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Welcome to the group fellow BEASTS!! Are you ready to do whatever it takes?! The holidays are right around the corner, what better time to show off your Beachbody to friends and family?!

If this is your first trip down the path of the Beast, I STRONGLY recommend you read all of my notes below before you begin.

Alright, let's get down to business!


Take Before Photos AND Measurements - I've seen so many people regret not doing this before starting a program. It's also my experience that people that do this have a higher success rate in completing the program with great results! You don't want to miss out on showcasing just how far you've come! Take a look at Beach Body's Photo Taking Tips for excellent info on how to take your pictures!

Get Your Tools In Order - To be the most successful, you'll want to make sure you're prepared to track everything you do in this program. Make sure you get your Body Beast Workout Sheets printed and set up an account with MyFitnessPal (if you don't already have one). MFP has mobile apps for Android, iPhone and Blackberry too! Also use the tools that Team Beachbody provides; fill out your profile and track your measurements and weight online. Upload your before pictures so everyone can see where you're starting! If you need help, let me know!

Your First Week Is Tough! - As with any new program you start, your body will be in pain due to all of the new muscle fibers you're tearing and rebuilding. Even after repeating a program, you'll still be sore as your body has to re-adapt to the routines again. DON'T GIVE UP!!! If you can make it past the first week, you can finish the program! And I'll be here every step of the way to help. If you're able to, do the Body Beast Total Body workout a few days before you start to get your body accustomed to working out.

Post Your Accountability Daily - Let us know how you're doing. These message boards are a great way to stay motivated and accountable.


Huge Vs Lean - This is a body building program and, as such, fat gain is to be expected. If you're concerned about adding too much fat, you can choose the lean option. Do so with the understanding, however, that your mass gain may not be as large. Regardless of which you choose, you will put on fat; how much depends on your diet and which program. If you're not sure which to choose, ask! Some people want to use Beast to lose fat. While that's not the purpose of the program, it is surely possible. Your muscle gains will be minimal, so don't try and shoot for both goals at once (fat loss and mass gain). Do fat loss first, worry about muscle gain later. I'll be happy to help you get your goals in order!

Nutrition Is Key - If you want to bulk, you need to eat, eat, eat!!! The only way to bulk is to put your caloric intake into a surplus mode, so your body has excess calories to build new muscle with. You've already dropped the cash on this program and workout equipment, don't skimp on food and supplements. They're the most important part! Sign up with MyFitnessPal and track your calories daily. Plan your meals so you don't get caught off guard. Buy a food scale to measure food with.


Calorie Goals - Make sure your daily calorie goal meets your overall fitness goals. A lot of people miss this key point (I did when I first started with Beachbody Programs too!). With a little help, I was able to nail down my goals and eat right. If you're unsure or need help, I'm more than happy. My goal is to make you succeed, whatever it takes!

Preworkout Fuel - If you consume a large meal before working out, you risk failure on your workouts, or worse, bent over the porcelain princess. Your body needs the energy that is being used for digestion to fuel your workout. If you must have a snack prior to working out, make it a light one (half a banana or a handful of raisins, for example). You can also mix up a bit of Fuel Shot as a preworkout boost. Beachbody's Energy and Endurance supplement is also great for preworkout. My wife and I love it!

Postworkout Fuel - Recovery after the workout is a must! Combining Fuel Shot and Base Shake for a post workout recovery drink is an awesome way to kick start your recovery after an intense workout! Soreness will eventually go away on its own as the body adapts to the routines, but your recovery drink will speed up the process. This drink will help replenish your glycogen (energy) levels immediately after your workout; a vital part of resistance training. The P90X Recovery Drink is also a great substitute for this if you don't have these supplements.

Your body has energy reserves that are depleted during the resistance workout, and while your body can fill them back up over time, the recovery drink kick starts this process and aides in recovery. Depending on your food intake, your body could actually break down muscle to help refill those stores, rather than use the carbs you're taking in; something you definitely do not want in this program!


I'd love to help along in your adventure of Beasting Up and getting in the best shape of your life! So if you're ready to get started, reply to this topic and introduce yourself to the team. Don't forget to add me as a buddy and I'll work with you one on one and help you succeed. Let's do it! Whatever... It... Takes!

-- Matt "Coach Z" Zuba

Bulk: Chest in the bag! Upped my weights a bit from last week, feeling great today!

Tonight's the night to hit the Total Body workout if you haven't worked out in a while... get your body prepped for Monday's start!

