Is Team Beachbody for Real? A Review | Bob Margroff Enterprises

Product Name: Team Beachbody

Website URL: www.beachbody.com

Key Personnel: Carl Daikeler (CEO), Jon Congdon (President)

Price: $39.95 to become a Beachbody Coach

Worth It Rating (1-10): 6.5

You’ve heard of P90X, you know, the great fitness program that was really popular a little before 2010. I was wondering is Team Beachbody for real? I first heard of “Team Beachbody” when I was recently researching if P90X was still popular and if it had changed any.

It was a great fitness program that is still worth considering. So, now it’s 2020 and it’s worth checking to see if it had been updated from what it was back in 2010. You won’t get too far before you discover that Team Beachbody is much more than a fitness program.

A small business developed… not only a small business but a whole company that believes anyone can be a Beachbody Coach. No experience is needed, even someone like me, a short overweight 57-year-old man could become a Beachbody coach. How? You might ask?… it’s really simple…

Check this out…

Who Are They?

Well, to start off they are a fitness company that promotes and sells P90X, Insanity, PiYo, and a few other exercise programs. These are actually excellent programs and they are very effective in helping to shape and sculpt your body into a great physique after using the program for a defined time period.

What I didn’t realize back then was that Team Beach Body was marketing their system using the MLM strategy that will turn anyone into a fitness coach. All you have to do is pay for a membership ($39.95) to Beach Body. And, just like that, you’re a Beach Body fitness coach.

Could that be you or me?

Someone 57 years old, 5 foot 4-1/2 inches at 225 lbs can be a fitness coach if you don’t mind the reference to myself in this. In other words, short, overweight, and old (well, not that old, maybe). Not exactly what you’d have in mind when you think of a fitness coach, huh? Now 5 foot 11 inches might be a different scenario. Especially all the cuts and ripples were in the right places also,.. then yeah! But, not a short and dumpy old guy (like me)… actually not that 57 is old, but still not what you picture as a fitness coach.

Do you want to be a fitness coach? You might be thinking about it. You might pay to be one, in more ways than you realize, though. They convince people to buy into their program much as any other MLM does. You are actually a distributor or promoter of their fitness system and or lifestyle, but they call you a “coach”.

Under the idea of being a fitness coach, most people will actually think you are, in some cases the physique might help if you are trim and have all the muscle to help reinforce that fact. Someone like me would be the example of a fitness coach gone wrong… LOL!

Now, the payout isn’t all that bad. If you manage to sell their fitness programs, products, and programs including workout DVDs, food supplements, and meal plans you could possibly earn a 25% commission.

In 2005, Tony Horton became the icon of Beachbody with his development of P90X (that’s an abbreviation of Power 90 Extreme). P90X was a top seller, but by 2010 sales started to decline rapidly. Even with P90X selling over $4 million copies and it was also over half of Beachbody’s revenue for 2010.

Okay, back to being a “coach”… once you become one, you are offered a chance to buy their “Challenge Pack”. This will run you an additional $140 to $265.

Hmm, do you smell an upsell here?

I do, that is one of the things that can drive people crazy, and it’s one of the problems with some of the MLMs out there. The initial price isn’t all you end up paying. There is always “more” to the program. In this case, it is stated that it is beneficial to your health and well-being.

Hey, and then the real shocker… coaches are billed $15.95 per month after their first 30 days to remain a coach. Now, that should bother you even more. Amway distributors pay approximately $65 annually to continue a distributorship with Amway (read more about this here). But, again, that’s an annual fee.

The fact that Team Beachbody charges $15.95 a month, totals $191.40 annually. Awesome, just what you always wanted to pay to be a “coach”… you do sense the sarcasm, right? I was hoping you would.

So, now the next question to ask…

What Makes Their Success/Failure?

In this case, it would be a success, as they are still able to turn a profit with their fitness programs and everyone knows that fitness is a huge income producer. So, of course, they are successful…

Anyway, there is a big push that you may have seen at one time on Facebook… when Beach Body was in its heyday you may have had a friend that pushed the program on you under the premise of looking out for your health and wellness. But, in reality, they had a monetary incentive to get you to buy into Team Beach Body.

They have expensive products and a number of them may be questionable… for example, their “Shakeology” protein drinks contain flax, cacao, and spirulina… They are good for you in very small amounts, but as much of their shakes they say you may need, it’s questionable.

Check this out… Flax as described by Wikipedia is the essential linseed oil. Overall, the seed from the plant is the needed ingredient and it is ground into a powder or oil for nutritional supplements. As I mentioned, taking in small amounts has benefits. But, too much may cause bloating and gas, especially if not taken with water.

