Tuesday, November 4, 2014

UPDATED: Sweat Factor and Zuzka are Responding, An Interview With Jillian Michaels and Zuzka, & Workout reviews of Cardio Shred and BR Day 33

For those of you STILL having trouble with your OLD ZGym accounts contact customer.service@sweatfactor.com

I emailed them AND posted on their FB page, and got responses both ways, and very quickly.

After I posted on Zuzka's FB page someone else did along with me - and Zuzka replied:

  • Gina Trimarchi Martin A lot of us are long time supporters of you and are super excited to see you take this next step. However there are still many of your loyal customers out there getting screwed out of memberships fees of the old Zgym. Now we know you don't have control over that but since you're now the big boss, what IS it you CAN do for those that have lost money because of this transition? Help! Xo
    Like · Reply · 2 · 22 hours ago
  • Jess Confer Zuzka, I see that you have a new website which is really great and I was excited to see it. Although, I was surprised to learn that for zgym members who used the old site - now have to use sweat factor. The navigation is confusing and there's no way (I found) to get in touch with their customer service. I just began my membership Oct. 9, and I purchased for 3 months. Who can I contact to cancel this membership? The contact link just awkwardly comes to your new site, then back to the about page of sweat factor. I really enjoy your workouts - though this user experience has been quite awful considering a lot of people were in the dark about the changes that were coming!
    Like · Reply · 1 · 9 hours ago
    • Carla Rose Dal Col I agree. I don't think anyone cares how we get the videos, we just want to workout with her  But the lack of info from her re: the changes has left me unsure about purchasing the new zgym.
    • Zuzka Light I totally understand the frustration.. i can only tell you what i know.. i was informed by WIN that they were moving the subscription club to Sweat Factor and i was not given the ability to access any of the information.. i found out via Facebook that people were getting email from Customer.Service@SweatFactor.com... Thats all i know.. Keep In Mind, i have nothing to do with Watch It Now or Sweat Factor or any Decisions they have made or will make..
    • Sonia Guillemette I finally successfully unsubscribed from SweatFactor with the link Zuzka wrote....I think it should work for you too Carla Rose
      Like · 1 · 4 hours ago · Edited
    • Rosie Szabo You can request a refund of your subscription through the customer.service@sweatfactor.com as well. Them on Nov. 8th sign up for Zuzkas new website that she has complete ownership of for future workouts 
      Like · 1 · 4 hours ago
    • Jess Confer Thanks for the response everyone. I will keep you updated! Hopefully I hear back from someone at the sweat factor customer service soon!
    • Jess Confer Everything worked out - thanks for all the help and responses everyone! Emailed customer.service@sweatfactor.com and they were super responsive.


  • OK, we all know that Zuzka no longer is with WIN and that she is not a part of Sweat Factor and cannot control what they do. But she still hasn't gone the extra step in saying what it is SHE CAN DO for us. She is offering ZGym free for a week and then for $1 for November. I think she should offer two months for a $1 each to compensate. I think she should also apologize for the confusion. We all want to support her, but she is making it hard - IMO. 

Zuzka did post that she got her security certificate and wants to make sure her site is safe for us. OK, that is great. How about making sure we get our money back if we can't? 

  • It seems like WIN truly did cut her off and left her with no info to give us, but all she had to do was SAY that. Tell us to help each other out and see what we can do together. And then ask us to support her new endeavor. I just feel like she needed to be and still needs to be more forth coming, especially when asking for money. 

Thanks to one of my readers (thanks! Anna Glas) for the link to the Jillian and Zuzka interview: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jillian-michaels/the-jillian-michaels-show/e/34476205?autoplay=true
You can start listening at 29:00 minutes. 
Zuzka talks about her dark and sorted past, her time with BR and then ZGym. The interview is a few months old so it is not about her current ZGym. 
This interview makes me like Zuzka a lot more, but I'm still completely unimpressed and disappointed with her customer service. I plan on joining her new ZGym for the $1, but her customer service and workout quality needs to be superb in order for me to stay beyond that. I can suck up $1 - for now. 

Zuzka posted Cardio Shred #1 today. This workout is not one of my favorites. As I said yesterday I typically do not like arm combos with leg moves - because other than raising the heart rate, it doesn't do much to work the muscles of the arms or legs that effectively. I love Kettlebells and jumping rope, so not a horrible workout, but certainly not one of my favs.

