The Lesson of My Beachbod-a-thon

One of the things that makes Beachbody products effective is that they are created by a company of people that generally doesn't enjoy working out all that much. That means that everyone at the company is constantly looking for the thing that works "for them". For me, Power 90, P90X, and Fast 10 really fit my needs. For others it is Slim in 6, Kathy Smith's Project You!, Yoga Booty Ballet, Turbo Jam, or Hip Hop Abs which is "the answer" for them.

All of them have found a huge fan base. All of them have found their audience. Which is pertinent to what keeps us searching for the next opportunity to add a layer of diversity to the Beachbody and Million Dollar Body catalog: No single product is "the answer" for everyone.

Which is one of the lessons I learned from my Beachbod-a-thon, where I set out to complete each of our titles, one a day until I did every single DVD... An important aspect of my job is testing, developing, and tweaking new programs from a user-perspective. In the midst of the Beachbbod-a-thon, I haven't been able to keep up with my role in R&D, so development has been slowed. In that way, I have not been doing my job for you.

So my Beachbod-a-thon, which seemed like a good idea at the time, has been suspended. I will keep working my way through all our programs, just not quite as quickly as I expected to while we are in our heavy product-development season. The good news is, I've gotten a fresh taste of every one of our programs, and can relate to what's unique about every one of them. I also got a clear sense of areas where we can add to the catalog to make in-home video fitness better... I am talking about unique stuff no one has ever produced before. And you'll be experiencing the fruit of that lesson over the next nine months!

So from time to time, when you see me in WOWY at 6AM PT and I am working out to "Other", know that there's something exciting in development, and if it's good enough to get me up at 6AM, it's gonna be good!

P90X Plus Podcast Episode

How cool is this? Perry Tinsley is an incredible P90X Success Story. he is also a Million Dollar Body Coach and a video producer. he's taking coaching and motivating people to a new level on YouTube. I love it when people make my job easy... Check him out!

The Three Keys

Being an MDB Coach can mean thousands of dollars a month if you approach it with the three keys. It will truly transform how present the concept of living a healthy lifestyle is in your own mind, because you will talk about and think about your own habits more. And you will help others be conscious of theirs. And that means you will succeed, and they will succeed.

There are three keys to being a great coach. Three keys attached to a circular ring.

Coaching in this network is not about talking up a way of getting rich quick or getting in “on the ground floor” of this new idea. This is about (1) caring enough about your own health that you surround yourself with like-minded people, and then (2) caring enough about helping those people achieve their goals that you actually (3) help them lead a more fulfilling, healthy life.

But it starts with (1) you.

After you say hi to someone and ask them how they are, they ask you how you are. As a coach, you answer, (1) including how your fitness and eating is going. Sure they might be taken aback for a second. But the healthy conversation has now started, and weight loss is no longer a silent expanding social problem. You showed them it's important to be conscious of your habits, and you are living it (even if your response is "I am frustrated because I missed my workout two days in a row"). Then it’s about them. (2) How are they doing with their lifestyle of activity and proper diet? You are now supporting them, but the dialogue is about health.

And only after the first two keys is it about (3) how the income potential can help you stay committed to your goals and further motivate others to get healthy and spread the word.

The thee keys are on a never ending loop. It stops cold with the people you are supporting if you aren’t sharing your process. That doesn't mean you have to be perfect in your pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, just that you share truthfully where you are. The first key.

Here's mine:
1) My food intake is more consistently healthy than my exercise now, but I’m not too bad. I am gradually working through my Beachbod-a-thon. I am doing a different Beachbody workout with each session, usually at 6AM PT, until I’ve done them all. Today I did Power Half Hour Bun Shaper. As for diet, I am consistently eating five times a day, and pretty balanced too. As for supplements, I take my vitamins and my healthy fats every day. My weight is a fairly lean 152, a little lighter than I like because I need to add some muscle.

Just saying that makes my process present for me. Now that I've typed that (or said it) my decisions throughout the day will be that much closer to my goal, because I am conscious of my behavior.

