Does Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds Work? (Beachbody Review)

Any boxing superfan will tell you that surviving ten rounds in the ring without a K.O. is the mark of an elite prizefighter.

And, if you’ve caught wind of the 10 Rounds boxing-centric workout program, you might have a few questions buzzing through your mind.

Joel Freeman is ripped (there’s no disputing that).

But was this the program behind his bulky yet cut physique? Is it a fun way to stay active, or will it leave you in beach-ready shape? Does it actually shed stubborn body fat like the ads suggest?

Here’s the blow-by-blow of Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds routine from Beachbody On Demand.

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About the Creator – Joel Freeman

If you’re a Beachbody On Demand veteran (the creators of the old-school P90X), the name “Joel Freeman” might ring a bell.

That’s because the fitness guru is the mastermind behind four programs on the platform, including LIIFT4, 10 Rounds (this one), Core de Force, and Joel’s Bod Exclusive.

Now almost two decades into his fitness career, Joel Freeman is a name to keep on your radar. What started as a group fitness class in Washington state gym in 2004 turned into:

• A job in the Washington State Department of Health’s corporate wellness division
• A budding relationship with Beachbody in 2005
• A position as the Group Exercise Director at Gold’s Gym SoCal
• A life-changing offer from Beachbody in 2016 to become a Super Trainer

But his rise to fame wasn’t a slow climb.

Freeman’s eight-week LIIFT4 collected 25 million views in just two years. 10 Rounds’ success followed, drawing more than five million streams in only a few months.

While he’s no Tyson or Holyfield, Freeman’s NASM Certified Personal Trainer certificate proves he’s not punching above his weight — at least from the fitness buff’s perspective.

What is Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds?

Torture. Hell. Suffering.

Just kidding (well, that depends if you’re in shape or not).

Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds is a six-week boxing-heavy routine designed to torch calories, improve cardio, and build full-body strength.

Across 30 intermediate workouts (lasting 30-40 minutes apiece) with five exhausting workouts a week, here’s what you should expect:

• Ten, three-minute “rounds” per workout (AKA: interval training)
• Three shadow boxing sessions per week (sparring & footwork)
• Two strength-building weight sessions per week (not as many as Body Beast)
• 100% video workouts
• A workout calendar & meal plan guidance (well, sort of)

If you can survive six weeks without DQing yourself, you’ll exit the ring stronger, more powerful, fitter, and faster. The torched body fat and those newfound abs are merely bonuses!

Well, that’s if Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds lives up to the hype.

Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds Details & Features

Unless you’re secretly an MMA belt-holder, Freeman’s claim that you’ll ‘enter the “zone” where the fun takes over, and the workout disappears’ sounds like the classic marketing ploy.

Think about how many people saw the Insanity infomercials on TV in 2012 and thought it’d be a fun and easy method to lose fat in their living room. (Unless you’re a sadist, it wasn’t either. This goes for P90x too.)

But let’s hop into the ring and size up this program.

The Beachbody On Demand Module

Maybe it’s a soaring budget or industry-leading tech gurus running the show. But Beachbody On Demand deserves a shout-out here: their digital module is as user-friendly as they come.

On the “Start Here” page for 10 Rounds, you’ll see the “Getting Started” videos that’ll walk you through the program’s basics (ex: a trailer, a sample workout, and nutrition).

Yet, you also have three more tabs to explore, including:

• Workouts: This is where you’ll find your workouts divided by week. Each week brings you to a different destination across the United States (Los Angeles, Miami, Brooklyn), which changes the background scenery. Unless a Philly-area warehouse motivates you more than an urban Brooklyn gym, it won’t impact your workout whatsoever.
• Mirrored Workouts: This section is a nice bonus if you dare to venture into it. Because the standard workouts only “mirror” if you’re a lefty, the mirrored version essentially flips the screen for us righties. When you punch with your right hand, you can match Freeman doing it with his left hand. In other words, it takes the thinking out of your workout.
• Program Materials: Here, you’ll find every guide you could imagine that’d help you finish all six weeks without giving up (and while still seeing progress). It features a workout calendar, a quick-start guide to nutrition, and sample meal plans. The materials also come in Spanish and French if you’re not a native English speaker!

The first true “bummer” is that there’s nothing to log.

The only thing you track is whether or not you completed each workout in the calendar, but even then, it’s all or nothing. Logging your weight or your rounds completed would make more sense.

