That’s a great question! I’m going to break down that answer and explain exactly what you need to know about Beachbody on Demand and Beachbody on Demand interactive so you can decide which one is right for you.
Beachbody on Demand (BOD) is one of the best on-demand workout services on the market. I consider them the ‘OG’ of on-demand susbscription-based exercise libraries as we know them today (if you don’t include VHS as ‘on-demand’).
I classify Beachbody on Demand as one of the best streaming workout services on the market for 3 main reasons (that have nothing do do with price).
BODi stands for Beachbody on Demand interactive.
While BOD is full of pre-recorded workouts and workout programs, Beachbody on Demand interactive gives you a way to participate in LIVE workouts with Beachbody trainers AS THEY’RE BEING RECORDED.
You’ll find (almost) all the Beachbody ‘supertrainers’ teaching the classes inside BODi including popular trainers like Shaun T, Amoila Cesar, Autumn Calabrese, Joel Freeman, Lacee Green, etc.
But you’ll also be able to discover new trainers that you’ve never seen before.
Yes, some of them are.
If you want to do an Insanity Max:30 style workout with Shaun T or a Barre workout with Elise Joan you can definitely find those.
But you’ll also find those trainers doing different styles of routines that you might not have seen them do before.
The BODi workouts are a different experience than the polished programs you’re used to inside BOD.
A BODi workout only has one instructor (not a team) and isn’t nearly as polished or choreographed as the routines in a BOD program.
I’m obsessed with the set where they record the live workouts. You won’t find these workouts being recorded inside a traditional gym.
Each trainer is located in the middle of a room (a stage) that’s surrounded by 75 video monitors (the Bodcast, which I’ll talk about in a minute) and a giant video screen that transports you to some cool location that becomes part of the experience.
Yes, the classes are archived after each recording so you can go back and do them later if you miss the live taping.
The classes are all around 30 minutes.
The live schedule starts at 5 am and there’s a new class every hour until 8 pm.*
At least 4 classes a day are cycle classes where you need a stationary bike to do them.
*I assume holidays have a modified schedule.
There are a lot of workout styles to choose from inside the BODi library and you can easily find the type of class you want using the filters in the library.
Currently there are workouts categorized as strength, cardio, bootcamp, Pilates, barre, core, yoga and meditation.
There are filters based on fitness level, trainer, music, body part and class style.
Use the 3 dots in the thumbnail to open up the workout description so you’ll know what equipment you need before you hit play.
No, the BODi library is inside the BOD app.
My biggest concern about the BODi workouts was that I was going to have to be on one of the video monitors to be able to do a live workout.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you don’t have to be a part of the BODcast to do a workout live.
But if you WANT to be a part of the BODcast here’s how you can do that:
Sign up 24 hours in advance of the class start time to reserve your BODcast spot. There are only 75 available spots and they fill fast! Don’t worry, if the class is full you can still join the class to work out, you just won’t show up on screen.
BODi FAQ’s
Nope.
I messaged the customer support team to verify this.
An annual membership to BOD (at the time I’m writing this in late 2022) is $119.88.
The BODi add-on is an additional $19.95 a month.
You’ll sign up for BOD first and then upgrade your membership to include BODi.
If you’re looking for the energy of a live workout then BODi is definitely worth the investment.
It’s unfortunate that you can’t sign up for a BODi membership by itself but maybe that will be an option in the future.
My podcast interview with Carl Daikeler, CEO of Beachbody
A Comparison of the Most Important Features in the top On-Demand Workout Libraries
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