(2) What are you doing? Is there an excuse that is getting in the way of looking and feeling great? If so, talk to your coach and explore it. Usually it’s "no time", which is why Fast 10 is an important program to have in your catalog. Everyone has ten minutes. If food is the problem, try changing that now, even if the goal is for today only. Go for a good day at the top of Michi’s Ladder. Pay attention to how you feel. And take your vitamins! Take your measurements, take your photos, and stay current with yourself. Talk about it!

(3) If you don’t feel a consistent burning drive to make these changes – how about the prospect of making some money for being the poster child for overcoming those excuses? Ask any of our success story winners who are also coaches, and they will all tell you that plenty of friends and neighbors have purchased programs and transformed their bodies primarily because off their success. That’s money YOU earn for being a part of the solution. And when you see how good it feels to get that check each week, just for telling people how you’re getting fit and helping them overcome their excuses, you’ll see others wanting to be coaches with you. And then the business, and the healthy revolution grows.

Our most successful coaches are the ones who are (1) sharing their progress with people – both the good and the bad of it – and (2) supporting others to share their progress, and (3) encouraging people to get on board to recruit others to be more conscious of their habits (1) and support others to do the same(2).

Some people have wondered if being a coach meant you have to be a fitness or diet expert. ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, the last thing we want coaches to do is give diet and training guidance unless appropriately certified. A coach merely checks in with the individuals on his team: (1) Share your story, (2) Get their stories and point them in the direction of resources at the MDB Club to get solutions to hurdles in the way of their success, and (3) to those that could use the money motivation to transform their body and life, see if they will help support and recruit people by living #1 and #2 above with you.

That's what is also great about the Million Dollar Body Game -- it too has roots in the Three Keys. (1) You update your story and photos (2) You see how other people are doing on their quest to live a healthy active lifestyle, and (3) you can show others the game, and encourage them to engage in their health and enter the game as well. A never ending loop, present in everything MDB is about.

Right now we have over 170,000 members of WOWY and 100,000 MDB club members; and just over 1,000 coaches. That’s 1,000 club members to a coach! And we’re adding over 15,000 new members a week! If you are looking for an opportunity to help people and get paid for it, this is it!

(1) Talking about my health and fitness helps my habits have a constant “share of mind”. (2) Hearing how you are doing gives me the opportunity to help you overcome your obstacles. I LOVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS! (3) And when it turns to the value of being a coach, there is nothing I am more excited about in our business than spreading our enthusiasm for how good it feels, from friend to friend.

That’s health!

(1) How am I doing?

(2) How are you doing?

(3) How about earning money living #1 and #2?

If you can do #1 and #2, plus you think doing that will help keep you accountable to losing weight and getting healthy, you’re ready to be a coach. Sign up, and do it with me!

And anyone who wonders if what you are doing is for real, show them this blog entry or just tell them about the Three Keys. This is what MDB is about!

How to Lose 280 lbs

Million Dollar Body is one step closer to being the center of the weight loss revolution - not by simply being the source for dramatic weight loss strategies and programs that combine great fitness programs and simple eating guidelines, but for also being the gathering place for people who want to celebrate their success and maintain their healthy lifestyle.

I got the letter below from Martha, a customer coached by Lisa Decker-Griffith. Martha blew the room away with her tale of losing over 280 lbs! (I wasn't there, but I had to email her and congratulate her for proving that it's not as much about how you lose the weight as it is your commitment, perspective, and support around you.) She gave me permission to post her email, as I suspect there are many readers who will be as inspired by her story as I am.

This is the kind of spirit that we are celebrating at Million Dollar Body, and with the help of coaches like Lisa and her husband Tom, and committed customers like Martha, I hope the trend continues!

Dear Carl,

Ok, now I am awe-struck. Thank you so much for your email! It is exactly this type of encouragement that is helping me to succeed. I guess I don't really find my story all that amazing, but when I hear from people like you it makes me think again! Since you said these kinds of stories really make your day, I thought I would give you the full scoop on my story.

