FITNESS ZONE
Parrot Review: Brazil Butt Lift
Brazil Butt Lift
Cardio - 50%
Strength - 30%
Overall Difficulty - 50%
Production Values - 30%
Price - 40%
40%
Brazil Butt Lift is a workout program that is absolutely, unequivocally designed for women. Even then, the blatantly sexist marketing is likely to turn off its intended audience.
It’s a slow start to the new year and I’ve already reviewed most of the big contenders such as Insanity: Max 30, P90, and PiYO. So when a devoted fan sends me an old copy of Brazil Butt Lift to review, I sadly have no excuse. Oh, and be careful with that link. A huge, HD glistening backside awaits you.
Want to know what the worst part about this program is? Googling it with four kids in the house. Honestly, I know more things about “brazilians” than I ever wanted too, so hopefully I can pay it forward with a review that is safe for work.
This program originally came out in 2008, so this is more of a blast-from-the-past review. Naturally the program cannot compare to more recent productions. Nonetheless, it is still being heavily marketed and the ad campaign for this is more tasteless than a dry popsicle stick. There are more asses in your face than a North Dakota donkey ranch. Really, take away the caption and it could be an ad for a Cancun Hedonism resort.
What you Get
For me it’s not so much what I got, but what I lost. Still looking for my dignity. The materials included resemble the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues my brother hid under his mattress. With such dignified literature, Alastair Cook is no doubt clapping his zombie hands in approval.
Bum Bum
Time: 30 minutes
If the name is any indication, we’re no doubt taking the classy high road.
The set looks like someone stole the furniture from my Grandma’s living room. I’m also wondering why the heck the footage cuts out to and occasionally shows the cast doing the workout on a beach. Sadly the editing looks like it was done in iMovie and the music is similar to the canned tunes you hear at a two-star resort.
Bum Bum ( there…I said it ) has mainly balance postures and squats. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a serious burn and a strong workout. It’s just that now I have Island bongo drum music stuck in my head. I became increasingly aware that thus program is for women given the “High Heels” move that required me to get in touch with my inner woman. Given my heritage, all I found was an angry Scotsman in a kilt asking me if I was daft.
Bum Bum Rapido
Time: 10 minutes
Oh Lord.
Squats, leg-lifts, lunges, jacks and balance postures. The tempo picks up because as the name translates, this is ‘fast ass’. Yes, I’m evidently also bilingual.
Tummy Tuck
Time: 19 minutes
Well, at least they found a couple of dudes for the cast here. As long as they don’t start grinding it we should be ok.
The first half in on your back doing crunches, while the last half in planks. As far as core workouts go I have to give this one a fair amount of credit.
Cardio Axe
Time: 29 minutes
Ah, memories. Reminds me of the time I did Hip Hop Abs. Only this is actually more awkward. I know…I didn’t think such a thing was possible either.
This is cardio in the form of shaking your booty while dancing to terrible music. I suppose the upside of this is gaining some co-ordination. The downsides are just too plentiful to mention. Granted, if my wife started grinding like this I’d say heck yeah! Me? Heck no.
Sculpt
Time: 47 minutes
Now we use weights. This workout focuses on resistance training with total body in mind. Curls, rows, presses and push ups.
Leandro’s Secret ( optional disk )
Time: 25 minutes
I have a million jokes about the name of this workout, but none of them suitable for viewing. Oh, the agony.
Apparently Leandro’s secret is hidden in a room in Grandma’s attic away from the regular set. It’s just him and one lone female and…I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get through this. I honestly felt like the camera was going to pan back to Leandro and show him wearing his past victim’s skin. It was all I could do not to yell at the screen for the poor woman to take her chances jumping out the window.
This disk is an optional purchase and you should all listen to me now…do not buy it. For an extra $20 all you are getting is watching Leandro and some lone woman doing an unimpressive workout in a dingy room with a radiator in the background. It’s creepy as Hell. The fact that many coach-sites review this with positive accolades is a testament to their shame.
Conclusion
I feel like a dirty old man watching this. Clearly I am not the target audience for Brazil Butt Lift.
Leandro Carvalho, while I’m sure is a nice guy, is not exactly what I’d call the next evolution in fitness trainers. This was made during a time when I suspect Beachbody was trying to find the next big thing just in case Tony Horton got hit by a bus ( P90X was only five years earlier in 2003 ). Shaun T had yet to come out of his Hip Hop Abs shell and become the mega-trainer he is today ( Insanity came out a year later ).
The production set is more than a little schizophrenic and I’m not sure who it is meant to appeal to. Frequent shots of women working out on a beach will occasionally interrupt the main footage. Women might find the constant parade of smiling bikini-models a little weird, and men might find it more consistent with soft porn. There were times I would not have been surprised if a pizza delivery guy walked in before things got weird.
