Body4Me

Time to celebrate 70 big releases of the world’s best and most popular workout program. I’ve just come back from the workshop and I can honestly say that this is one of the best releases in a long, long time. It’s not that the other releases are not fantastic, it’s just that this particular combination of music, choreography, weight selection and feel works extemely well.
So, what’s the general feel ?

• Lots of big dancey beats. Right from the first track, you can feel the energy in the room.
  
• As in the previous release, easy to learn choreography with simple, big supersets.

Let’s check out the specifics. Here is my preview / review of BodyPump 69

Warmup: What’s this ? A male vocalist on the warmup track ? Ok, different. First thing you’ll notice is that the beat is a lot bigger than the warmup tracks you’re used to. You could just about mistake this one for a squat track. Lots of big moves to get the body warmed up. No usual ‘Love’ theme here either. Strong lyrics, strong beat, good, solid warmup. No new moves, and none needed.

Squats: The first of our three challenge tracks. It’s a short one, so load up. We start slowly and work up the intensity today with a big set of 4’s and 3’s. Just when you think this is going to be OK, the singles hit and the heart rates shoots up. 30 seconds later and we’ve slowed down again. Bang, there come the singles again. And now they don’ stop ! The second half of the track is basically and extended set of 46 singles (!) that come at you either as full length or bottoms. I’m not kidding, this is intense.
(Note to Glenn O: Mate, I know you’re a big fan, but seriously brother, it’s time to retire your ‘Best of Pink’ CD for a few releases…)

Chest: Once again, a short track. Make sure you stick an extra kilo or two on each side. It’s our second challenge track. Ok, check this out… There are two moves in this track: 4×4’s and Singles. Yup, nothing else. You want a chest workout? Here it comes ! You know the song. It’s Infinity 2008 (Klaas Vocal Edit). ‘Relax… Take your Time…’. You can’t get a bigger dance beat than this. It’s an odd beat too to give you more time under tension. The 4×4’s get an extra two beats added to them at 3/4 height to burn the chest and tri’s. Oh, and how many singles would you like to do in a single set ? 10 ? Sure! How about 15 ? Let’s do it!

Back: Back to something more conventional in this back track. Three big rounds. Long one, Medium one and one short one. E-Type is back once again with the big euro-pop dance beat they’re known for. No new moves today. Deadlifts, Cleans, Triple Rows. You can actually predict the next move from the vibe in the music. I wonder if E-Type write their songs specifically for Body Pump :). The sneakiest part of this track is that the music finishes after the second set so you think you’re done. 2 seconds later, the beat comes back and you realise there’s another round to go. Nice touch :)
(2nd note to Glenn O: Same goes for your E-Type and Cascada CD collection…;)

Triceps: Remember a couple of releases ago when we did the triceps track without a bar? Remember how much all those triceps pushups hurt ? Well, get set for a whole heap more. BodyPump 70 gives us a very similar choreography set with 24 triceps pushups (!) and 44 kick backs before we stand up for some overhead extensions. Make sure you position your body correctly on the bench so that you don’t pre-fatigue the supporting arm before it has to do the work. Hint: Start on your weaker arm. You’ll be thankful to have your stronger arm ready to go when you get to the end.

Biceps: Ahh yeah. Proper rocking singles are back with Nickelback and a track that’s a bit longer than the last couple of releases. Nice lyrics and a huge guitar backdrop motivate like nothing else. Pretty familiar format for this one. Three rounds with a quick recovery after the second round. It’s a nice long last round too. You feel like you’re not going to make it, but the music just takes you there. Connect with it. Let it carry you through the work.

Lunges: Time for the third challenge track. Rack up some extra weight. Chest weight will do just fine. ‘Feels like the raindrops..’ BOOM! Sash! is in the house with the biggest lunge track there is. This one is for the clubbers. Try to contain yourself during the build up and go absolutely crazy when the beat hits. If this one doesn’t get the little hairs in the back of your neck standing up, nothing will. I’m going to hae to force myself not sing along to the whole song when I do it :) ‘You make my body come alive…’ Like in the previous release, we have a combination of lunges and squats. The squats component in this one is a longer than last time around. It’s all singles, pulses and bottom halves in the squats. Ouch! Can’t stop, Can’t stop! Best. Lunge Track. Ever!