As you already know, I lost most of my weight prior to finding the million dollar
body programs. But I could not have continued without it!

My weight has been a struggle since I was very very young. I have ALWAYS been called fat. Not plump, but FAT. I can't tell you how many times growing up that I would end up in my room crying because of it. At my heaviest point I was indeed 423 pounds. But believe it or not, other than being fat I was healthy. My doctor would tell me that I needed to lose weight but in the next sentence tell me "I was the healthiest fat person he knew!" (not very motivating to start losing weight).

I am a single mom and I have raised 3 wonderful boys by myself. I have always worked a full time job outside of the home, and never had time or made time for myself. So when I moved my family to Oregon 13 years ago to start a new life, I was bound and determined to lose weight. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't break the cycle of self abuse. I tried, I really tried. Then one day I decided to hell with it. I would just stay fat and die fat. I figured that was just how it was going to be and there was nothing I could do to change it. I also decided that diet was a four letter word in my house and would get extremely upset if anyone said anything about eating healthy.

Well, guess what? That attitude is what really changed my life. I was no longer
preoccupied by diets, my focus was no longer on food, and therefore it wasn't
important. And I started to lose weight. I started eating breakfast (no surprise to you that I wasn't eating it before) and I started to drink lots and lots of water! (and I do mean lots!) Then I started thinking. I would eat a fatty meal (ie a hamburger) and drink a COLD glass of water with my meal. While I was sitting at the table eating my hamburger a thought crossed my mind. Why do I drink a COLD glass of water? Look what happens to the fat in the pan when it gets cold? It solidifies. ewww. Is that what happens in my stomach? So I quit drinking the really cold water and started with room temperature water. I buy bottled water and I do NOT put it in the fridge. With this combination of new thinking, eating breakfast, and not drinking the cold beverages, I started losing weight. I lost the bulk of my weight over about a 10 year period.

Then last year, my Son was getting ready to leave for the Marines, he was devastated! He was told he was fat, and needed to lose about 30 pounds. I felt really bad for him. So I decided that if he could do it so could I. I wanted him to hold his head up at his graduation and not have people say to him "no wonder your fat, look at your mom!' So I really started concentrating on losing the weight and I started to cut down even more on my intake. So in August of 2006 I weighed 236 pounds. By the time I went to my sons graduation in November I had dropped to about 185, By the time he came home for Christmas? I was down to 177. (That was when I joined the MDB team and started on the Power 90).

Guess what? Thanks to MDB and all of the support from REAL people, I can now exercise, I am actually starting to lose inches, and I am now down to 144 pounds. (lol, so I guess that means I have topped the 280 mark!)

So when you tell me that you are awe struck? So am I. I joined MDB because of the support network. I am staying because of the support network. And I am Loving it! I sincerely hope that I can be an inspiration to others just as MDB in an inspiration to me. I want everyone to know that truly, if I can do it? Anyone can!

I hope this wasn't more information that what you wanted, but I felt compelled to share. Thank you, Carl, for creating a wonderful company that people like me can believe in. It really does restore my faith in mankind.

God Bless!

Martha
www.milliondollarbody.com/skinycricket

Trouble in Detroit Is An MDB-UAW Opportunity

BusinessWeek magazine had an interesting story about the plight of the big U.S. auto makers and a "deal that could save Detroit". As I read I was reminded of just how timely the launch of the Million Dollar Body Network is for the people who seize this opportunity to become a coach.

MDB was built to help people, and as the proud members of the UAW consider their options during turbulent times, taking their health and wellness into their own hands, member by member, is now more meaningful to the overall survival of the US auto industry than ever.

The BW article by David Welch and Nanette Byrnes outlines how beleaguered GM, Ford, and Chrysler have a crisis in the form of an estimated $120 billion in long term employee medical liabilities. Chrysler's current obligations to health care and pension benefits cost $1,500 per car according to former Chrysler chairman Lee Iaccoca!

