Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
At SET FOR SET, we usually don't recommend you train every day, but sometimes, it might be just what you need. Running a short-term challenge can be a good way to get back in the groove after a hiatus or maybe just spice things up from feeling stagnant. One of the latest fitness challenges to make waves is the 21-Day Fix from Autumn Calabrese and Beachbody. In this article, we're going to break down this program.
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What is the 21-Day Fix?
The 21-Day Fix is a 3-week fitness and nutrition program created by Autumn Calabrese and the home workout company BODi, previously known as Beach Body. It was designed to help individuals with several benefits.
- Build a sustainable fitness routine
- Improve body composition
- Jumpstart a healthy way of living.
To do this, it offers a complete program including:
- Daily 30-minute workout sessions
- Portion-controlled nutrition plan
- Help with other health variables such as sleep and hydration
This complete program is ideal for people who want to kickstart a new, healthy lifestyle without committing to a lengthy or overwhelming regimen.
That said, we do want to make a note before we go further. You will probably hear or see a general idea that the 21-Day Fix program is going to give you "fast results." In fact, we even say this is great for people who don't want to commit to a long-term program—this is a horrible mindset.
There's nothing wrong with doing a 21-Day challenge, but it should be part of an overall, long-term program. That said, we're going to dig into the program now.
The 3 Components Of The 21-Day Fix
As mentioned above, the 21-Day Fix is more than just a gym program. Specifically, it contains three main proponents that can help increase your chance of success.
1. Workouts
Workouts obviously play a major role in the program. There are seven 30-minute workouts, each focusing on a specific area of fitness. These workouts are designed to be done in sequence for 21 days straight.
Training hard seven days a week would be tough. Luckily, not every session involves lifting weights, such as yoga. In addition, they're scheduled to allow plenty of rest to minimize burnout.
With that said, we're going to cover the workout sessions in more detail below.
2. Nutrition And Portion Control
The way they do their nutrition is a pretty cool aspect of the 21-Day Fix.
They built a portion control system that uses color-coded containers for each food group to keep things simple. When you prepare your food, you simply feel a container with whatever food group it correlates with for your portions.
This provides several benefits:
- Manage portion sizes
- Build balanced, nutritious meals
- Nullifies the need to measure out foods
In addition, it provides a nutrition plan that focuses on whole foods, including;
- Lean proteins
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Healthy fats
This is done to allow anyone to adjust their nutrition to support their training and promote better body composition. Here are the seven different food groups.
- Purple – Fruit
- Green – Vegetables
- Red – Protein
- Yellow – Carbohydrates
- Orange – Nuts
- Tablespoon – Healthy Fats
- Blue – Cheese, Hummus
3. Support
Another cool aspect is you get access to a supportive community. There are several mediums, such as online forums and social media groups. This puts you in contact with other participants all around the world, allowing;
- Share experiences
- Provide motivation
- Give tips and tricks
- Share nutrition advice
Support plays a massive role for anyone but can be a game changer for those who have found it tough to adhere to a fitness program.
21-Day Fix Workouts: An Overview
We will now give an overview of the various workout sessions in the 21-Day Fix program.
Keep in mind that we can't give the exact workout as this is a paid program. However, we will give the general layout and goals of each workout.
1. Total Body Cardio Fix
This high-intensity cardio workout is designed to burn fat while improving cardiovascular health.
It uses a series of exercises to increase your heart rate and maximize calorie burn. Some of these exercises include;
- Jumping jacks
- Squat jumps
- High knees
- Mountain climbers
With that said, expect to be gassed after 30 minutes of total body conditioning.
2. Upper Fix
As the name suggests, Upper Fix focuses on strengthening the upper body and improving muscle mass. This means it primarily targets your;
To do this, it uses classic exercises such as;
- Push-ups
- Bicep curls
- Tricep dips
In terms of equipment, you should have access to dumbbells or resistance bands to create an appropriate intensity.
3. Lower Fix
Like the Upper Fix, the Lower Fix workout aims to strengthen and grow (or "tone") your muscles but targets the legs and glutes.
To do this, it incorporates bodyweight exercises like;
- Squats
- Lunges
- Hip bridges
Depending on how you feel about leg day, you'll either love this workout or hate it (in a good way). Regardless, it will build your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
4. Pilates Fix
Pilates Fix is a low-impact workout focused on improving flexibility, core strength, and overall body awareness.
To do this, it utilizes various Pilates movements such as;
- Leg circles
- Planks
- Calisthenic holds
This workout improves posture, stability, and balance.
5. Cardio Fix
Cardio Fix is another cardio-based training session but incorporates movements such as;
- Running in place
- Skipping
- Foot drills
These movements don't involve your entire body, like the other conditioning days. However, they're still fast and intense and will help you burn off a good chunk of calories.
6. Dirty 30
Dirty 30 is a high-intensity hybrid workout that uses both cardio and strength exercises for a total-body workout. Combines total-body exercises with a higher intensity to sculpt and define muscles while boosting metabolism.
It uses big movements such as;
- Squat presses
- Jumping lunges
- Push-ups
Many people report this as the most intense workout of the entire plan. However, you can increase the intensity.
7. Yoga Fix
Yoga Fix is another workout session you can use as a recovery tool. It uses traditional yoga moves as well as general flexibility and stretching exercises. In addition, it uses various breathing techniques in conjunction with your flexibility training and is a tool to mitigate stress.