Shoulders: ‘Aa aa aaaaa Thunder!’. Hinder’s cover of AC/DC’s Thuderstruck. Classic Track.. Classic Track. TURN IT UP !!! Grab your plates, grab your bar. Think Side Raise Staggers for ‘Thun-der’. Be careful with your weight selection though.. there are 26 Side Raises before we even hit the Mac Raises. Don’t fight it, just sing along. It’ll help you get through this one. As you’d expect, one of the biggest rock songs of all time gets one of the biggest workouts you can find. As I said, side raises, mac raises, back to the side raises and then the bar for the final chorus. What a way to finish off the big muscle groups.

Abs: Wow, finally, our little abs track has graduated to a fully grown workout. Three rounds of three moves. Not just normal moves either. The Leg Rotation Extension Combo sees us extending our legs while they are at 45 degrees through a rotation. Follow it up with some plate crunches and then hit it with a wicked set of Vertical Lifts. Haven’t done vertical lifts before ? Glenn borrowed them from Body Balance :) Ok, you’re on your back. Lift your legs straight up in the air. Now, lift and extend your arms and use your abs to push your hands towards your toes. Sounds hard ? That’s because it is! Finish this one off with some quick Rotator Planks and you’re done. This is probably the most effective abs track I’ve done in a long while.

Cooldown: Ahh.. Needed this one. What a massive workout. Slow song with good long stretches. A bit more upbeat than usual and a great way to finish off the debut release of the 70’s.

Seriously, this is one of the best BodyPump releases ever. The music is rocking, the intensity is huge, the choreography is perfect and the whole workout is as effective as you can possibly make it. If you walk out of this one without sweat dripping down your shirt, you didn’t try hard enough :)

Thanks go once again to the Les Mills team for consistently delivering the world’s premier group fitness program. What a fantastic start to the 70’s.

*** UPDATE: BodyPump 70 Review is now up ***

It’s that time again. We’ve just finished the first few weeks of the current release, and BodyPump 70 is already around the corner.

Here is the sizzler, hot off the presses:

The key focus of BodyPump 70 is perfect timing. This means your body spends more time under tension and this will get you shape fast! The music in this release really ‘goes off’ - and keep an ear out for beats you’ve never heard before in BodyPump. Game on in the Squat Track! Challenge yourself with more resistance. Don’t be fooled by the slow start and the Pop-Rock nature of the track - the back half bites hard with four sets of Singles and Bottom Halves back-to-back to finish! Go a little bit heavier in the Chest Track - Infinity 2008 is awesome and builds anticipation before you pump it! The new tempo means your muscles will be under tension for the maximum amount of time. True Believer will inspire you to give it all you’ve got in the Back Track, before Christine Aguilera’s Keeps Gettin’ Better drives you through the Triceps Track. You don’t need but get ready to feel the burn in the Pushups and Kickbacks! Rock through the Biceps Track with Nickelback’s Gotta Be Somebody where Singles are the name of the game. Take a deep breath before the Lunge Track. Sash! is back for this endurance track that is VERY intense and includes Lunges and Squats with heavy weight. Ouch! Another classic Rock track is in the house with Thunderstruck motivating you through the Shoulder Track. There’s a new move in the Abdominals Track - The Rotator Plank. Kanye West’s Love Lockdown is unlike any Abs Track - get ready for a dark, dim, sexy beat!

Wow! This sounds absolutely awesome. I love the track list already.  BodyPump 70. A new release, a new evolution of the program.

What do you think of the lineup? Let me know!

What ? Time for a new release already ? What happened to the last one ?
the third quarter always feels like it’s over in a flash with the whole Christmas and New Years break that keeps everyone out of the gym.

But now, we’re back. 2009 ! New Year, New Release.

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to BodyPump 69.

Before we get stuck into the preview itself, what’s the general feel ?