A proposed solution to keep car makers viable is the creation of a trust to be run by the United Auto Workers union (UAW), whereby the union and its membership would assume more control over its health care costs, and also reap the investment benefits achieved. There is a downside risk to UAW members if the UAW doesn't manage the trust well, or if health care costs rise faster than investment returns. But there is an advantage that the UAW has which their employer (auto makers) do not; the ability to directly motivate and reward it membership for living a healthier lifestyle.

What I am saying is likely over-simplified analysis. But it is clear that rising health care costs in the US come from a combination of overall declining health (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc.) caused generally by lethargy, poor diet habits, stress, an aging population, etc, and incredible developments in treatments which cost money. We all have an expectation that any treatment will be available to us when we need it, regardless of the price. People also expect health insurance to shoulder those costs.

But when you look at the general declining fitness and diet of the country, it is clear that the majority of us are not thinking it through that "insurance" is not a "them" who pays our bills, it is the collective "all of us" who pays. Based on the rise of obesity in the country, few of us feel real accountability for making lifestyle choices that could ease the strain on the system (not to mention helping us feel better and live a healthy, more fulfilling life.)

Living an active lifestyle including fitness is not a drug that can be described. Making smarter food choices is not a program the government can regulate. These are choices we make, which are defining the state of health care.

Enter the Million Dollar Body Network. Here's a community of people who are helping each other stay accountable to their diet and fitness goals. Coaches earn a commission on sales generated from new people they introduce to the community, plus they earn commissions from current Beachbody customers whom they help to stay motivated. Thousands of people are losing weight and getting in shape at Million Dollar Body and as such, improving their health and wellness. That means they are actually having a direct impact on reducing health care costs and the demand for higher insurance premiums for the companies they work for - and those lower insurance premiums benefits everyone.

So there's Detroit - a microcosm for learning how we can turn around the crisis in rising health care costs. The survival-threatening reliance on corporate-supplied health insurance can be mitigated if not eliminated by the UAW if they take on the role of improving the health of their membership. (And I would propose that change can be as fast as 90 days for some, 6 weeks for others)

UAW membership who has been adversely affected by the competitive disadvantages faced by US auto makers in a global economy can take action by living a healthier lifestyle as individuals and through mutual support to achieve a new level of health as a community. Just like we are achieving within the Million Dollar Body community, the UAW will feel better, perform better on the job, and be in control of their destiny.

Your life, that body, is yours to take care of. The costs of taking care of your body are your responsibility. If you have a job which helps offset the expense of your health care as a benefit, congratulations. But in the end, the choices and habits that govern your well being are yours. And the ability to make a dramatic effect on improving your personal well being, and likewise, reducing the cost of maintaining that wellness, is also yours.

That is the message and mantra of the Million Dollar Network: YOU are in control of your health and fitness.

If you are an MDB coach, or are considering becoming an MDB coach, and you know someone in the UAW, I would start a conversation with people within its membership. We can help them feel better, and reduce the strain on their health care budgets for less than the price of one fill-up of an SUV.

If you are a member of the UAW, I would recommend you become part of the solution, become an MDB coach and start recruiting your fellow members to help them improve the health of the membership through active participation in a healthier lifestyle.

If I want things to change, it starts with me. If you want things to change, it starts with you. If you are a member of the UAW, and you want things to change, it starts with you - and you in this case is each member who wants the US auto industry to be competitive. As we stop relying on a "them" to solve out problems, we become empowered, and then we have options. But you need to decide to change things. You need to have the courage to succeed. And you need to commit to that decision. That's commitment to your self.

Once you've made the decision to improve your life, then you can decide to help others, and as a coach, you can profit by doing so in every way. And the rest is a revolution in your health, and the health of our country.

We all want the US auto manufacturers and the UAW to get through this tough period to remain highly competitive and well-compensated. After reading this Business Week article, I believe the UAW can make a dramatic impact by taking control of its destiny, and encouraging its membership to live a healthy lifestyle.

