FITNESS ZONE
REVIEW: Beachbody’s Morning Meltdown 100
Looks like Beachbody has a few new workouts in the mix, and Morning Meltdown 100 with ginger-ninja-trainer, Jericho McMatthews is next in the queue. This of course, meant I had to renew my BOD subscription. Like Frodo on his sad, hopeless journey to Mount Doom, I had to suffer the Möbius loop that is Beachbody’s website in order to renew. I swear that company hates me.
What you Get
Gone are the days of DVD’s. If you want hard media then join a Hutterite colony. Everything from Beachbody now is through their BOD service.
As what seems to be the consistent offering from BB these days, Morning Meltdown 100 is high intensity cardio combined with moderate resistance training. We also get a DJ so I can feel like it’s 1990 again with the Fresh Prince. From a personal point of view, that year SUCKED…so the music better be good.
The series is 5 Phases with roughly 20 workouts per phase. That’s a freaking jack-ton of workouts to go through so this review is going to have to narrow the scope in order to be shorter than War and Peace. The 100 in the name implies there are a total of 100 workouts. I don’t have that many fingers and toes to confirm, so I’m going to take Jericho’s word on this.
The Workouts
There’s not a whole lot of increase in intensity as the phases progress, just variety and skill level. Right away, I can see the workouts are just about all cardio/resistance combos. The names also make them self explanatory. I’ll try and cover the basics to get you started.
Cardio Meltdown – Burpees, fast motions and jumps while trying to stick to the beat. Right out of the box, some of these moves are surprisingly complex.
Upbeat Strength– Chest, back, shoulder and arms. Ok, I had some concerns over this as doing weight training to the beat rather than to reps seems a bad idea. Thankfully, the reps go slow, allowing for the muscle to take advantage of “negatives”, which is where real growth takes place.
Core Inferno – Little over 20 minutes of abs. Keep in mind, there’s only so many ways to skin a cat when it comes to doing crunches. It’s good to have, but the results are no different than any other abdominal routine.
Total Body Badass – Light weight is combined with plyometrics. It’s a good concept, just be confident you have enough space and nobody else is in the room lest they get an unexpected 10lb metal sandwich right in the kisser. As the name implies, this is certain to develop a solid backside.
Freestyle Flow – Yoga, or at least the Beachbody version of it. Balancing postures, stretching, upward/downward dogs are the tried and true moves today. Given that I’m an old, cranky bastard, this type of sports stretching is crucial.
I also am starting to wonder, how many pairs of skin-tight lycra pants does Jericho own? I mean, she wears them well and I’m not complaining, but she must need a sea-can to store them. I don’t even own that many socks.
LIT Cardio – I thought this might be low impact. Not even close. There will be times you’re trying to jump across the room. For those familiar with Insanity Asylum, this will have a similar feel. Be prepared to move fast.
Downbeat Strength – Leg day. But instead of reps, you’re working the quads, hamstrings, and glutes using time under tension. So grab some light/medium weights and try to keep up to the beat.
Fight Club – A little throwback to the old days of Core De Force. It’s more of the same punch-kick combos you’ve seen before. Judging by the stances and proper punches, Jericho obviously has had real martial arts training. But despite being called MMA moves, don’t kid yourself. Use this in combat and you’ll be deader than a chicken fried alligator.
Meltcon – This seems to be a mix of Upbeat and Downbeat Strength in an effort to give a total body resistance workout.
Re-Vibe – Yoga inspired recovery workout. Less balancing and more good old fashioned stretching. Of the two recovery workouts, I liked this one more.
The Good, The Bad, and the App
I understand the business model for streaming media, I really do. But if this is the rudder that will steer the mighty S.S. Beachbody, make sure the app isn’t dealing with menopause. The BOD app has a history ( for me anyway ) of cycling from very stable to AAARGH!!
Repeatedly, I had to contend with the iOS app crashing, and thus interrupting my groove until I reloaded it. For a workout 100% dependent on sticking to the beat, this soon became intolerable after the fourth crash. I eventually found creative ways to download the media beforehand to avoid the frustration. Your mileage may vary as my setup was Airplay to an AppleTV from my iPhone.
What Makes MM100 Different?
I’m not sure a live DJ is necessary, but DJ Jesse has to eat too. Therefore I shall cut him some slack. The idea is harmless and the tunes are decent enough to follow along with. In the end it sounds about the same as any Shaun T mix.
Another plus is the sheer number of workouts. Beachbody’s latest strategy seems to be focused on keeping each day fresh and minimizing repeats. Gone are the days when we could recite every one of Tony’s jokes by heart.
What make MM100 the Same?
For better or worse, Beachbody is pumping out “Jack-of-all-trades” type workouts these days. That means they’re good at everything but truly great at none.
