80 Day Obsession is in the rear view mirror! Even though I modified 80 Day Obsession to fit in with my half marathon training, I’m proud to say I did complete all the workouts in my modified-for-running plan. To give you background if you’re finding my blog for the first time, I was pregnant with twins when this program first came out. Having modified many Beachbody programs to fit in with my half and full marathon training, I wrote a blog post with a recommended schedule for how to combine 80 Day Obsession with Running (which was one of my most popular blog posts last year). I had reviewed the program materials and workout calendar, but I had not yet done the program myself. I gave myself time to build back my core and recover from my pregnancy and then I started 80 Day Obsession at five months postpartum (read my Phase 1 and Phase 2 review and results). Now that I’ve done the program, I can give even better feedback when it comes to mixing 80 Day Obsession with running!
My Honest Review of 80 Day Obsession
80 Day Obsession challenged me. It’s not a beginner’s program and although I’m not a beginner, I was only 5 months postpartum when I started. I took two weeks off between finishing the fast paced and shorter LIIFT4 (which I absolutely LOVED and completed 100% while also training for my first postpartum half marathon). When I first started 80 Day Obsession, if I’m totally honest, I wasn’t so sure I liked it! The workouts seemed slower, especially during week 1, and drawn out, and as a runner, I was worried that working my legs every day would affect my running.
But, around the end of week 2, I was really hooked. I started to enjoy the longer workouts and more unique moves. Also, the way 80 Day Obsession works is that the rep scheme changes week to week, and it gets harder as you move through each phase. Then you start a whole new routine each month so you’re constantly being challenged. I really enjoyed Phase 2- the build phase – the most. I loved lifting heavier weights and seeing how much stronger I got over the month. Then we started Phase 3, which personally was the toughest for me because it fell over the holidays, but I enjoyed the faster paced, more high intensity and complex workouts too. The phase 3 80 Day Obsession workouts challenged me so much that I think there wasn’t a workout that I didn’t want to quit! But I never did, I finished them all, even if I was tempted to skip the turkish getups every single time.
How I Modified 80 Day Obsession For Running
As a busy mom of three AND runner, it was tough for me to do this program (even the modified version) with half marathon training, even though I was only running 3 days a week. The first week, I attempted to do 5 of the workouts along with 3 runs and it was too much for me to keep up with . Instead, I decided to do just the 4 strength workouts and not any of the cardio workouts. The goal was 4 strength workouts and 3 runs per week, ideally with a double day so that I could have a rest day. I found it tough for me to do a double day since the workouts were so long, so ultimately every time I took a rest day it pushed my schedule back. Also, I took a full week off of the program during phase 1 to rest for the Rock n’ Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon. During phase 3 I also came down with TWO colds during the month of December. In the end, I finished this 13 week program in nearly 16 weeks, but I did complete all 52 strength workouts!
Here’s an idea of how my weekly schedule of mixing 80 Day Obsession with running looked like (not every week but this was pretty typical):
Monday: AAA
Tuesday: Run 4-6 miles with intervals/speed work (in reality the speed work happened about every other week on average)
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Run 3-6 miles
Friday: Total Body Core
Saturday: Long run (8-13 miles depending on where I was in my training cycle)
Sunday: Booty (or take a rest day and do Booty Monday, which pushed everything back the following week)
This is just my experience. I generally find that I love and tend to exercise more than the average person – even with 3 kids. That being said, I DO believe it is possible to stay on track and finish in 13 weeks with the modified version of this program. It will be easier and you’ll have better results if you are able to get a full 8 hours of sleep each night, you’re following the nutrition plan, drinking your Recover supplement every day, and you have the time to do double days at least once a week. If you want to run 4-6 days a week and do 80 Day Obsession, you’ll have to be prepared to spend a lot of time recovering and even then I’m not sure I’d recommend it. there are better programs for that level of running. Personally, I think LIIFT4 and 21 Day Fix are much better programs for anyone training for a half or full marathon.
How I’d Recommend Runners Use 80 Day Obsession To Prepare For Half or Full Marathons
That being said, 80 Day Obsessions emphasis on the glutes is GREAT for runners. Many runners have an imbalance (myself included, I saw a postpartum PT who tested this among other things) between their quads and hamstrings/glutes which can lead to not only slower running times but also more injuries. I saw a dramatic improvement in my leg and glute strength with this program and a very noticeable change in the roundness of my booty (which aesthetically I also love!). I’d recommend that serious runners do 80 Day Obsession prior to starting serious half or full marathon training to build a solid foundation and then continue with LIIFT4 until about a month before the race and then switch to 2-3 strength workouts a week and 1 yoga session per week (I like 21 Day Fix or 21 Day Fix Extreme for this, but Beachbody has several great strength workouts and even Yoga for Runners).