And the community of Million Dollar Body can help.

This is the "X" in P90X

This email below came from Tony's friend Erik S., one of the guys in the background of P90X Plyo/Legs. A friend of his decided to order P90X in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep after seeing the infomercial. After a couple workouts, he finally got to plyo.

He cracked up seeing Erik in it and sent this email.

In a message dated 5/18/2007 4:23:12 P.M. Central Daylight Time, MnSo writes:

"Who the hell watching TV at that hour can handle that Plyo workout? I wonder how many people it has killed. :-) It's hard as my high school wrestling workout. I think that's why I like it. It really is a great f-in workout. After two weeks I already feel like a new man and I can't even get through them all yet. I do them every morning - usually with my girlfriend. I bought a late night infomercial spinning bike two months before that - used it twice, now I use it as the 'chair' for my plyo swing kicks. Hehe. Already done p90x at least 14 times, so a testament to how much better it is."

To quote Tony: "I f*&ing love this kind of feedback."

Click here and then click on Plyometrics to see Tony rant about this workout. It really is the renaissance routine that separates the pretenders from the extreme animals.

An Extra Bonus for Working Out... :)

Further to that video below - turns out Katie is an MDB Coach! And Swh won on WOWY! And she GETS IT! Thanks Katie!

YouTube Bikini Challenge

The power of YouTube... This girl is working toward getting into a bikini, and showing it off on YouTube in June. Here she talks about her chosen workout of the day: Turbo Jam!

Happy Anniversary Beachbody.com

May 11, 1999 -- this is the day we had our first customer; Hope Putnam, who purchased the Great Body Guaranteed DVD's.

Thank you Hope, and thank you to everyone who has committed to "Keep Pushing Play" to stay active and get healthy!

Interesting footnote; Even though Debbie and Tony designed those programs 7 years ago, they remain top sellers at Beachbody and Million Dollar Body. Nothing sells like saving people time!

P90X Ch 24. Transform The Way You Eat

We had a diet guru design the P90X eating plan. If you want a transformation, just working out won't get you there - the way you eat matters!

P90X Ch 23. Challenge Your Weakness

This is at the root of why P90X is more than a challenge to get ripped. It challenges you from every angle, in ways you don't expect.

Net Neutrality Matters To You

This is a photo of the Supreme Court building, taken from my phone as I walked to a meeting in the Hart Senate Building with California Senator Dianne Feinstein's office. If you have yet to schedule a trip to see how this place operates, I highly recommend it. Capital Hill is truly a staggering and impressive machine.

Jon Congdon and I are in Washington, DC this week meeting with regulators and lobbyists on a number of issues including privacy, state sales tax simplification, and my focus, the issue of net neutrality. The meetings were organized and attended by the Electronic Retailing Association and fellow E.R.A. members*.

You might not have considered it, but as a customer of Beachbody and Million Dollar Body, maintaining net neutrality is very important to you. It is basically the concept that the Internet "gate keepers" like cable companies and phone companies can continue to charge for all of us to access to the Internet over their wires, but that they won't add a surcharge to content providers for additional bandwidth as the technology expands capacity, or in other words, that public information networks will aspire to treat all content providers equally.

As we look at new ways to deliver health and fitness content and weight loss motivation via the Million Dollar Body community, that's important to us for many reasons. The freedom to innovate is one of the keys. Services like our free WOWY online gym, which we're JUST getting up to critical mass, would likely have to be scrapped if net neutrality were lost. We expect to attract hundreds of thousands of workout participants every day to workout together in WOWY (which stands for Work Out With You). In fact, we're working on changing the configuration so it's easier to use and easily available to both members and non members, as soon as we have improved the capacity of the technology. But feeding those features to thousands of people simultaneously takes massive bandwidth. WOWY is the keystone to getting more and more people to feel accountable to their daily workouts by having online buddies. But it will be impossible to keep it free if we get charged to stream this service.