• Awesome music with a nice blend. Rock tunes, dance tracks, something to keep everyone happy. Some big remixes of classics make an appearance here.
• The choreography reminds me of the Mike McSweeney BodyPump days. Simple, repeated sets that hurt you more with high reps and big weights than with combos.
• Where are my breaks ? One track is missing it completely and when they are there, they feel much shorter than usual. I think it’s one of the reasons why my heart rate was higher throughout the workout than with other releases.

So, without further ado, here is my preview / review of BodyPump 69

Warmup: As always, we start with a happy, upbeat tune. I wonder, is there a special store where you buy all this happy music ? :) The choreography is a bit tricky in this one and we see a nice variation on the lunges early on. I like the way the choreography team are playing with the warmup routine lately. It keeps the program fresh. BTW, if you’re an instructor check out the DVD. Susan Renata does the warmup. Would you ever pick that she had a baby just a few months ago  No, me neither :)

Squats: Load up! It’s a massive track with a short warmup round followed by three big working rounds. The song is perfect for the squat track. ‘Let’s get the part started’ indeed! What’s the focus today ? Lots of slow moves to get deep into the muscles at the start of each round. Once we’ve fatigued the muscles, we head downstairs for a whole bunch of little ones before we hit the big singles. Round one done. 2 second break. Guess what, we get to do it all again…. and then again! Arggh. You can really feel the McSweeny style choreography here. Simple, but as effective as it gets. Oh, btw, we had Alani (from the DVD) at our workshop. He did the track with 40kg on the bar….and made it look easy.

Chest: Short one for this release, so we need to put a bit more weight on the bar. Really try to keep an extra kilo or two on the bar for this one to get the full workout effect. The big, grinding rock tune will carry you through the pain. Once again, we meet short, intense rounds taht give you just enough intensity to make you think you can’t possibly handle any more before your to slow down and start the next round. Oh, watch out for the last round though. That one will push you just over the edge :)

Back: I remember this song… It’s a remix of a dance classic that we already used back in the BodyPump 40’s. As normal, we get a little round of rows to warm up the body before the big work begins. After that, three big round of deadlifts, clean & presses, rows and triples to raise the heart rate (and the roof). With all the rows, the focus for this really lies in your form and core stability to focus the workout on the upper body. I know i’ve said a few times already, but the choreography in this release is really hitting home for me. It’s easy to learn and remember, so you can spend more time focusing on the workout.

Triceps: The bar makes a welcome return as we hit three short rounds on the bench before we go upstairs with seated plate extensions. It’s also the first time in this release that we get to see any sort of combo move. This one is really well timed as it takes the load of the working muscles for a second and allows you to keep going a little longer. I would recommend that you go jus a little heavier than you normally would. With three rounds and the combo in each round, you can easily go an extra kilo or two on each side. Don’t forget about the seated overheads at the end though. Grab the biggest plate you can see and hang on till the end. ‘Shut up and drive’ ? No. Shut up and squeeze! :)

Biceps: I think Glenn O is a bit of a P!nk fan. We meet her again, this time in a tiny but super intense three and half minute biceps track. It’s that short, we don’t even have time for a break. Use the shoulder rolls between the rounds to get some blood back into the arms. I like the bottom half moves for the biceps and this one doesn’t disappoint. All intensity, all the time. You never feel like the bar stops moving. Want to feel what it’s like ? Do ‘Pump It’ from Release 58 an remove the break.

Lunges: Time for some innovation. More weight. New moves! This release, just like 68, adds some squats into the lunge track. This time though, the bar is back behind the head again and we change the range and target zone of the squats. Think continuous loading for the whole length of the track. Like with every song in this release, the breaks are virtually non-existent. Make sure you have some spare plates for some dynamic lunges to finish the leg workout.

Shoulders: Ahh, what’s that you say ? We get an actual break in this one ? What a pleasant surprise :) Seriously though, this is one awesome shoulder track. After some initial push ups to get the blood pumping (on the bar, of course), we run through two full rounds of exercises that include both the plates and bar. It’s a very different feel to our normal shoulder tracks and a very welcome change. Normally, we progress from the plates to the bar for the power moves. This time around, we get a chance to work with the plates and bar in each round and push the body to a completely different kind of workout. Some more push ups to finish it off? Sure, why not. BTW, did you spot the ‘Night Train’ sample at the start of the track?