Day 33 with BR is now posted. Freddy also posted this as today's motivation:

Today’s Motivation:
None of us here are underwear models. It’s taken time to accept that we will never be the kind of people in the adverts for lingerie or boxer briefs. It seems crazy that we even aspired to that. But we did. It’s taken time and a bit of maturity to understand that even the models they choose to be in those ads don’t look like they appear in the magazines. How many years have we held ourselves up to this impossible ideal? Feeling lacking because we are not measuring up to the photoshopped images. For me it’s been years. Yes. It effects men too.
The truth is that I will never probably have that kind of body. But I have my body, and it’s served me well so far. I keep training to be stronger, fitter and faster, and I can run and jump and lift. I am beautiful in my own way, as are we all. We have scars and stretch marks and extra skin, and it makes us each who we are. I may not have a chiseled six pack, but let’s me honest together – is that what this is really about? When you make your goals about finding strength both inside and out you can finally drop the added weight of these impossible ideals. Yes we want to be lean and sexy – but that comes from the confidence to stand in your own skin and be proud to accept who you are.
We train here for a life well lived, and that is a goal that is more than skin deep. So today when you strip off your sweaty clothes after your workout, stand for a moment and just be proud of your body and have the courage to own who you are in this moment – not what you want to be or who you hope to be, but what you are now. This is real life, and who you are will always be welcome to train with us. No one here is perfect but we can share the courage to be ourselves.
Best, Freddy

It needs to have one more sentence - and if that still doesn't work,  get plastic surgery. :)

Ha! Sorry - I know that was a dig, but almost all of the BR hosts have had plastic surgery - which is fine. Freddy made the point to me that it is very common in the fitness industry, and he's completely correct. BUT not all of us can afford it and saying things like - be ourselves - over and over again doesn't ring as true anymore - with ME.
The cost of plastic surgery and the down time makes it a no brainer for me, but I have friends who have gone that route. I had one friend completely regret it and another LOVE it. To each their own. 
I also find the comment about underwear models kind of funny. Didn't Lisa used to work out in her underwear? And the latest pic shows her in a bra that you can almost see through. I don't think that was a mistake. But I guess that is what makes BR - well BR! 

OK, so for the workout. More push ups. More @#$%^&*!!!! push ups! LOL.
The cardio move was a good one, but I LOVED, LOVED  the strength move of the deadlift row with the sandbag. Lisa almost always does the cardio move and I wonder why not as much strength. Whenever Lisa jumps up she always keep her arms bent or at her sides. Why doesn't she raise her arms overhead - especially in burpees? Am I missing something? 

Here's the almost see-through pic that looks like a bra to me. Maybe if I had her body I would do it too. :)



This just got posted by Zuzka. MUCH better Zuzka - but this was due out from you a week ago! 

  • Aviva Capland Will we be able to sign in with our previous login info?
    Like · Reply · 2 hrs
    • Crina Gandila Most probably not... new ZGym, new account 
      Like · 1 hr
    • Zuzka Light I can understand the confusion.. I can only tell you what i know.. I was notified by Watch It Now that they were moving the subscription club to sweatfactor.com and i was not given the ability to access any Information or Data when they made the move.. You can access the account you signed up for at this link: Login athttp://www.sweatfactor.com/login-2/

      What you will find there is my old content. ALL new and future content will be held by me at ZuzkaLight.com.

      Someone posted on Facebook that they got ahold of SweatFactor Via Email at Customer.Service@SweatFactor.com

      Keep in mind, I have nothing to do with SweatFactor or Watch It Now or any Choices they have made or will make.. As of November 1st my official website and subscription club is held at zuzkalight.com

      For the first week of November, you don't need to login to access my new content at zuzkalight.com

      I'm sorry for the inconvenience, please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.
      Like · 5 · 1 hr
    • Aviva Capland So do I cancel the old account and start a new one?
      Like · 1 hr
    • Kristin Marceaux Wandell How much will the zgym subscription be after the $1 for 30 days? Just curious
      Like · 1 hr
    • Zuzka Light I can't tell you what to do but a membership from another website's subscription club will not give you access to my club at ZuzkaLight.com
      ZUZKALIGHT.COM
      Like · 2 · 56 mins