But if you look deep enough (seriously, if you really dig), you can track your body measurements in the “Get Started Guide.” But that’s about it.

10 Rounds Schedule

The 10 Rounds routine follows the same generic weekly format:

• Boxing
• Lift
• Boxing
• Lift
• Boxing

Joel Freeman recommends two rest days a week, wherever you can squeeze ‘em in.

On the lift days, you’ll alternate between lower and upper body. Week one, lift day #1 will be lower body, and lift day #2 has an upper-body emphasis; on week two, it’s the opposite!

The boxing training sessions gradually ramp up their intensity as you “travel” from LA to Las Vegas to Dallas to Miami to Brooklyn to Philadelphia.

You’ll start by knocking out the basics, like power jabs and crosses (1s and 2s). As you become a boxing connoisseur, you’ll practice uppercuts, full-body conditioning, sparring pivots, and power.

It all leads up to “The Final Fight” in Philly.

What You Need (Equipment)

Your boxing sessions will be almost entirely equipment-free (bummer, it’s mostly shadow boxing).

But you might also need:

• Loop resistance bands (of course, Beachbody recommends their own, but a standard looped resistance band will do the trick)
• A sweat towel
• A yoga mat
• Dumbbells

Not sure what you need for a certain workout?

If you go to the “Workouts” tab, you can click the three vertical dots next to a workout. That’ll show you how long the workout is, what you’ll focus on, and what equipment you might need ready.

No more scrambling for your resistance band mid-workout.

Talk about convenience!

What a 10 Rounds Workout Is Like

For better or for worse, each 10 Rounds workout follows a basic format: ten three-minute “rounds” with 45 seconds of “transition” in between.

Boxing Workouts

For example, take Boxing Workout #1 (Power Jabs & Crosses).

The session starts with a resistance band warm-up to get the blood flowing to your muscles for three minutes. In the 45-second grace period, Freeman tells you what’s coming up next.

He might explain how to throw a jab or what the new combination is.

When the bell goes off, it’s the end of the round! Get ready for another three minutes of sweat-dripping, muscle-aching exercise.

Strength-Training Workouts

The strength-training sessions offer a little more variety (and something to look forward to if throwing punches and practicing footwork aren’t your forte).

On lower-body day, you’ll see exercises like reverse lunges and goblet squats (with your dumbbells). Upper-body exercises feature floor presses and bent-over rows.

A Few Notes About the Videos

Video workouts can be hit-or-miss, especially if you rely on your digital trainer to encourage you across the finish line. That’s why it’s worth mentioning that:

1. Freeman describes how to do each exercise (including form tips)
2. He breaks down challenging boxing jargon into easy-to-understand terms (1, 2, roll, shuffle forward)
3. Everything comes with a visual demonstration
4. Freeman is talkative, motivating, and interacts with his backup crew.

In other words, 10 Rounds isn’t a drill sergeant-style workout with Freeman shaming you or implying everything is simple.

If you’re a true beginner looking to get in shape, you’ll find his likable personality to be a nice touch and possibly motivating enough to last all ten rounds.

The QuickStart Nutrition Guide & Sample Meal Plans

The QuickStart Nutrition Guide is an 84-page PDF that serves as a crash course in Beachbody dieting. However, it’s relatively generic and doesn’t seem to be only for the 10 Rounds routine.

In this guide, you’ll find:

• Constant nods to their own shakes (Shakeology), which earns a mention 58 times in the entire document. It’s overkill, and you don’t get to the actual meat until page 11.
• A choice between two eating plans: 2B Mindset (if you overeat) and Ultimate Portion Fix (if portion control is your major issue). Sounds the same, but okay.
• Less-than-subtle nudges to buy the Team Beachbody supplements on almost every single page. Message received. Go home, V Shred.

The whole guide seems like a mish-mash of anything diet-related without giving clear-cut answers. Most solutions circle back to “try this product,” and boy, are there a lot of those!

Science seems to be an afterthought, too.

You have two calorie options based on your weight: 1500 or 1800. In all honesty, the only worthwhile piece of the guide is pages 46 and onward — the recipes!

The body weight planner from the NIH is a better gauge of how many calories you actually need to eat per day. There’s no arbitrary recommendation, like 1500 or 1800.