Abs: Seriously, a mashup of country songs? Yup, you’ll hear a beat mix up of “Werewolves of London” and “Sweet Home Alabama” in a song that works surprisingly well for an abs track. Quite a traditional ab workout n this release. Plated crunches, bicycle crunches, twists, all the usual stuff. The song is nice and slow, so you’ll get plenty of time to make the moves long and deliberate. Just when you think it’s over though, we might just hit you with hover and a side plank. Stay with us, it’s good for you ;)

Cooldown: consistent with the theme of the release, the cooldown/stretch track has a bit more feel to it. Nice refreshing rock ballad with good long 2 x 8 stretches. Time to collect your thoughts, think back over the past hour and congratulate yourself for another amazing workout.

So, overall, another great job from the Les Mills team. Yes, I know I say that about every release, but this time, the different feel and different focus gives us something new and intense to sink our teeth into. I can’t wait to start teaching this one soon.

It’s that time of year again. We are at the end of January and the new year has well and truly settled in.

So, you set yourself a New Year’s resolution, didn’t you ?
How is that going for you ?

If you’re like an all too large number of people, there is a good chance you ave already given up on it and slipped back into old habits. The most common resolutions are of course to loose some weight, get fit and, for some, to quit smoking. For now, I’ll focus on the first two since I’ve never smoked, but i;m sure you can apply the same principles across all resolutions.

First of all though, if you did set yourself a goal and are still striving for it, Well Done! You have done better than a lot of your peers and you should be congratulated. Keep it up.

If you’ve fallen off the wagon a bit, let me suggest a few things that may be able to help. Here are a list of things that I have applied to my life to make some massive changes:

1. Why are you doing this ?
Why are you doing all of this ? Do you have a real, solid & believable reason for putting yourself through this ? I believe that the reason you have for achieving your goal is by FAR the most important factor in determining whether you will succeed or not. I’m not talking about a weak little ‘because smoking isn’t really good for me’ reason here. I’m talkig about a ‘If I don’t give up now, I will probbaly never get to see my kids grow up because i’ll be dead from lung cancer’ kind of reason. If you want to truly achieve your goals, they need to change from ’shoulds’ to ‘musts’!
Look into your life as it is right now and imagine how it would be different if you had already achieved your goal. Now, look into you life 5, 10, 20 years from now as if you did NOT make that change. How different would your life be ? Would you be happy or miserable ? Let leverage on yourself. Make it hurt. now imagine your life in 5, 10, 20 years time with your goals chieved. It’s a bit differnet, isn’t it. Which life would you rather live ? I’m sure you can take a few minutes to think up a few reaon why this resolution/goal must become a must.

2. Was it a vague resolution or a defined goal ?
You may or may know know this, but i struggled with my weight for many, many years. I, like many other people, set resolutions like ‘I’m going to get fit this year by joining a gym’. These kind of goals tend to set us up for failure because they don’t clearly define the outcome. For a new Year’s resolution (or any decision) to stick, you need to have a definable goal. I will loose 10 kilos by the 1st of September. I will be fit enough to take part in the Ride Around the Bay cycling event in October. Whatever your resolution was, redefine it as a distinct goal with a deadline. Make it real, and most importantly, write it down somewhere visible.  A post-it note on the side of your monitor can help. I use a marker pen and write my goals on my bathroom mirror. That way, I see my goals and get re-motivated at the start of every day!

3. Is your goal measurable ?
Once you have defined what you want to achieve, create yourself a path to get there. We already know that people who weight themselves regularly are more likely to loose weight than those that don’t. Use this to your advantage. Set yourself milestones and measure your progress in small, achievable steps. It is amazingly motivating to see yourself hit a target every week. If your goal is to loose weight, create a weekly weigh-in chart and stick it up on your bathroom wall above your scales. Then, every Monday morning go for a weigh-in. Record the date and weight and feel good about your progress :) Whatever the goal is, write down your achievements and congratulate yourself.

4. Burn the Boats !
The best way I found to get myself serious about a goal is to tell as many people as possible about it. that way, you can’t just quietly back out of it when the going gets tough. As some famous army general once said: ‘If you take the island, burn the boats’. As in, if you want to be sure you’re going to achieve your goal, remove any other possibility. No retreat, no surrender!