Cacao, this ingredient is dense with nutrients according to www.wellandgood.com. It is also high in antioxidants like magnesium (which helps reduce stress), potassium, and iron. This is also the same as the cocoa bean – but raw and unroasted. Eating raw cacao in excess is an unhealthy practice and should be avoided. Heart failure, seizures, acute kidney damage, and dehydration are caused by bromide poisoning after prolonged consumption of raw cocoa beans. See more info here: www.perfectdailygrind.com.

Spirulina is packed full of vitamins, which include: vitamins A, C, E, & B. We also cannot forget about minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and selenium. As you can see it is also dense with nutrients. A key point is that vitamin C and selenium also serve as antioxidants to prevent damage to our cells and tissue… this info is courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com.

In some cases the side effects of consuming spirulina in excess are headaches, allergic reactions (for seafood allergic individuals), muscle pain, sweating, and insomnia can be present. (www.verywellhealth.com)

The cost of Beach Body’s products allows them to be successful with anyone only just using them with their workout programs.

Most people will follow the nutrition guidelines recommended because they trust the “coach”. As you can see from the information above, protein shakes have a few ingredients in them that may not necessarily be completely safe to drink in the quantities that are recommended by Beach Body.

Coaches will also promote cleanses and in recent years this idea has been debunked. Cleanses don’t really work, so it’s no use trying to promote them or even use them.

Beach Body is quick to “push” their supplements or “performance products”. Beach Body’s “recover” supplement really isn’t necessary, because as a lean high protein snack a small can of tuna is usually enough to enhance or supplement your body’s ability to recover after a workout. You can also certainly find other products out there on the market that may be cheaper than Beach Body’s extras.

This tuna information above was recommended by Men’s Health when I was working out some 15 years ago… before I ever heard of P90X. Anyway, of all the products they offer, you would go broke trying to buy them all anyway. Not exactly my idea of savings.

Oh, and some of their products are even being “recommended” for your children. It’s one thing to get an adult to make a choice to buy and use a product. Why would you push it on a child? Even when there are uncertainties as to the best benefits for them.

Daily Sunshine is one of the main products they recommend for kids. It’s a 3-in-1 smoothie that is made to give them all the nutrients they may not be getting. It’s $130 for a one-month supply of 30 servings. That’s way too much to be paying for something to replace teaching healthy habits… and healthy habits are way cheaper!

Well, that about covers everything in an overview of Team Beachbody. So, on to a view about their compensation plan and a few details of one of their products…

The Details…

As promised the compensation plan and income opportunity are very similar to other MLM the only difference is the products, which is usually the case between the different MLMs.

The possibility to earn anywhere between 15% and 50% commissions is very enticing and enough to make anyone want to join… along with the side benefit of getting access to great fitness programs and nutrition plans (well that’s a maybe on the nutrition plan).

I have already mentioned the cost of being a “coach” so no need to get into that, but please keep it in mind after you see a few of the details. You will need to see what your overall earnings can be after what you already know about some of the expenses.

Of course, they have their statement about income results, or should I say disclaimer on their website. All MLMs are required to put it out there… if they didn’t you could technically file a lawsuit against them for false promises and claims.

The information provided is from the 2019 calendar year… and you can access it just by clicking http://teambeachbody.com/shop/us/coach

Coaches earn anywhere between $0 to $37,201 annually.

Star Diamonds can earn between $1650 to $3,032,540 annually, now that’s insane money looking at the top end.

Diamonds – $394 to $164,848 annually; Ruby coaches earn $233 to $132,985 annually; and Emerald coaches earn $12 to $67,978.

One thing that they have to tell you is this:

“…results may vary depending on the time, dedication, and effort you put into it. Participating as a Team Beachbody Coach requires hard work and there are no guarantees of success or earning any amount of income at all.” — Team Beachbody Statement of Independent Coach Earnings

Without this statement anyone can sue them for false income claims and every MLM will have something similar to this somewhere on their website or even in their business documents. l always look for this with every MLM I review. If you read any more of my articles I won’t mention it at all, but know if you aren’t reading it then it probably is there.

Now you probably want to know if there are other ways to bring in income from Beachbody products. They actually say there are four bonus plans available in the business opportunity. These bonuses are in addition to coaches making a retail profit from the sale of the products.

The four bonuses are Challenge Pack Bonuses and Commissions, Team Cycle Bonus, Matching Bonus, and Star Diamond Bonus. Now the thought is do you really want to know the details of the bonuses… hmm, let’s not get into it too much. Very briefly and simply they reward a coach for reaching certain levels in their business.

Either by selling more Challenge Packs (made up of their supplements and protein shakes). Or both, recruiting more coaches AND selling Challenge Packs to coaches in their downline. You can earn up to 35% for each Challenge Pack you sell. There is still much more to it, but you get the idea. You still have to actively sell to earn this.