The meal plans in the 10 Rounds module are a little more direct, going the extra step and planning a grocery list for you.

But serving sizes are nowhere to be found, which is interesting given both eating plans are designed to help with portion control.

10 Rounds Calories Burned

How many calories you torch with 10 Rounds depends on three things:

• How long the workout is.
• How much effort you pour into the session.
• How much you currently weigh.

On the low-end, 30 minutes of sparring and footwork might shred 279-465 calories (150 lbs to 250 lbs). The strength-training sessions are closer to 100-200 calories burned per half hour.

Over the course of the week, 10 Rounds alone could create a 1,037+ calorie deficit.

Not that impressive unless you ramp up your intensity and cut your diet.

But if you chop 500 calories from your diet each day on top of these five weekly workouts, you could shed 1.29+ pounds a week.

10 Rounds Vs LIIFT4

LIIFT 4 and 10 Rounds are two of Joel Freeman’s hottest Beachbody On Demand routines. And, while Freeman is the common denominator, both routines have stark differences.

Choose 10 Rounds if you want to break a sweat, shed pounds, and develop better control of your body. It’s also a five-day-a-week program, meaning commitment is a must.

Select LIIFT4 if you’re seeking total body transformation. It’s a four-day-a-week program that builds endurance, torches fat (via HIIT), and sculpts muscle through weightlifting.

10 Rounds Vs Core De Force

Unlike 10 Rounds, Core De Force isn’t a Joel Freeman exclusive; it also features another trainer and creator by the name of Jericho.

This 30-day program is far shorter than the six-week 10 Rounds. It’s a little more exciting than 10 Rounds, too, featuring cardio, explosive kickboxing, and even some Muay Thai.

Both follow the three-minute “round” style.

If you want more defined muscles and a slimmed-down waist, Core De Force is the best option. 10 Rounds is a better call if building long-term endurance is a deal-breaker for you.

7 Benefits of Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds

1. Since you need only resistance bands, dumbbells, and a yoga mat (optional), you can do most workouts from the comfort of your living room or bedroom.
2. The mirrored videos guarantee that you can mirror the video whether you’re a righty or lefty. Then again, it’s odd they were a recent add (it’s Beachbody, after all).
3. Each workout is unique, down to the exercises and background scenery.
4. If standard cardio workouts like running, biking, or rowing aren’t your thing, these fat-shredding workouts are a decent alternative. In a 2014 study into boxing and resistance training as weight loss methods, participants shed a noticeable amount of visceral fat (the fat surrounding your organs).
5. The three-minute rounds with short breaks are a form of interval training, which can boost fat loss in the long term. This is backed by a 2019 meta-analysis that discovered interval training led to 28.5% more fat loss than steady-state training.
6. If you leave it all in the ring, you’ll end the workout sweating and with burned calories.
7. Many users describe it as “fun.” Results-wise, however, some recommend pairing it with another Beachbody workout to see true progress.

5 Negatives of Joel Freeman’s 10 Rounds

1. The nutrition guide is almost pure fluff and advertisements. It’s more a magazine than a cookbook or science-based eating plan.
2. If you were hoping for some bag work and donning boxing gloves, sorry!
3. One user reports losing 18.6 pounds and replacing his beer gut with a six-pack. But on Reddit, the consensus is that it’s too easy and “not a workout.”
4. The cooldowns are in a second video. They seem like an afterthought.
5. There’s no way to track your progress or how many rounds you last.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is 10 Rounds low impact?

Yes. This is a low impact workout because it doesn’t involve running or high-intensity movements (like sprints or jumps) which can put stress on joints and muscles. The punches and kicks are endurance oriented, so there’s no undue pressure on joints.

You can consider the shadow boxing as a form of interval training which is very effective at burning calories to help you lose body fat. But, you shouldn’t consider 10 Rounds as “explosive” or “aggressive” by any means.

The mix of cardio and weight training is designed to be very accessible for beginners, especially for those jumping into fitness for the first time.

How much weight can you lose doing 10 Rounds?

The answer is probably not as much as you’d like. You’ll burn a lot of calories during the shadow boxing workouts, but not so many from the weight training sessions. But don’t worry, it’s still a decent workout to get in shape and feel good about yourself.

Of course, like any other fitness program – results will vary. Some users claimed to lose 9.3 pounds over the full 6 weeks, while others have lost 6 pounds in the very first week.