5. Reward yourself !
Did you hit a target ? Reward yourself ! the human brain works amazingly well on positive reinforcement. If you hit a weight target, reward yourself with a new piece of clothing that you can now fit into. Naturally, pick a reward yourself with something that motivates you even more. Don’t go an have a big tub of ice cream because you lost half a kilo this week :)

6. Surround yourself with success.
The easiest way to start is to surround yourself with imagery of what your goal looks like. If they are physical things like a new car, put up pictures of them around your home and work area to constantly remind you. For fitness goals, it might be a bit harder since you may not want to (or can) have pictures of hot looking guys and girls around the office and home :)
The more important step is harder and his one may be a bit difficult to get used to but it is absolutely vital. Someone once said: ‘You will always rise to the level of your peers’. These are your friends and family you hang out with day to day. Do they share your goals and dreams or do they think it’s just some unrealistic fantasy ? If it’s the second option, then you are more likely than not to fail in your path. Your peer group has a very direct influence on what you will achieve. It’s very simply psychology. We want to be accepted by our peers and that means behaving in a similar manner with common beliefs and goals. If you’re overweight and hang out wit other overweight people who are not motivated to loose weight like you then, then guess what… To fit in, you’ll probably give up on your goal fairly quickly. what’s the chance of you quitting smoking if you continue to hang out with other smokers ? I know this sounds like an impossible choice, but you may have to find yourself a new set of friends that share your new goals and ambitions. At least, find yourself a new peer to hang out with that can give you constant, regular motivation. Talk to the people at the gym. Maybe you can set yourself up a lunchtime walking/workout group where a few of you get together regularly to motivate each other.

7. Have Fun!
This goes hand in hand with some of the other points, but it’s easy to forget sometimes. Go back to your reasons for doing this in the first process and think of all the good things that will come from you achieving your goal. Smile. I regularly walk around with a silly grin on my face because I imagine myself already achieving my goal :)

Ok, I think i’ve ranted on enough now :)

I hope some of these tips turn out to be useful to you. I know they have changed my life.

I would love to hear about your success stories, hints, tips or anythign else on the subject, even the setbacks. Heck, even post your resolution and progress for all to see. It might just motivate you enough to get back on the wagon and post a followup comment to tell us all how well you did.

Now, enough time at the computer, get back in the gym! There’s a BodyPump class starting somewhere. Be There! :)

*** UPDATE: My BodyPump 69 Preview/Review is now up! ***

Ok, better late than never  :)

BODYPUMP® 69 is a strong, intense release that you’re going to learn fast and have fun with! The music is pumping with awesome tracks from Fall Out Boy, Pink and Rihanna, motivating you to really challenge yourself – and your class. The squats track is tough but, as the song suggests, it really gets the party started! There are three blocks of work and in each block the legs are pre-fatigued with bottom halves before the singles.

The chest track is short, simple and hard. Fall Out Boy’s rocking track I Don’t Care provides the momentum needed to get through more killer bottom halves before you start the good, honest, back work in track 4. It’s a classic track with three sets of identical work.

Pink’s huge hit So What ensures the biceps track is oozing attitude – this song is definitely the fun peak of this release! It’s another short, intense track but you’ll feel the burn in the bottom halves. There’s a new move in the lunges track – the three quarter squat. Coming up three quarters of the way in the squats means the load is kept on the leg muscles and boy, does it hurt!

And there’s no relenting of the pain in the massive shoulders track which features two supersets. You do three exercises back-to-back to challenge the shoulders in a slightly different way. Don’t be fooled with the cool feel of Kid Rock’s All Summer Long in the abdominals track as there’s a strong core challenge ahead, before you catch your breath and cool down to the smooth sounds of Let Me Be Myself by 3 Doors Down.

Sounds Awesome!
The workshops are in early February, so I’ll have the full review up shortly after that.