25 comments:

  1. I guess the thing with Freddy's motivation for Day 33 is ... well, at least it's not as hypocritical as it was before, lol. Truthfully, what's done is done and it it what it is; I myself plan to get breast implants next year but will try to keep away from liposuction of any trouble areas! My body has improved so much through diet and exercise, and although it's taken years to get to this point part of me just wants to go through with it. But I won't. That's the real message I'm taking from it (and I know you know that, too :)). But I totally get what you're saying. Thankfully no one on BR has been shy about any ~procedures~, whether they've said something or have let their bodies do the talking. Also, on the note of Lisa, I'm glad she's at a size that's better for functionality and aesthetic. It was overboard in the beginning, but typical; I've seen it a million times. Thankfully she was able to have it corrected to suit her wants; not a lot of people have that luxury.

    Also, I love how much stronger she's looking, more solid, less skinny. I stopped following for a long time because, as a major spokesperson of the brand, I didn't find her to be healthy. I don't know what has happened in the last 4 or so months, but there's definitely been an overhaul and it seems to be for the better.

    TL;DR Bodyrock is a lot more subtle about the sex component of their marketing, although it is tittilating at times, but the focus on the body outside of one's goal seems to be more prevalent. Yeah, this message was a little too good-feeling, but it's heart is in the right place - a more mature place than BR was in previously.

    That was a bit more than two cents.... sorry. :)

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  2. I often actually LIKE Freddy's motivational posts. I think Lisa's implants look WAY better now, and she does look stronger. Melissa's implants I thought looked really bad too. She has a nice body, and she's gorgeous, but her breasts looked so way too fake and almost cement like. If they were cheap and the downtime was 6 days I'd do it too! LOL. After both pregnancies I waited 3 weeks before working out again and it killed me to wait that long. A girlfriend of mine didn't wait long enough after her augmentation surgery and had to have one breast redone TWICE. I have kids too so it makes a difference - money goes to them instead of me, and I'm ok with that. I had VERY large breasts when I was nursing and I hated it. I hated the cleavage when I was working out, I hated how they felt against my body, I couldn't sleep on my stomach or go braless. But they did look good. :) They served a purpose. Now I sleep on my belly. Ha Ha.

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  3. I don't follow Bodyrock, but out of curiosity I went there to see what you were talking about.
    Jumping with arms bent looks weird! And I don't get why during an exercise there is the description of the previous one??? It doesn't make sense to me.
    And same old 10/50 :/ Don't they know you need variety in order to challenge yourself? This also means you need to vary the duration of your workouts.
    10/50 for 12 minutes for 3-4 years now? There is no progression whatsoever.

    My two cents about Melissa's breasts. They look way too big for her, I mean, everyone knows they're fake just looking at her. How can she possibly be proud of it? The right one looks a bit bigger than the left one, too.
    I don't like Lisa, but I have to admit, she chose the right size for her this time and her boobs actually look good on her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa does the exercise first so you can see it, then you do it.
      I agree - her boobs look really good now.
      Next week is supposed to be strength week so I hope they change the format.

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  4. I'm thinking now that all zuzka's old zwows are no longer available she will recycle those. Be prepare for lots of repeats with added kick, punches, knee tucks and jumps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmmm..... I never thought of that, I wonder if she will.

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    2. She's already started. She did zwow 87 adding some jumps and stuff. She called it body crush 5

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    3. Interesting! How did u know it was #87?

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    4. She mentioned that it was an old routine or something. I have them all written down

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    5. Put them in a document and see them on ebay - I'm serious!

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    6. Not eBay. Convert them into Kindle format and sell the exercise on Amazon. Or better yet, set up a website, but the written exercises in eBook format and sell them that way.