It's a great way to help your muscles recover after more intense workouts and provide a mental reset.
21-Day Fix Variations
The original 21-Day Fix was created in 2014. Since then, multiple variations and extra classes have been added to the library. We won't go into much detail about these, but we wanted to list some of the other variations.
- 21-Day Fix EXTREME- Uses more advanced exercises
- 21 Day Fix Real Time - Live taping with new exercises daily
- 21 Day Fix EXTREME- Live taping with new exercises daily
- 21-Day Fix Super Block - Greater emphasis on progressive overload
Benefits Of The 21-Day Fix Workouts
We'll now discuss some of the benefits of running the 21-Day Fix program.
1. Nice Jump Start
The 21-Day Fix promises visible results within three weeks. With daily consistency and dedication to the nutrition plan, you can expect to see fat loss, increased energy, and a more toned body.
2. Convenient and Time-Efficient
The 30-minute workout sessions make the program accessible for people with busy lives. It's easier to commit to a half-hour workout than spending hours at the gym, especially when you can do these exercises at home.
3. Scalable for All Fitness Levels
21-Day Fix is great for beginners as the program uses various modifiers to alter the intensity of an exercise. This makes it much more welcoming and enjoyable for all trainees.
4. Full-Body Conditioning
The variety of workouts ensures that you work on all aspects of fitness, including strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance.
Now, in terms of strength, we're referring to the basic beginner trainee. You're not going to be hitting heavy 1RM deadlifts!
Regardless, it can help create a foundation you can build on.
5. Sustainable Eating Habits
Again, one of the coolest things about the 21-Day Fix is the portion control nutrition plan. It can help you learn proper portion control as you learn about cleaner eating.
Nutrition is always tough, and this simple process is one of the more applicable systems. Again, the long-term goal is to get you accustomed to portion sizes so you can stop worrying about needing to count calories, which is much more sustainable.
6. Community Support
Again, another thing we like about this program is the emphasis on community. Participants are encouraged to engage with others online, offering support and motivation throughout the program.
This can definitely help you get in that workout you're dreading. This is true for lifters of all levels. We've had days when we were feeling lazy, and our buddy texted us to get to the gym!
Tips for Success with the 21-Day Fix
Training every day for 21 days can be tough, especially from a non-fitness background. Here are some tips to help ensure you complete the challenge.
Stay Consistent
The key to Success in the 21-Day Fix is consistency. Commit to your daily workouts and follow the nutrition plan as closely as possible.
Not only will this result in better results, it will set you up with the good habits you need for sustained success. Research shows this is a primary factor for any weight loss program.¹
Adjust Intensity
If a workout feels too easy, increase the intensity by using heavier weights or increasing the pace. If it's too hard, modify the exercises to suit your current fitness level.
Plan Your Meals
Meal prep is essential for following the portion control system. Spend a little time planning and prepping your meals each week to ensure you stay on track.
We suggest doing this either once, usually over the weekend, or twice, once over the weekend and once midweek.
Track Progress
At the start of the program, take before-and-after photos and measurements. Tracking your progress will help you stay motivated and see how far you've come.
Listen to Your Body
If you're feeling particularly sore or fatigued, allow yourself some recovery time. Balancing hard work with rest is important to prevent injury and burnout.
Our Assessment
Unfortunately, we can't provide a 100% assessment as the sessions are behind a paywall. You can find certain videos on YouTube, but again, we can't comment on them directly.
That said, if you are aware of Beach Body, you will have a pretty good idea of what you're getting into. It contains a lot of basic, beginner-friendly exercises at a relatively fast pace.
Keeping that in mind, we'll start by saying this is not exactly designed for advanced or intermediate trainees. Rather, the 21-Day Fix is for brand-new beginners, especially previously sedentary people who need an easy-to-follow routine.
Yes, technically, anyone can use this. However, if you were looking for a more advanced program similar to this, running their P90X would be a better choice.
With that in mind, it provides support and a nutrition plan, which is a huge plus. This is crucial to Success, as you can only go so far with training if your nutrition is out of whack.
With that said, the primary thing we don't like is that there can be an emphasis on it being a program for "quick results." There's no such thing.
In addition, the programs are only 30 minutes long. This makes it easy for beginners to complete, but there are only 3.5 hours of total training time during the week, including 60 minutes of yoga and pilates. You won't burn that many calories.
Now, we're not saying you won't see results. As the target audience seems to be beginners from sedentary backgrounds, this increase in activity will be effective.
However, we wish there wasn't the "fast-results" message. What would have been cool is if it was used as a "jump start" where they'd funnel users to a long-term program.
Regardless, people seem to enjoy it, and many report great results. It gets people moving, guides them through exercises, and provides an easy-to-follow nutrition program. If this is something you're looking for, give it a shot!
Also, if you finish this program and do like the training frequency, check out this 7-day gym workout plan that will lay out a schedule that allows you to train daily by using appropriate recovery!
If you want more information on the 21-Day Fix Program, check it out here!
Prepare to lose some pounds with our exclusive 12-week fat loss training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and torch that stubborn fat, all while retaining, or even gaining muscle...
References
- Burke, Lora, et al. “Adherence to a Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment Program Enhances Weight Loss and Improvements in Biomarkers.” Patient Preference and Adherence, June 2009, p. 151, https://doi.org/10.2147/ppa.s5802.
Garett Reid
Author