My Honest Review of 10 Rounds
The majority of my blog posts have been about homeschooling or plant based eating. These topics are near and dear to my heart, especially since they are both huge parts of my life. Another thing I love is working out! I’m not a huge fan of the gym (mostly because I’m self conscious and prefer privacy while working out).
About five years ago, I discovered Beachbody. Peter and I ordered the DVDs for 21 Day Fix and absolutely loved it! I’ve loved home works and Beachbody ever since.
Nowadays, Beachbody releases all of their workouts on a platform they have called Beachbody on Demand (or BOD). I’ve heard it described as “the Netflix of fitness,” which is pretty accurate. From barre to weight lifting, from martial arts to HIIT training, there’s something for everyone on there!
I thought I would offer up my honest, unbiased opinion on one of Beachbody’s newest program, 10 Rounds. I’m always eager to hear people’s thoughts on workouts, but I prefer not to read reviews from only Beachbody coaches. Even if they genuinely love what they’re sharing, it can sometimes feel like they’re building new products up so they can sell them. That’s their livelihood, so I’m not trying to mock that. But every time a new program comes out, I hear “this is my soul mate workout!” It starts feeling a bit disingenuous after the 5th “soul mate” program. I’m much more interested to hear people’s opinions of programs when they don’t have skin in the game, so to speak.
[If you happen to be looking for a Beachbody coach, I can point you in the direction of a really amazing one! My coach, Caren Fehr, combines faith and fitness seamlessly. I love her emphasis on glorifying God and being good stewards of the body He has given us, without obsessing over body image. I can point you in her direction if you’re interested!]
What is 10 Rounds?
10 Rounds is a boxing program. You work out 5 days a week for 6 weeks. While most of the workouts are strictly boxing, there are two weight lifting days per week. If you’re working out Monday-Friday, it ends up being boxing Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weight lifting Tuesday and Thursday. One weight lifting day is specifically geared toward upper body and the other towards lower body. Each workout is somewhere from 30 to 40 minutes.
What I Liked About the 10 Rounds
I think my favorite thing about 10 Rounds is how different it is than other workout programs I’ve done. The boxing was really fun and different.
I also really love the trainer, Joel Freeman. I’d previously completed his other two Beachbody programs (Core de Force, which is a martial arts based program, and LIIFT4, which is one of my all time favorite programs that combines weight lifting and HIIT). He’s funny and motivating.
A lot of Beachbody’s programs are 6 days a week. In many of them, the 6th day is a stretching, active rest type of day. While that can be nice, I like the flexibility of 5 days. You can take both your rest days on the weekend, but I prefer to have one rest day during the week and take the other on Sunday.
Another thing I loved was the “real time” workouts. Every single day is different. Some video workout programs have a few different workouts and tell you which to complete on which day. With 10 Rounds, you just do the next day. I get very easily burnt out on workouts, so doing the exact same workout multiple times a week makes me dread it. Although the format may be similar from week to week, each workout is unique. This allows for progression throughout the program. The trainer builds on to moves previously learned to build your endurance and agility.
In addition to the workouts being different every day, each week the crew travels to a different city! It was fun to see the location change each week.
What I Didn't Like About 10 Rounds
Some of the moves were a little challenging. And I don’t mean, I was out of breath, struggling (although that happened too, but that means it’s a good workout). I’m specifically referring to the footwork and punching combinations. Since I had previously done Core de Force, I was familiar with all of the punches and some of the footwork. But it’s definitely something to keep in mind. Joel starts simpler and gets more complicated as the weeks progress. Be patient with yourself if you can’t keep up or struggling to get the footing down! It becomes second nature the more you do it.
Most Beachbody workouts have a cool down/stretching part at the end of their workouts. For some reason, 10 Rounds doesn’t. They added separate 5 minutes stretches (one for boxing days, one for weight days) as an afterthought, but I wish they were just part of the workouts.
This is a very personal thing, but I felt like I didn’t get great results from this program. I definitely noticed a difference in my cardio endurance and my shoulders/upper back was stronger, but I didn’t feel like I progressed as much as I would’ve hoped, despite giving it my all and paying attention to my nutrition.
Would I Recommend 10 Rounds?
Yes! While 10 Rounds wasn’t my absolute favorite program I’ve ever done, it was still fun. Peter and I did this program together, which made it even more fun. Claire jumped in on the few of the workouts and got really good at uppercuts, jabs and crosses. It’s always fun when she joins in! She says she’s designing her own workout called “Punch Up.”
10 Rounds is not currently available on Beachbody on Demand, except through VIP early access (which costs a little bit extra), but it releases for everyone at no extra charge on October 1st, 2020. More information on Beachbody’s website here.
5 Comments
Daniel Vice
Thanks for the post. I’m a Beachbody “graduate”, completing P90X about 7 years ago and I sanity about 5 years ago. Unfortunately I fell off the wagon and gained much of my weight back (though not all of it). I finally decided to order BOD and get back into working out. I asked my coach for a program that wasn’t high intensity or high impact, and she pointed me to 10 Rounds. I did the first workout tonight, and liked it though I agree the footwork was at times frustrating. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of it goes.
admin
10 Rounds is a great place to start! The footwork gets easier as the weeks progress and eventually it’s second nature. If you like 10 Rounds, some good jumping off points are LIIFT4 (weight lifting program with Joel) or Core de Force (an MMA inspired program with Joel & Jericho McMatthews).
Daniel Vice
Awesome! That’s great advice. Thanks so much!!
Melanie
What is your favorite Beachbody programs?
Carla C Kelley
Thanks so much for your honest review. I’ve done martial arts based workouts before and a number of Beachbody workouts but I also wanted to avoid reviews from BB coaches for exactly the reasons you stated. So, thank you