What is BodyRock?
BodyRock.tv is a fitness blog with short, intense workouts that anyone can do from home, for FREE. They focus on providing personal training with a healthy positive attitude that celebrates the beauty of being fit, clean, and strong.
UPDATE (Feb 2013): They have changed their branding and now are called “The Daily Hiit”. You’ll find them at http://www.dailyhiit.com/
The hosts
Lisa (above) and Sean (right) are the people you see on camera the most (well, Lisa the most, but she’s incredible). Freddy is the behind the scenes camera man and runs the site. He is one of the original founders, the other being Zuzana. They broke up and she moved on to provide similar services with her new brand, Zuzana Light (side note: I’m not sure why they broke up, it really doesn’t matter to me. But if you read the comments on the site many people do care).
Don’t be intimidated by how incredibly beautiful and strong they all are. They are incredibly positive people that want to share their knowledge with us. Just pick a video and watch it, Lisa is so bubbly and sweet and Sean is shy and cute (Like I said, you don’t see Freddy much but you can tell the dude has serious talent). Some people complain but I like that the site is really sexy. I think that it shows that you can be sexy and still be smart, funny, and kind.
The videos
This is the meat of the site, where the workouts are. Most videos start out with a pep talk of some sort. Then they take you through shots of the work out (condensed). Then the host will take you through each exercise, include modifications for different skill levels and modifications for equipment. There is no excuse for why you don’t BodyRock. While you may think “oh, I don’t have that equipment,” or “oh, I can’t do that exercise”, it’s not true. It’s like that saying goes, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” The BR crew work really hard to make sure that each video is accessible. Besides, after a bit of time you won’t be a beginner anymore!
The workouts are formatted to be short (usually 12 min…sometimes they do longer to keep your body guessing). They format it so that most of the time is spent moving at such high intensity that you get serious benefits. Plus, most of the exercises incorporate many muscle groups, so you are working out more than you think. The intervals are broken up into 50 seconds and 10 seconds – you do an exercise hard for 50 seconds, then rest for 10. Repeat for 12 min. Sounds easy….it’s not. But man, does it feel good! The video below is one of the more recent ones but it’s a great example.
UPDATE (Feb 2013): The videos are relatively the same format, with some variation in length and style (which is goof). You can check out each of the programs, what they are called adn what they are about by clicking here.:
The equipment
While most of the exercises rely on body weight, they do incorporate some equipment. Again, no excuses, as they provide you with alternatives for each exercise. Plus, you can always find things around the house to substitute so don’t think you have to go out and buy everything. Here are some of the ones I use:
Interval Timer (this is the ONLY piece that is a must have): I use an iPhone app (just search for Interval Timer). There are two I use – one is called “Interval Timer” the other is “GymBoss“. At first, GymBoss didn’t work properly on iOS5. Now it does but you can’t play music at the same time so I use the other one mostly (I use it for running).
Dip station or Equalizer: I have the equalizer but the dip station would work for most of them. The benefit to the dip station is that it’s MUCH taller, so if you have a lengthy reach like I do you may prefer this. I still prefer the Equalizer because you can move the piece to how you want them. It gives you a few more options with other exercises.
Yoga Mat: I don’t always use one but it depends on what your floor is like. You don’t spend much time on it though, so not a must have.
Weights: I have a set of three kettle bells and two really small hand weights. You can use ANYTHING that’s heavy. Once, for fun, I used Spanky.
Ninja bag: Also known as a sandbag. I don’t have this, I usually just use a kettle bell. But I BodyRock so often that I think I want to get one…mainly because I just want to reward myself with something cool. You can make your own too. Some people suggested filling a backpack with various bags of kitty litter or rice. Really, you just want something heavy.
Comfortable clothes: I am a walking LuLu advertisement but I don’t care. They make the BEST gear to workout in. Not only is it comfortable but you look amazing. I’ll usually wear longer tights and a bra. I like the movement that I am able to get. I also wear running shoes. Working out bare feet or socks it’s impossible to get the intensity you want and remain safe.
UPDATE (Feb 2013): The need for equipment hasn’t changed much and I haven’t bought anything new but they do promote some different things. If you are interested, check out their store by clicking here.
Tips
- Starting out? Start with the January 30-day Challenge. See how you feel, maybe do the February 30-day Challenge. I like that there is a plan and a start date and end date, you feel like you’ve accomplished something and then can move on to the next challenge. By the end you will be a pro and will practically be able to create your own BodyRock workouts!
UPDATE (Feb 2013): Since they’ve updated and changed websites the above challenges have ben archived. Here is the link for the January 2012 Challenge and February 2012. They started a Jan 2013 challenge but their new website wasn’t really working so Lisa has been updating mostly on her Facebook page. There’s not really a clear way to say “start here”, so just check out the albums and look around. Hopefully they’ll fix this on the website.
- When to watch: Watch the videos the night before. Yes, the workouts are only 12 minutes but when you are first starting out you’ll need about 20 min to watch the video, write stuff down to remember, and practice a couple of the moves. Do this in advance of starting the workout, you want to make sure you’re prepared so that you can focus on bringing intensity to the workout.
- Just keep moving! You typically have 50 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, so don’t waste any of the 50 seconds humming and hawing or catching your breath. You get out what you put in so smash it out! (That’s one of Lisa’s colloquialisms)
- Strength first. Focus on how strong you feel and how certain exercises become easier – these are more immediate results. Physical changes that are visible take longer to show on most people, so don’t get discouraged (I still remind myself of this one sometimes)
- The community is…hit or miss. I used to enjoy commenting on the blog posts or their Facebook pages but I rarely do anymore. I find that there is so much going on that it’s hard to connect with them. They just have so many posts they can’t see them all, I totally understand. Also, some of the comments are just so irritating to read, I feel like people really miss the mark on what BodyRock is about. Anyway, it’s not horrible but it’s the one thing on the site I would change (Ironically, it’s the one thing that no one has any control over! )
If you are starting out or have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to provide you an answer that is based on my own personal experience. I am not a personal trainer or doctor or nutritionist, so please understand that you need to listen to your body and if you have any doubts, see a professional.
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