Take those with a grain of salt as Beachbody typically uses their certified coaches as testimonials. If you’re looking for programs with a higher calorie burn, consider more aggressive workouts like P90X or Insanity Max 30.

Can you do 10 Rounds with a punching bag?

You could do 10 Rounds with a punching bag, but it’ll most likely lead to burnout and loss of endurance. Remember, the workouts in 10 Rounds are designed to be low impact and make you sweat without requiring the equipment in a boxing gym.

Not to mention, punching bags require high intensity movements that can cause injury if not done properly. Unless you’ve had plenty of experience with a heavy bag, just stick to the program the way it was designed. Most people say that the shadow boxing on its own is a lot of fun.

What workout should I do after 10 Rounds?

The answer may depend on a number of factors, but most importantly it’ll depend on how much time, energy and stress you’re looking to put into your next workout. If you enjoy the teaching style of Joel Freeman, LIIFT4 kicks things up a notch with interval training to help you burn more fat and weight training to build additional muscle.

Core De Force is another viable option since it’s a moderately-dense workout program that provides you with more of a challenge than traditional low intensity programs. It’s only 30 days long, but considered much more explosive.

Insanity Max 30 is another option that falls into the “advanced” category. The workouts are shorter than most other programs because they’re HIIT workouts that take less time to complete (30 minutes) but burn a lot of calories. Keep in mind, IM30 builds on the foundation of the original Insanity to produce an even more “insane” program.

Is 10 Rounds good for weight loss?

Yes, 10 Rounds is decent for losing weight. A lot of the program revolves around shadow boxing which is mainly cardio intensive.

Consistently performing cardio helps you burn more calories. And when you burn more calories, you lose more weight. What’s nice about the 10 Rounds programming is that it also incorporates resistance training to help you maintain muscle along the way.

However, some have criticized that 10 Rounds isn’t as intense as advertised and so you shouldn’t expect to lose more than a few pounds in the process.

Is 10 Rounds a good workout?

10 Rounds from Beachbody is a good workout program, but it’s definitely targeted towards beginners that are new to fitness (so the results may not be as dramatic for an intermediate). The three-minute boxing rounds count as HIIT, which is good for fat loss. And the strength training workouts build muscle and strength.

What weights do I need for 10 Rounds?

The only weights you’ll need for Beachbody’s 10 rounds are dumbbells. The other equipment you may need include a loop resistance band, a yoga mat, and maybe a towel to wipe off that sweat.

What is “mirrored” in 10 Rounds?

“Mirrored” in 10 Rounds is a section Beachbody added to display the workouts in a suitable way for both right and left-handed people by flipping the screen. For example, if you’re left-handed, you can use the mirrored section to flip the screen so it seems like the instructors are left-handed too.

How long is the 10 Rounds program?

Beachbody’s 10 Rounds program will take you six weeks to complete.

Wrapping Up This 10 Rounds Review

10 Rounds is a pretty decent, easy-to-follow program that’ll get your heart thumping, forehead sweating, and fat-torching.

It requires minimal equipment for home workouts. And, if your cardio didn’t graduate high school with you, the three-minute training sessions and breaks will help you build up your endurance.

But if you’re an intermediate, which is who 10 Rounds is designed for, you might find this workout boring or more “fun” than productive.

For beginners, though, it’s a fine starting point for a weight loss journey, whether getting shredded or dropping a few pounds is your goal.

Ratings: 7.5/10

Here’s another Program to Consider

As you can see, 10 Rounds is above average, but may not give you the long term results you’re after.

If you want to get a ripped body with a proven program that works for beginners, try Superhero X12.

Remember, Superhero X12 allows you to save time by building muscle with only 3 workouts per week.

Superhero X12 delivers all the “secrets” of muscle-building nutrition with guides, sample meal plans, and even a calorie calculator so you can change your body and enjoy what you eat.

Feature	Superhero X12	10 Rounds
Beginners
Intermediates
Workouts	3x /week	5x /week
Calorie Calculator
Macro Breakdown
No Supplement Upsells
Mindset Guide
2-Day Workout Option
	Learn More	Learn More

And finally, the program will challenge you just enough to help your body transform without completely draining your energy or leaving you in a pool of your own sweat.

So if you want a complete system for building an impressive-looking body without disrupting your life, check out Superhero X12 today.