Will You Lose Weight Doing 80 Day Obsession?
This will depend on a few things. If you follow the nutrition plan, I believe you will definitely lose weight with 80 Day Obsession.
If you do NOT follow the nutrition plan, you could even gain weight with 80 Day Obsession, as you won’t be losing as much fat, but you’ll be gaining muscle. The scale could go up but assuming you’re not over-eating, you’ll still lose inches and get stronger and feel better.
Another factor to losing weight with 80 Day Obsession will be how close you already are to your goal weight. if you have quite a bit of weight to lose, you’re going to lose more than someone who is close to their goal weight, as I was.
80 Day Obsession Nutrition Plan
The 80 Day Obsession Nutrition plan is fairly complex and is based on “timed nutrition” using the Beachbody Portion Fix containers. For example, before you workout, you are supposed to eat 1 carb serving, 1 protein serving and 1 veggie serving. After you workout, you are supposed to eat a specific ratio of carbs to protein as well. There are 5 meals throughout the day, each portioned out based on the ideal macro ratio depending on the timing of your workout. If the timed portion is too complex, I’d recommend just following the portion fix plan that most Beachbody programs use.
I did not follow the nutrition plan for this program & I know I would have had better results had I done so. But, after 5 months of following a nutrition plan to lose 25 pounds with 21 Day Fix and LIIFT4, plus with it being the holiday season, I was ready for a break. I also felt a bit overwhelmed by the timed nutrition especially since my meals largely revolve around my husband and children’s schedule. These aren’t excuses – I could have made a sacrifice and followed the nutrition plan and I believe anyone can do it, but it does take more effort than most Beachbody nutrition plans and it does not allow for ANY cheat meals or alcohol, so it’s quite rigid.
I tried to maintain a balanced diet throughout, and admittedly there were a lot more treats and alcohol in December than I had planned, but that’s life right!? In the end, the only week of the nutrition plan I followed was the final week – I followed the Peak Week nutrition plan which includes a carb-cycling component, though I did not do the timed nutrition.
Carb cycling during Peak Week in 80 Day Obsession is following 2 days of a lower carb diet followed by a regular carb diet followed by 2 days of lower carbs (in this case, it’s just 1 serving of carbs/yellow container per day and no fruit). I was actually really surprised that this was pretty easy for me to follow. The high protein and fat helped keep me full and I actually didn’t crave much junk at all!
If I ever do this program again, it will be because I really want to go all in and I will commit to the nutrition plan to see the best results.
My 80 Day Obsession Results
So…after 16 weeks and 52 strength training workouts, through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, with an average of 3 runs per week (about 15-20 miles per week on average)…. here are the final results!
- I am stronger.
- My butt has never looked better!
- I run faster (I dropped 3 min off my half marathon time)
- I feel accomplished for pushing through this program during a tough time of year.
- I can do more push-ups on my toes.
- I lost 3.2 pounds.
- I lost 3 inches, including 1 from my waist and 1 from my hips.
- I feel more fit!
Since starting my postpartum fitness journey back at the end of May when I was cleared for exercise, I’ve lost 22 pounds and 16 inches!!! That was with 21 Day Fix, LIIFT4 and 80 Day Obsession with some breaks between.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I loved 80 Day Obsession and would recommend it to anyone looking to get serous about their fitness journey and fully commit. This isn’t a program for anyone who wants to do it halfway – it will challenge you and push you, but it will make you STRONGER! I love Autumn’s inspirational words and her style in general. I loved that I got a unique workout each time, but also got to see myself get better and stronger as each phase progressed. This is a great program if you want to PROVE to yourself that you can do something tough and reap serious rewards from it!
Are you a runner looking to add strength or cross training to your training plan? My monthly challenge groups are full of runners doing just that – click here to get more information on joining the next monthly accountability group!
If you love Beachbody AND running and want to share your love of health and fitness with others as a Beachbody coach, please head over to my coaching info page to learn more about how I can help you build a business of your own! You don’t have to give up running to be a coach – in fact, it can strengthen your business.
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wow you are really crushing your workouts. I often find it challenging to do legs and then run the next day without feeling it. Looking fantastic!
Interesting review! You look awesome!! I’m in phase 3 in week 2 of 80DO. I like it but its so complicated! 😉 I thought it would be great to do in my off-season. I’m only kind of doing the nutrition correctly which I think is totally key in this program. (I didn’t really realize that was such a factor when I decided on this program) I am feeling stronger which I’m pumped about!
Hi,
You might want to change your statement stating that muscle weighs more than fat. This is not correct. A pound weighs a pound. It’s just that muscle is more dense than fluffy fat. So a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat.
ah yes! thank you that’s what I meant but I’ll fix it 🙂