I Did 10 Rounds With Joel Freeman

Full confession…the title of this post is misleading.

I mean, I did do the 10 Rounds program, and Joel Freeman is the trainer, but we didn’t do it together. Actually, I did the whole program in my living room (yes, my title is click bait, and no, I’m not ashamed. It worked, didn’t it?)

The fact that you gave in to my click-bait-y title means that you’re at least curious about the program, so let me tell you more about it.

What is 10 Rounds?

10 Rounds is a 6-week boxing program, sprinkled with strength training. You learn the basics of boxing (throwing punches and combinations), while also working on your agility, speed, and core.

The Calendar

There are 5 workouts per week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are boxing days. These routines are about 40 minutes long and include 10, 3-minute rounds, 2 of which are speed and agility moves. 

Each workout ends with a core component, where you do ab-focused moves for about 2 minutes. 

Tuesday and Thursday are the strength days. One day is for upper body and the other is for lower body, but it switches from week to week (which is kind of nice, because it keeps you from getting bored). There is no cardio component on these days, but you'll still do abs at the end...with weights! 

Each boxing day progresses a little from the one before it, and each week there is a focus on a different aspect of boxing. For example, the first week is just building the foundation and learning the basic bunches. The second week focuses on defensive moves, and the third week is more about footwork, etc. 

The final week was my absolute favorite because it combined everything that I’d done up until that point, and I felt like a total baddie.

The Equipment

Shoes are the most important equipment for any workout. Even though it's a boxing program, there is an insane amount of focus on the lower body. Squats, lunges, hip rotations...you will definitely work your lower half. You want shoes that you can pivot in without worrying about your knees, like cross trainers. You don't need actual boxing shoes, especially because I'm betting those won't be very comfortable to do squat-lunges and agility drills in. 

Almost every workout includes resistance loops in at least one of the rounds.( Get the exact ones Joel uses in the program HERE). These are used for exactly what their name implies: adding resistance. You'll use them during most of the warm-ups, a lot of the agility moves, and they'll be added during the strength days for what Joel calls "burnouts" (no, they are not fun...but MAN do they work!) If you have resistance bands at home, you can try to use those, but the loops really work better because of the way they're used during the workouts. 

You'll also need a towel for the agility moves on the boxing days (Get the one Joel uses in the program HERE) Personally, I just used a kitchen towel because it served the same purpose. 

Lastly, you need a mat for the core component and for a few of the strength moves. I used a yoga mat (Get one HERE).

The Results

I did this program two times, back to back. The first time I did it, I have to admit that I was a hot mess of confusion for the last few weeks. The combinations start out simple, but get faster and more complicated as the weeks progress. I still got an amazing workout (the sweat was very real) but it was frustrating to not be able to get the most out of it because I'd have to pause and get my whole life together. 

The second time I did the program was amazing. In fact, I found the first two weeks to be pretty slow and not give me enough of a burn because those are the "beginner" routines (funny how cocky you get once you're able to get through a routine without dying, isn't it?)

My results were incredible. Never mind how I look (although I do look good...insert winky face here)I feel like a badass. My shoulders and arms are more toned, my midsection is flatter (although still slightly flabby because I love beer...especially in the summer!), and to be perfectly honest, my butt looks amazing. Between the lifting routines and all of the squatting and lunging, I've built quite a bit of muscle back there. I may not be J.Lo-level, but there's more than there was before and I ain't mad about it! (I should add here that if muscle gain is not your goal, you can simply stick with lighter weights for the strength workouts. You build muscle when you lift heavy. If you keep your weights light, you will be lean and toned, but not bulky). 

The Nutrition

Every Beachbody program comes with a nutrition guide to help you figure out what foods to eat and what portions are ideal for your personal goal. It should go without saying, but I have to emphasize that the exercises are only 20% of the battle. The other 80% is what & how much you’re eating. Joel is a self-proclaimed foodie, so he is not the type of trainer to tell you that you can’t ever eat a carb. In fact, he encourages cheat meals once a week to reward yourself (notice that I said cheat meal and not cheat day. Those are two very different things).

You won’t feel deprived. In fact, learning to control my portions has allowed me to eat all the things I love and still stay healthy. That may sound like a sales pitch, but I lost 25 lbs when I first started (four years ago) and have successfully kept it off by simply watching how much I eat. I promise it really works if you stick with it.

Try it for yourself

10 Rounds will be available on Beachbody On Demand on October 1st. If you don't want to wait until then, click HERE to get VIP early access. 

New to BOD? Click HERE to try it risk-free (read: if you hate it,  you can get your money back) plus get the accessories and other good stuff. 

Do you absolutely hate boxing but are looking to try a new program? Connect with me on Instagram or Facebook and we'll find something that works for you. 

Peace, Love & Tight Abs, Amigos!