Bulk: Shoulders! I always have trouble just picking up my recovery drink after this routine! Haha. I'm kind of looking forward to my rest day tomorrow, I'm almost sore from head to toe from upping my weights this past week.

Hey Coach Zuba! Glad to join your group here. I started BodyBeast on Monday. So far so good. The workouts are the easy part! Eating like this is definitely a challenge.

Some background on me: For about 4 months I was dealing with an illness that kept me out of work and other activities. I got out of shape pretty bad. When I got better, I started a round of P90x which I finished two weeks ago. The last four weeks, I started adding in Insanity to make for 2 workouts a day. I'm pretty sure, after reading up on this site, that I was overtraining and probably not eating enough. I never really kept up with caloric intake and macro nutrition. I simply strived to eat healthy at every meal. While I saw significant gains in strength, my midsection never slimmed down the way I hoped. When I saw the ads for Body Beast, I bought it believing it was the next progression.

I'm a 32 year old male. 5'11" Approx 190lbs. I ordered some calipers which should be here tomorrow. I'll post my full stats when I get it.

I had completed P90x two times before in the last 4 years and I have a job that keeps me pretty busy physically so I've been able to stay modestly in shape. After being sick and being out of commission with something I couldn't control, I decided I never wanted to be in a situation where I fell out of shape by my own doing.

According to schedule, I finished the legs workout today. It's been a long time since I've felt this kind of soreness and I'm excited about it. I'm having a bit of trouble trying to sort out an eating schedule. Seems I get caught up late in the day short a few hundred calories and scrambling to make it work. I'm sure it just takes some getting used to. I'm also waiting for my Shakeology to arrive in a day or two. That should make mornings alot more streamlined.

That's it for now. Glad to be here. I'll check in tomorrow.

I just started up this week. I've done some off-and-on p90x for the past 8 months or so, but I knew I wanted to add some muscle mass so I bought the Beast. Boy am I sore this week, but it's a good feeling. I can feel those muscles starting to grow!

I never did a full 90 days of p90x, so I definitely want to do it right this time. 5 days in, so far so good with both the workouts and the food...Oh, all the food!

Hey Dsprenger3. Welcome to the group! It is a lot of food, isn't it? I'm glad I did P90x before this because I definitely feel like it prepped me. Though I'm surprised how sore I am this week after lifting weights 3 times a week for so long with P90X. I like the attitude Sagi brings. It feels like you aren't wasting any time playing around.

Shakeology came in the mail today so I'm excited to start that up in the morning. For now, I like doing these workouts first thing in the morning so I think my schedule is going to be like this:

Wake up
Shakeology
Workout
After workout shake
Breakfast?

That's a lot of shakes. Coach Zuba, that seem right to you?

What kind of weights are you guys using? I have 1 inch dumbell bars and a ez curl bar so I'm constantly changing weights around during these sets. Even during the non rest sets Sagi talks about. I'm thinking of buying a couple more bars just to spread the weights around and have em ready.

@BottleRocket - I was just as surprised as you on my first week with the soreness... I thought I was pretty adept after 2 rounds of P90X2 but boy was I wrong.

As for your diet thoughts... I wouldn't recommend taking Shakeology right before working out. These are pretty intense workouts and I've seen others in some other groups that have literally been bent over the toilet after a workout. If you need some morning energy, I'd look into getting some of Beachbody's Energy and Endurance formula or looking at some of the other preworkout supplements on the market (Muscle Pharm, C4, Jack3d, etc). Alternatively, you could go with a half of banana or a handful of raisins. Post workout, you could down the Shakeology and mix up some extra carbs into it to make a perfect recovery drink. Or you could use it as an afternoon/evening snack and do something else for a recovery drink.

For weights, I have a set of Bowflex SelectTech 552's. They work, but I find myself hitting pause between sets to adjust the weights and keep up with the program. Not as much as I did when I first started each routine though. I make notes ahead of time so I know what weights to use and I review them before each set so I know what to quickly switch to.

I don't have a barbell, I just use the dumbbells and it seems to work fine for me. I don't know that I'll spend the money at this point on a curl bar.

First rest day for me.

@CoachZuba: do you usually back off the calories a bit on rest days? Maybe just skip the post-workout drink? I usually have a scoop of protein and around 60g simple carbs post-workout so that would put me from 3400 cals to around 3000.

Ok, good point with the increased residual effect. Unfortunately I am allergic to dairy, but maybe I'll do a peanut butter + egg protein + water shake or something.