Update 05/02/09 : Ok, I normally don’t post the track lists until after the workshops, but it seems that everyone else already has them listed anyway. So, here it is:
01. Better In Time - Jamie Knight
02. Get This Party Started - Dan Winter
03. I Don’t Care - Fall Out Boy
04. Castles In The Sky - Liz Kay
05. Shut Up & Drive - Rihanna
06. So What - Pink
07. Stand Alone - Dyce
08. All I Ever Wanted - Basshunter
09. All Summer Long - Kid Rock
10. Let Me Be Myself - 3 Doors Down

Naturally, the youtube links probably are not the exact same mix, but you get the idea.

Wow, where have the last 3 months gone? Time for the BoduPump workshops again. This time, we have BodyPump 68, and it promises to be a big one.

As usual, the Les Mills Super Workshops manage to gather about 300 BodyPump instructors into one stadium for one massive workout. I always wonder… where do you keep 300 people’s worth of bars, benches and weights ? It looks like they would need a fleet of forklifts to set the place up. But anyway…

Ok, so what is BodyPump 68 all about? Well, if you read the Sizzler, you already know that this workout is going to be a little different. Let me assure you, they were not lying! This release of BodyPump feels completely different to the last few releases. There is innovation everywhere with new moves or new sequencing in pretty much every track. The focus has shifted from the normal strength workout to include a massive cardio workout in this release. Most tracks are structured with shorter, harder rounds to peak the heart rate multiple times in each song and muscle group.

While the focus has changed, the general feel of the music in this release feels very similar to the last release. Tracks 2, 4 and 7 have the big dance beats. 3, 5 and 8 are big rocking tunes. There is something for everyone here.

Now, I know there are lots of track lists floating around on the internet for this release already, so I won’t bother listing them here. If you want a generally spoiler-free preview of BodyPump 68, read on:

Warmup: Let’s get started then. The warmup song is meant to be light and uplifting and this one is as cruisy as a cruisy song can cruise. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear it was the Pet Shop Boys at the start. Great beat, nice lyrics and finally a song not centered on Love :). Because it has a deep bass beat, the moves can get in nice and deep to really warm up the core muscles. All the usual moves you know and love here, nothing out of the ordinary.

Squats: The first big working track is in the house. Ok, this is a challenging track. Six rounds with a heap of singles and bottom halves. When the master trainers tell you not to go too heavy on the weights, you know it’s going to hurt! Right off the bat, massive beat with a Nick Skitz remix. The slow moves at the start give you a false sense of security that make you think you can actually do this track :). Then the singles hit. And then the bottom pulses. Ok, we can do this once or twice, but six times ? Oh boy! I really like this track because it is quite different to our normal squat tracks. The focus is on the cardio component of the workout rather than just strength. The singles almost come out of nowhere to bite you. We really lift the heart rate with those six peaks.

Chest: Grungy rock track all the way to really get deep into the chest. We’ve got a new move to help work on endurance. Imagine a bottom pulse but slowly with a 2 count in each direction. If it sounds hard, that’s because it is. In principle, the track is quite similar to the squat track. A few slow moves and then the heart rate peaks with a big set of singles. I love the rock music for the chest tracks, it just works. We’ve got two big rounds here with one break. Because we have the slow pulse, don’t go too heavy on the weights. Good chance you’ll burn out during the second round. There’s some real slow stuff at the end to test what you’re made of.

Back: Well, you can’t go wrong with Cascada on the back track. It’s got everything you know and love in a back track… but there’s a change. This time around, the clean-and-press move does not have a row in it. It’s just 4 cleans in one hit. The rows come later. Quick warmup round to get us started. Bar down break. Here comes round one. Deadlifts and then we explode. Rows, Triples, Done. Once again, quick rounds with a quick spike in the heart rate. Not much else to say here. If you’ve done a Cascada back track, you pretty much know what to expect.

Triceps: Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Who came up with this one ?  Very different track this one. No bar at all. It’s all about the tricep kickbacks and the pushups. The difference here is that we’re on the ground with our knees, leaning into the bench. Why are we doing this ? It makes it a little harder to cheat because you have to hold the arm a little higher. So, kickback galore, then straight into the pushups. Think you’re done ? Nope! More kickbacks on the same arm. Argghh… this is an awesome tricep track. In the past, I’ve found the kickback tracks a little easy. Not this time around. Once again, don’t even think about going to heavy on the weights for the first few times. Oh, and there’s a nice surprise at the end. You think you’re done, but you’re not. Swap over to the biggest plate you can see and watch what happens.