Morning Meltdown 100 workouts are all cardio-resistance, which means you will never grab 70lb monsters to do bench presses or perform pull-ups until you puke. It’s low-weight/high rep…a style the BB catalog is getting very top-heavy with. Thus, MM100 is great for endurance athletes or people looking to shed a little chub. But those wanting real muscle gains won’t find much to satisfy them here.
The cast also feels a bit manufactured, like they came from a discount acting school. They’re going to appeal to women more, as the men are a little on the dainty side. Let’s just say I don’t think they’re the kind of dudes that would survive long on a winter white-tail hunt. Makes me long for the good ol’ days of “Bronx is Burning” Bobby Stevenson and psycho-Phil.
CONCLUSION
I guess we need to talk about the trainer. Jericho McMatthews is thankfully a very likable young lady who rarely, if ever, goes into cheerleader mode. And for that, I thank her. That was a thing with Chalene that made me want to throw a shoe at the screen. As a man, we hate undeserved cheering. Participation trophies and false praise offend us. No, we thirst to be taken to our limits by merciless drill sergeants who want to rip our heads off, because only then do we feel we have accomplished something. We want damn respect. If I need a cheerleader I’ll buy my wife an outfit on Amazon and offer to cook dinner that night.
And that’s the real trick for a truly universal appeal in a trainer. Men don’t mind women trainers, far from it. We just want someone who will kick our asses and be honest about it. Jericho gets closer to this ideal than most of what Beachbody has come out with. I’d say Autumn is doing an alright job when she isn’t pressing a boob against the camera, but holy crap…I’m still bitter about Country Heat.
I’m going to give Morning Meltdown 100 a high recommend and would encourage anyone who is aiming to become a better runner or endurance athlete to look at it. If that’s your goal, it will absolutely fit the bill and I’m eager to see what comes next from Jericho.
Morning Meltdown 100
Trainer - 80%
Production Values - 85%
Cardio - 80%
Strength - 75%
Music - 80%
80%
With enough workouts to last a long, long time, Morning Meltdown 100 will easily suit the needs of endurance athletes.
PROS:
CONS:
sarah sawall
April 23, 2022 at
This is one of the best beachbody reviews I’ve ever read in my entire life. Very entertaining while keeping it real. I thoroughly enjoyed it while sipping my coffee. Thank you for that. Also, I agree I do love this workout so far. 20 in, it takes me a while to want to do it (because you know reasons) but I like that they are EFFECTIVE in less than 40 min. As a busy mom, this is crucial for me.
Eva
September 16, 2021 at
I laughed so hard reading this review. I do gotta say I preferred 100MM over any of Autumn’s. I did try Country Heat once and couldn’t even get through the first day. I don’t know what Beachbody was thinking with that one. I also think the DJ and his tunes in 100MM is what makes it bearable. I honestly missed Jericho’s workouts when I tried Autumn’s 21 day fix. The vibe was just so much better in 100MM. I know I’m old school but also wish I could buy the DVD. It’s ridiculous that one year’s worth of the subscription is how much I could pay for the DVD and have it forever like my T25 DVDs. Yes, I still own a DVD.
Chris
March 30, 2021 at
OMG.. still wiping the tears from my eyes over the Hutterite colony line! Great info and some good-natured humour in this review.. Ignore the putz’s who can’t relate to your comedic candor.. it’s refreshing! Thanks for the read.. I’ll be returning..
M
July 24, 2020 at
Wow, I have to say informative review but so full of sexist remarks! Menopause, pressing boobs against camera? Dude being a Bro is not cool anymore.
John Paul Parrot
July 24, 2020 at
Odd. My wife thought they were funny ( boob idea was hers ). But then again I always thought she was an undercover sexist.
Aiko
September 5, 2021 at
Well, there’s 99.99% truth to it ;P
blip
July 11, 2020 at
I’m a 55-year-old woman with decent muscle mass and good balance. I enjoyed the weight workouts in this program, but the Fight Club and Cardio workouts at times had me swearing— loudly— at the TV. As someone mentioned, the choreography gets way too complex given the speed of the moves. I found myself regularly swapping in moves from P90X Plyo. Frustrating.
Jillian
February 21, 2020 at
I’ma working single mom to a toddler so going to the gym regularly is a luxury I no longer have much time to do. I find Jericho a lot more tolerable than other online coaches. I really love Chalean and the turbo workouts but needed a change.
I’m a former personal trainer and fitness instructor so have some background in fitness. I find her Fight Club work outs to be extremely daunting on the choreography. I spend more time trying to figure out ‘which arm goes where and is it the same or opposite leg that goes with it?’ So long that I didn’t get much of a workout. I imagine the cast had a preview prior to the workout to make it look easy.
