join the BeachBody community. I have not seen a healthier more support group of inspiring fit ladies in the world. If you are a good guy you just might find the woman of your dreams!
This was exciting. My cousin joined me for this Live Workout because he had seen how much fun it was the day before.
Which is the whole point of Fit-Lab.us to share Fitness both Physical and Financial with others!
I was surprised when we got in the BODi Cast again! In this case I noticed what side of the room we were shown in the studio. When the instructor (Idalis Velazquez in this case) looked in that direction I would try to wave or make a shocka.
In tis case Idalis was giving a great wrap up and saw us. She must have remembered us from the previous day’s workout as I was one of the featured bikers she mentioned in the workout. It was super nice of here to remember our name and Studio setup.
I also include this clip just to give you a sense of how encouraging each bike workout is. I have never done a bike workout and regretted it. In this closing Idalis was nice and relaxing. She encourages you to stretch a bit after the workout, congratulates you on a good and fast workout and reminds you to schedule your next exercise. There are tons of encouraging messages share in these classes. Christina LaGrave is another of my favorite bike instructors and always gives words of encouragement in her classes. If you get a chance read my blog post about her.
The other reason I wanted to talk about BODi and the bike is that the “TOUR de PANTS” is coming up next month! I did another Blog Post about it and about Jared Sklar used biking to get fit and loose over 100 lbs himself on his way to becoming a bike instructor himself.
UPDATE August, 30 2022:
The Price of BODi has greatly been reduced. Read here to Learn all About the new Cost Savings for a 12 month Subscription to BOD & BODi.