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  5. Thank you for sharing the interview! I love Jillian, she was my first fitness idol. She was the one who made me to workout the hard way. =D

    ReplyDelete
  6. That interview was interesting. I don't think Zuzka ever post it on her FB etc. I am guessing if she didn't it was because it spoke about her past and maybe she would like to keep it from coming up for those who didn't know about it already (understandable). Her followers would for sure start Googling if they heard that interview.
    One thing that stood out to me is that Zuzka said they were ready to sign a deal or something along those lines (can’t remember with who) until her past came up and they refused to work with her. Doesn’t this mean that Freddy was also okay with going in a route similar to what Zuzka did with WIN? He is always so against her having done this with WIN now yet it seems like they were ready to go down a similar path back when they were together.
    Something else from the interview. It sounded like to me that Zuz was still doing the porn when she and Freddy were first married. This surprised me a bit (if I am understanding correctly).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know Lexxie - I picked up on those 2 things too. I wanted it post more on it, but frankly I wasn't sure what Freddy would do. I had 3 former BR hosts lined up to do interviews who all said YES and now I haven't heard back from them. I'm sure Freddy is happy about that. If they are seriously that scared of him, then I wanted to back off from him a bit. But yes - I was wondering who it was that they both wanted to sign up with - but then again I was thinking Freddy would deny it and say Zuzka was going to do it behind his back. I listened VERY closely to the part of the interview that they were together when she was still doing porn to see if he was involved in it at all because he was very explicit that he was NOT. But there was no mention of it. I don't agree with Zuzka's background, BUT i'm not going to judge her because she picked herself up by her boot straps, got out of the industry and made something of herself. She should be REALLY proud of that. Now if her customer service skills would take a complete turn around, she'd have even more happier customers.

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  7. I will have to dig deep, but years ago i even saw a picture of the two of them, Zuzka (under her real name) and Freddy holding a video camera. Read an article that that is where they met, he was the cameraman and she was the performer.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I would love it if you found that! I remember reading somewhere they met on set or I never would have mentioned it in the first place. I do know that when BR first started there was porn type pop up ads on their youtube videos. I'm sure Zuzka didn't like it as they changed that fairly quickly.

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  8. I don't know if this has been referenced, but in light of current events, I thought this was an interesting post Freddy posted last year on TheDailyHIIT. I remember reading it at the time but it's interesting looking back on it. http://www.dailyhiit.com/hiit-blog/hiit-life/the-truth-will-set-you-free-and-save-you-some-money/

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    1. Also, the comments are interesting --- it's definitely worth a re-look.

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  9. the comments are insane!!

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    1. The comments ARE insane. And from what some of the people said it does look like Freddy possibly had some work with Zuzana in filming her or videoing her. But who knows. Spears Fever was mentioned and I looked it up. There was an interview with Z and I cannot believe how similar some of what she says is what she says NOW. It is uncanny. I don't want to make a post on it, because I don't want this to become about porn, but it was a little mind boggling. I was trying to find out who did the filming and pics for spears fever, but I couldn't.

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  10. What does she say that is similar? I am at work...so can't look that up lol

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    Replies
    1. http://shapesinmotion.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/susana-spears-new-site-officially-open/

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    2. Lexxie - I saw this posted on a blog that was run by Z about 7 years ago:

      Too Sexy? •October 2, 2007 • Leave a Comment
      We were reviewing our content from the first 2 shoots and it hit us that it might be too sexy for a fitness site. Don’t get me wrong we are aiming for sexy – but maybe having girls on their hands and knees doing leg lifts in tiny thongs is a bit much. I guess its a fine line – obviously we are pushing the http://www.shapesinmotion.com girls as the main thrust of the site when it is eventually launched in November. The concern is that the site will be too Maxim and not enough Nike.

      This will be a completely non-nude site – that is defiantly a line we will never cross. The models we are shooting are not in anyway erotic models – is it silly to be concerned about the videos being too sexy?

      We have lined up a shoot with a Miss Aerobics model – I think this girl is the current Miss Aerobics of the Czech Republic – so my thoughts are if we strayed a little to far away from sporty, this girl will likely bring us back on course.

      She has been at this for a long time - her angle used to be soft porn mixed with fitness. She states WE. We - meaning....? I also read that though Zuzka did do some soft porn - it was pics only - NEVER sex. I didn't know that and I think a lot of people don't realize that. But the similarities I see then and now are quite curious. She comes across as always being after money - IMO. Now I have no way of really knowing that, but it is what it seems. I still think she has turned her life around and inspires others to be fit. It looks like her and Freddy put together an overly sexy fitness site which probably back fired because it looked like porn instead of fitness. They changed angles and eventually came up with BR after some trial and error. She also mentioned hat photographers would often come to the sets looking for work, so I wonder if that is how Z and Freddy met. Who knows. All speculation!

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