Likewise, we fully expect to stream video motivation, diet advice, and even live workouts to our community. But if we have to pay both for access to the Internet AND for additional bandwidth to deliver programming to you, that plan is unlikely to come to fruition.

And that would be a shame. The Internet offers unbelievable potential for innovation without the impediment of negotiating and paying a gate keeper. In in our case, it offers potential innovation in an area of current crisis; obesity.

If you look at what is available to you on TV through your cable company, you can see that it's the highest bidder that makes it to your TV, not necessarily the most interesting innovation or bold new start up. The Internet has the potential of letting people get EXACTLY what they want, when they want it, as long it is not controlled by the gate keepers.

We are not asking our regulators to legislate the Internet except that we want to keep it open to everyone. We are asking our government to maintain the status quo.

And if you agree, it would do us all good if you would share your opinion with your Senators and Congressional Representatives.

After spending a day on the hill talking to Ahmad Thomas and Johann Sabbath in Senator Feinstein's office, Ramesh Nagarajan in Congresswoman Lois Capp's office (D-CA), and John Fortune Agan in the office of Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH), I am confident reasonable minds will remain open to the interests of the public on this and the other issues we raised.

*Interesting footnote: Each time Jon and I attend these ERA industry functions, the proudest moments are when our competitors, vendors, and members of ERA itself approach and give us an update of their progress with our products. Power 90 and P90X are the favorites. People who think infomercial weight loss products don't work, take note: The industry itself actually buys and uses Beachbody's!

Drive for 500 peaks at 522!

WOWY -- did you guys show up this morning! (And wow, did you guys crash the server by showing up!) Response to the Million Dollar Body Drive for 500 was so strong, and so focused, that even our most cautious defensive technology plan got clogged with the traffic!

That means there's something even more exciting than we thought looming right around the corner from our upcoming technology upgrade. We will meet next week to analyze the numbers, but one thing is clear - when the Million Dollar Body community gets motivated to send a message that it's time to get active, the community shows up!

Thanks to everyone who logged in. Sorry if the website did not return the data to show you totals as they grew between 7 and 8, but know that you got a great workout, and we did capture all the entries. We will announce the $500 winner a little later!

The Drive for 500 Update!

Oh yeah, it's on... 5/5 is about working out - with total focus on fitness.



To make sure that EVERY member who wants to log into WOWY to be eligible for the $500 prize in our "Drive for 500" event Saturday morning, we will disable the rest of the functionality of the Million Dollar Body site during this promotion.

That means there will be no MDB bells and whistles to compete for your attention for an hour Saturday -- THE MORNING OF 5/5 IS ABOUT WORKING OUT!

Just go to the website, log in your workout, and you are entered. Then scorch those calories! Challenge your muscles! Reach for extra flexibility! Focus all your attention on your body and find what you are capable of achieving. Make this workout count like no other workout you've ever done before! BECAUSE THIS ONE IS BEING COUNTED LIKE NEVER BEFORE!

We're sending a message that the fundamental of MDB is the healthy lifestyle -- starting with staying active. No business building. No shopping. Not even intricate diet planning. From 9:30AM to 11:15AM (ET)/6:30AM to 8:15AM (PT) all of the Million Dollar Body site and community is completely devoted to working out and seeing how we can support each other to get active!

I'll see you at 10AM ET/7AM PT -- when I'll be doing Debbie's Siebers new Cardio Sculpt program from her Slim Series Express DVD's and making it count - with you!

Take It To The Dance Floor

As Hip Hop Abs continues its reign as the number one infomercial on TV, I wanted to give you a peek at one of the bonus features on the DVD's. Shaun T is a professional dance instructor as well as fitness trainer, so we shot some pure dance instruction and added them as a bonus chapter to the workout routines. Check it out -- AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO LOG YOUR WORKOUT IN WOWY SATURDAY AT 10AM ET FOR A CHANCE TO WIN $500 IN OUR DRIVE FOR 500 ON 5/5! OK.. commercial is over - time to push play!