Grading this is hard because Brazil Butt Lift is not an easy workout. You will indeed get a strong workout in the hind quarters so I’m in no way implying it is a walk in the park. The $40 price tag is also easier on the wallet, but like all things you get what you pay for. Still, Great Caesar’s Ghost…there has to be a better way to accomplish that goal than by resorting to this. Trust me, Focus T25 will blast your backside much better while leaving your self-respect intact.
CAH
November 18, 2024 at
This remains one of my favourite fitness reviews of all time.
Maybe you could revisit it, see if it’s stood the test of time.
John Paul Parrot
November 26, 2024 at
In a manner of speaking, I did. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrTSGYthLU8
Betty
March 17, 2017 at
So your version didn’t come with “High and Tight”? I thought that was the best workout in the set.
Dysfunctional Parrot
March 20, 2017 at
I’m begging you, please don’t make me revisit this program!
Jess
March 14, 2016 at
I’m seriously considering sending you a copy of Beachbody’s Yoga Booty Ballet for review. Just for the amusement of it all! :)
Dysfunctional Parrot
March 14, 2016 at
It’s almost time I do a review for a truly dreadful workout. This would fit the bill in a very painful manner. I’ll have to make sure the liquor cabinet is stocked before I go after this one!
Lauren Bacon
February 25, 2016 at
This review had me crying. I was actually considering buying it since it is cheap. Now I’m scared.
PegDav
March 28, 2016 at
Today is my first day and I hurt and my muscles are shaking but I love it.
melissa halby
February 23, 2016 at
I had to read this one more time because it made me laugh so hard I actually cried. haha Thanks so much for this. I had this workout sitting around so I finally dusted it off and gave it a whirl. When I saw your review I just keep on laughing. I didn’t get the “extra” but I think your the best. My “bum bum” is feeling this workout but I do feel like I have a secret. haha TY again. =)
SEM
April 17, 2015 at
I do miss the feathers too, but this works :)
Lisa
March 24, 2015 at
Thank you for this review – I laughed out loud about you expecting him to come out wearing his last victims skin-you are absolutely hilarious and I so appreciate the unbiased reviews!
Stephanie
February 20, 2015 at
Hahahahahahaha! If you didn’t like this don’t try Rockin Body. I may have mocked my way through it.
CognitiveDissonaceHurts
February 14, 2015 at
Bahahahahahahaha! I’m sharing this review just for it’s entertainment value. (But I actually like doing Hip Hop Abs, but I’m a woman).
Edith Spencer
January 19, 2015 at
As someone whose family is from the Caribbean, I cringe anytime this product is advertised or promoted. There is a cult of fitness and beauty in the Caribbean and Latin America but most women do a combo of bodyweight exercises, dancing, walking and swimming- mostly in t shirts and shorts, not in overly skimpy clothing!
Patrick Arrington
January 18, 2015 at
What’s with the new grading scale? I thought the feathers worked just fine.
Dysfunctional Parrot
January 18, 2015 at
Trying out some new things! The site just got a recent theme upgrade which came with review graphs so I thought I’d give them a whirl.
Lorsk
January 17, 2015 at
I have just laughed harder than I have in years. I know, “get a life,” but that part about that extra video had me crying. I have Brazilian Butt Lift, and it is weird, and that video is creepy. You are so flipping funny, man!
ff
January 6, 2015 at
I must confess that I got BBL back in 2011 before a nice beach vacation and I wanted my body to be bikini ready, and you can find 1 or 2 good workouts there, but I must say the production is shameful, the music is horrific. And on top of that, the name and the marketing only reinforce the Brazilian woman stereotype. Oh, shame on you Beachbody!
kjones
January 3, 2015 at
Accurate and VERY entertaining review!!!
TinyTwinkletoes
January 2, 2015 at
I’m really grateful for this review because I’m new to beachbody – having started with T-25 in the Spring of 2014, then working through 21-Day Fix and PiYo with an on-line group of friends. I’ll be recommencing T-25 again with them, but also feel like adding something new to my growing collection. Since my nearly 12-year-old daughter and I enjoy The Last Airbender series, I was musing over Tai Cheng. It’s between that and this program – just because the derriere is one of those areas we women constantly want to improve, but after this review, I think the money and time are better spent on Dr. Cheng.
duneraider007
January 1, 2015 at
I’ve done this workout and you are spot on, but i found I was working my abs out for the one workout I did because I was laughing too much. The trainer reminds of the guy in eurotrip when they go through the tunnels….
John Paul Jones
January 15, 2015 at
Scusi, scusi! THAT, good sir, is one of the best analogies I have seen on a fitness review comment section.