The Team Cycle Bonus is for building teams through recruitment to help you achieve 300 Balanced Volume Points. These points of 300 equal one cycle. With this, you can earn from the sales of your downline organization. Beachbody refers to this as a “binary plan”. It’s possible to earn $12 to $14 each cycle and up to $12,000 a week. Oh, non-ranked coaches don’t appear to be eligible for this bonus.

The Matching Bonus is where you earn 5% to 10% on the coaches’ Team Cycle Bonus you personally sponsor or recruited as a coach. The only caveat to this is you must be a Ruby Coach to receive it. Which Beachbody will tell you and promote to you as a very achievable goal.

The Star Diamond Bonus is basically for coaches that achieve 2 Star Diamond and above. You are eligible to participate in four Star Diamond Bonuses… this is paid quarterly. I guess that’s why they say “four”, but that doesn’t mean you will earn on all four of them… it just means you are “eligible”.

I mentioned “non-ranked” coaches… there are rankings and each level of ranking has a specific amount of possible earnings that go with it. If you want to check it out you can go to their website and give them a look. I will tell you here what the rankings are: Coach, Emerald, Ruby, Diamond, 1 Star Diamond, and then further numbered Star Diamonds all the way to 15 Star Diamonds.

Now there are requirements to attain each level and also to be considered “active”. For Coach, you must maintain 50 Personal Volume Points with no organizational requirement. Emerald requires 50 PV also. Ruby requires 75 PV. The diamond coach requires 100 PV. Last but not least, 1-15 Star Diamonds must maintain 200 PV.

Now there are also organizational requirements to attain the different levels as well. They are as follows: Emerald – 1 active coach per sponsorship leg. Ruby – 1 Emerald coach per leg + 1 additional coach per leg. Diamond – 1 active Emerald coach per leg + 3 additional active coaches per leg. 1-15 Star Diamonds – the level of active coaches in your downline are different for each level of Star Diamond. Too much to list here.

So, you get the point of the possible earning potential here, but the two things you have to ponder… How long to be profitable and is it worth all the time and money you sink into it? Those two questions are the real reason you are here… so if you read just a little bit more here, you will find your answer to them…

How Long Will It Take to be Profitable?

That question can only be answered by asking yourself what you are truly expecting to get out of it. I mean, do you want it to be a business or do you want to have access to the workout programs? It’s questionable about the supplements whether they are worth the money paid. You may have difficulty with keeping the sales for that.

The workout programs… you cannot really put a price on the ability to get physically fit. By using their programs it is no doubt they do the job. So, it’s well worth the money to be in good shape. Many people use them… I even tried the P90X and was pleased with the results… I just didn’t stick with it long enough to maintain it and also fell into bad habits afterward.

Now, if you put in the work and really make a go of it, you might make some reasonable money with them. How long will also determine how good you are at sales… MLMs are not for everyone. There are better ways to make an income than MLMs. I can show you my favorite and in my opinion, it’s better than any MLM out there.

Who Can Do It?

This business is better suited for you if you have used it and gotten yourself in shape and it worked well for you. If you haven’t and you’re like me, you’ll be hard-pressed to sell the whole idea to someone else. Because as I mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t try to pass myself off as a fitness “coach”.

The physique of a fitness coach will speak volumes for you rather than if you aren’t. That’s about all I can say about this one. Not just anyone is able to work this one. Just my humble opinion on that.

Worth the Time and Money?

Here’s one I can speak on, well all my reviews have this feature and I hope it helps in the decision-making process for you. It is really very simple and it points to whether it is worth it for time and money as a business. Because as far as fitness programs or systems (and I mean all the programs Beachbody has) there is some great value to it. So, let me get to the point of this whole review…

My rating for whether or not it is worth the time is an 8 because a fitness program is always a good thing. Showing others how to sell physical fitness to help improve their body’s conditioning is a big plus in my book. Everyone could use something to get in shape. Your helping makes people aware of that and as a business, it’s okay to me that if it makes selling it to make someone take their physical well-being seriously… then it is worth it.

And hey, if you earn an income in the process, why not?

Now the money aspect and whether it is worth it as a business is doubtful. I’ll rate it as a 5 only because the programs are costly and the monthly fee that you pay is draining your bank account. There are cheaper programs out there and you may not always make the amount of money you would like. It isn’t passive and you really have to hustle to make a reasonable income with it.

So, with all that being said, my overall rating of 6.5 for Team Beachbody is because of my mixed feelings about them. They have great fitness products. Even though I wouldn’t pay for the supplements or their shakes because I know there are less expensive ways to get the same benefits. I would definitely use their fitness programs.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and I hope I answered the basic question is Team Beachbody for real?

If you are still undecided as to what you would like to do for an income if you don’t think this is for you then check out what I think is the real deal.

I wish you the best!

Bob