I also found it a little disappointing that in such short workouts much of the choreography was just repeated in the same and different workouts. 100 workouts is a lot but there were so many repetitive moves I found myself getting bored which I wasn’t expecting in “100 different workouts”.
I’m not sure where I’ll turn to next regarding a workout. 21 day fix is too distracting with her almost naked body teaching the moves and somewhat condescending attitude toward the modifier.
Any suggestions? I’m a 40 year old woman just trying to stay in shape who prefers weights over cardio but know the benefits in both.
Jennifer
February 10, 2022 at
Shaun T’s Focus T25 is a great program!
DeSpence
February 21, 2020 at
I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in the world of fake compliments and sickeningly sweet hashtags that f’in HATES some of this program. That being said, I’ve actually stuck with it. I just did Day 71, with the intention of doing the day 70 revibe afterwords. I didn’t. Jericho’s hair and yoga sequences I just can’t keep up with. I hate yoga and always have, so it’s like trying to make my body do things it just can’t do.
Her hair swinging drives me crazy (put the shit in a bun and move on!!). Yes, there are men…but I don’t think any of them are straight.
But at least I tolerate Jericho. I lasted through intros with Autumn’s workout and was super over her by then and shut it off. Next up for me is to try Body Beast.
Elchupinazo
February 21, 2020 at
The ramifications of the streaming business model, I think, are exactly what you’re seeing with the repetitive workouts. BeachBody has to keep coming up with new programming, otherwise at some point people will realize they’re paying every year for the same thing. The problem is that there are only so many ways to combine cardio that can be done in a 6’x6′ space with basic resistance training. Keep in mind that these workouts are designed to be done by people with limited equipment and limited fitness experience and, well, you get a lot of these kinds of workouts.
In general, I like the streaming, even if I stick with the same handful of programs. As others mentioned, if you get the app on a streaming box (I don’t think it has to be a $$$ Apple TV, could be a Roku or Amazon Fire), the stability issues go away. And I like that I can download them and take them down to my apartment building’s gym if I want some extra equipment or just don’t feel like working out in my living room. The real-time workouts are a game changer in terms of adherence, I’d imagine. $99/year is still a phenomenal value to me, especially if you aren’t the only one using it.
I think we should be a little more honest with ourselves re: how jaded everyone here is with these new programs. Face it—if you’ve been following this site for a long time and have done multiple rounds of the tougher BeachBody programs, odds are you are no longer in BeachBody’s targeted demographic. You’re too fit for them, really!
Does that mean they can’t throw a bone to those of us who want some more advanced strength training? Does it feel fair that the beginner/intermediate folks get the most out of the fancy new real-time programs? No, of course not! I would love a badass real-time lifting program focusing on higher weights and lower reps. But it seems unfair to dismiss BeachBody as having fallen off or jumped the shark. They’re just making their money from the folks who can benefit from them the most, and there are a lot more of them than there are of us.
Der D
February 21, 2020 at
This program Is not for straight men. The whole thing is like a bad aerobics class for women. Jericho is extremely annoying as is Autumn. As a man, I like P90X or Body Beast. Even LIIFT 4 was crap with the lame HITT moves, the bad form of the cast and actually doing presses from the floor! HA! BB is putting out some garbage.
Johannes Paulsen
February 21, 2020 at
“Your mileage may vary as my setup was Airplay to an AppleTV from my iPhone.”
Parrot, my god man, what are you doing to yourself? Airplaying a video from an iPhone is for the birds. (Heh.)
If you have an AppleTV 4k, install the BeachBody On Demand app on the Apple TV, and use it directly, works very smooth.
Don’t have an AppleTV 4k? Buy a $30 Roku stick, install Beachbody On Demand app there, use it directly…. Never had a problem with that setup.
And if you have a laptop or old computer lying around, just HDMI that puppy to the TV and login using the web browser interface. I’ve never had a problem with the web browser interface.
Raj
February 21, 2020 at
Yeah, I have never had this problem with the web browser in 3 years of use..
Susan Eades
February 21, 2020 at
No way can I join anything from Beachbody because we live so far out have to use satellite for internet so I will have to stick with DVDs. However this was worth my time reading just because of your great writing. I literally laughed out loud quite a few times so thank you for that!
Jimmy
February 21, 2020 at
Sigh. I just don’t care anymore. More of the same from Beach Body. For me, at least, the mighty have fallen. I’m sure millennial girls that ‘want a bigger butt’ will LOVE this, and I suspect that’s what they are counting on. I’d be a lot more depressed if I didn’t have a real training background to fall back on. Since I do, I can’t recommend this, or anything else they’ve done since 2015, and I doubt that the former level of excellence is coming back to Beach Body at this point. People may start with something like this, but if it’s all on offer, I guarantee you that they will move on. It really bums me out. Max 30 was truly the peak.