9 Week Control Freak Workout Program Review

I did it! I made it through all the workouts in 9 Week Control Freak, a Beachbody On Demand program by Autumn Calabrese.

9 Week Control Freak Program Basics

• It’s led by creator Autumn Calabrese
• You need pairs of weights (light, medium, heavy), control track, core ball, exercise step and yoga mat.
• The 9 weeks are broken up into 3 phases, 3 weeks per phase.
• Each week has 5 workouts and 2 rest days.
• Every workout is unique so even though some moves repeat, there are 45 workouts total.
• You can stream the workouts from anywhere through Beachbody On-Demand.
• Workouts are between 23 to 33 minutes each.
• For most moves, there is a modified version, but not necessarily always low impact.
• Most of the workouts have a timed element where you’re seeing how many reps or rounds you can do in X seconds or minutes.

Everything above you can learn online. Below is my honest review and feedback of 9 Week Control Freak after going through the entire program. 

Important Equipment Note

I feel it’s important that you know you DO NOT need to buy the expensive Beachbody control track, core ball and step — Amazon has $30 control tracks, $12 core balls and $28 aerobic steps:

You will definitely need this equipment to do 9 Week Control Freak, in addition to your regular assortment of dumbbells. I also recommend a big a$$ fan, sweat towels, a mirror for form checks, and some extra padding like my floor mat foam tiles if you have hard floors.

After each workout, my room often looked like this….

In this program, you need space for sure! You will get good at keeping your workout space organized so you don’t accidentally hurt yourself.

PROS

• Every workout is a GOOD workout. You will sweat!
• Autumn makes the most of every minute. There isn’t a lot of down time. It feels like she values your time. I love the efficiency!
• You will actually use the equipment. Not just buy it and use periodically.
• They provide tracking sheets so you track your weights and reps over the 9 weeks, which helps for you to see your progress.
• During the workouts, Autumn is very motivating, and it feels genuine and true to the workouts. It sometimes feels like therapy. So many good quotes!
• The race against the clock helped most workouts to fly by.
• Because workouts don’t repeat, I didn’t get bored.
• Autumn gives great demonstrations and directions on each move.
• When things get tough, Autumn gives reminders, addresses corrections or how to get your heartrate down and protect your back. Overall, really great instruction.
• There were no bonus rounds (or maybe just 1?) in the whole program! Yay!
• If I missed a workout day, I was able to catch up on a rest day.
• She has fun with the cast. There’s a lot of laughing and joking. It feels like you’re hanging out with some friends exercising.
• She incorporates warm-ups and stretching every workout.
• The clock on the screen was great! It wasn’t confusing (like in some workout programs) and was super helpful. She even called out one minute left on the density rounds.
• The cast struggles too. They’re human. They sweat. They get accidentally skip moves. It feels real.

And, for those of you that also did Off the Wall first, she finally explained what “DCT” stands for in this program… Density Complex Tabata! Phew! Glad we got that figured out.

CONS

• Most of the workouts have a timed element where you try to get as much done within x minutes. If you’re rushing, it’s easy to lose focus on form, and potentially hurt yourself.
• Autumn often mentions that she could lift heavier or do more reps if she didn’t have to talk. I’m sure she’s self conscious about it, but I really wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t said anything. It was a bit annoying, mostly because she’s awesome and doesn’t need to justify herself to us.
• A few moves using the band were difficult to feel the tension or just figure out, especially when rushing. Ex. mountain climbers with your feet in the handles of the bands… huh?
• The warm-ups are the same for each phase, which gets a bit monotonous.
• Density rounds where you need the track at different heights were annoying.
• There were a few workouts that were definitely A BEAST. Usually, I like pushing myself and welcome a challenge, but there were a few that felt so counter productive.
• During every workout, there’s a TV with “BOD Group” participants. They get mentioned every once in a while, especially toward the second half, but overall, they felt pointless and more of a distraction.
• Since I needed a lot of equipment for this program, I couldn’t easily take it on vacation.
• She incorporates multiple rounds of tabata, which is only a “con” because it’s REALLY HARD! (Tabata = 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 4 minutes)
• Along those same lines, whew, this program has a lot of burpees!
• Typically I use my rest days to get in a Peloton bike ride or go running, but Autumn specifically tells you that you have to rest on rest days. I had a hard time with this and really missed my miscellaneous exercise days.
• In some density rounds, the moves individually took a long time so I didn’t get many rounds done. In those workouts, I’d pause the program and finish another round to make sure I got in more reps and felt the burn!

Also not really a pro or con, but she talks about evening stretches and a brag board. I kept forgetting to do the extra stretches and didn’t print out the brag board; I’m sure they were helpful, but I didn’t utilize those.

My 9 Week Control Freak Results

I finished 9 Week Control Freak in 10 1/2 weeks, mostly due to a few sick days and a week-long vacation where I couldn’t take the equipment with me.

Did I lose weight? Nope. But that’s not the program’s fault. My goal was to get through the program and get stronger — and I definitely did both! Plus, I started this program in the midst of the holiday season. Let’s be real, I ate more desserts than average.

What changes did I see? Besides getting stronger, I definitely felt leaner, especially in the hips. My butt looked higher and tighter too. All of those burpees, lunges and squats really do add up!

Would I do it again? Not immediately (I definitely need a break) but in the future, absolutely. The control track and ball added a welcome variation from my regular workout equipment.

Which did I like better: 9 Week Control Freak original or Off the Wall? I thought this original would be my preference, but surprisingly, I liked Off the Wall better. Although the workouts repeat, it was easier to compare progress from week to week. And, while I welcomed the variety of the control track and ball, it made the density rounds more complicated.

Both were GREAT programs. But Off the Wall felt simpler, which made it easier to focus on each move versus what equipment I needed next, etc.

Read my 9 Week Control Freak “Off the Wall” review >>

Have you ever tried 9 Week Control Freak, either version, or have you thought about trying it? What are your thoughts, comments or questions? I’d love to hear your feedback below!