Biceps: Party time for the front of the arms. What an awesome track. Happy, bouncy song. Definite toe-tapper here. You’ll be way too busy getting down to the music to notice that your arms are about to catch fire. We keep the theme alive with the quick, sharp rounds that get deep into the muscle belly. No shortage of bottom halves here today… especially at the end… how about 16 to finish it off ?

Lunges: My new favourite lunge track! We have a new move too. The Front Squat. The bar goes on the front of the shoulders. Cross the arms over and sit the bar at the top of the arms. What does this do ? It lines up your spine and stops you hunching over. It makes you push all the weight into the legs. Before we get there though, we have a nice set of normal and stepping lunges. You’ll have to ‘listen to you heart’ to get though this one ;) Awesome techno remix of the classic. My legs haven’t burnt this much in a long, long time at the end of a lunge track.

Shoulders: Another big rock tune to make the shoulders burn. We start off with the usual rear delt raises and follow it up with a big set of side raises. The thing is that there are probably quite a few more than you’d expect. More reps and more variations. As we have with the last few releases, we finish off at the top with the bar. Nothing really new here, just a good solid shoulder workout to finish up the major muscle groups. The one piece of advice I will give though: Have some extra weights handy and go a little heavier during the rear delt raises at the start. You can always swap to some smaller plates during the side raises later on.

Abs: Let’s finish off the workout with some abdominal conditioning. Once again, we get a new move with an overhead plate extension. I was actually a bit disappointed that we did not see a return of the plank crunch from the previous release. I always got an ‘interesting’ response from my participants with that one. Not to worry, this one can be just as good by employing a decent weighted plate. The nice thing about this one is that you already have the plate in your hands so it’s quite natural to keep it on one shoulder when we start the twist crunch. That will be a new option for a lot of participants that normally chose not to go with a plate in the ab track.

Cooldown: For me, the most important thing in a cooldown track is that we get enough time to do each stretch. This was one thing that bugged me with release 63 (otherwise the best release ever…). Nice slow song by Andrea Bocelli called ‘Dare to Live’. Very appropriate at end of a massive workout. It’s quite a short song, only 4 minutes long, but we get a good length 2 * 8 count for every stretch. No new moves here and none needed I guess. You’ll walk away relaxed and uplifted.

So, overall verdict? I love it. It’s quite a different workout to the last few releases and it is exactly what we need to keep the program current. I know a lot of us can get into a rut easily and stick with the same weight for every workout no matter what the instructor says. This one will change that, that’s for sure ? ‘m sure there will be a few old-school pumpers out there that have been doing the program for years that might not be comfortable with the new moves and the little bit of extra intensity. To them, I say: This is exactly what you need to take you to the next level. Get in, load up and Turn It Up!

Once again, thank you Glenn O and the Les Mills team for taking BodyPump to the next level. I think it’s safe to say that we have seen more innovation in the last eight releases that we did for the previous twenty. Release 68 will challenge you in totally new ways. What could they have in store for us for BodyPump 69 and beyond?

Have an awesome workout!

As you may have already heard, and I discussed here back in July, Les Mills have introduced an Express BodyPump class which is supposed to last 30 minutes and feature a subset of the tracks. It is meant to be used in peak time slots, at lunch times, as intro classes and as ‘warmups’ for further workouts (for example, as a lead in to an RPM class)

Well, with the latest release coming out (68), there is now what I would call, a Mini-Express edition available, cutting out one more song. Turns out that the 30 minute class was still too long for some people once you take transition and setup times into consideration.

So now, the new version of the Express class consists of the following BodyPump tracks: (1) Warmup, (2) Legs/Squats, (3) Chest, (4) Back, (9) Abs.

Don’t get me wrong… Any exercise is surely better than none, but honestly folks, are we really THAT busy that we couldn’t possibly spend another 5 minutes working out ?

Would I be terribly harsh in saying that if you’re that busy that you have to make the decision to cut an extra 5 valuable minutes out of your workout, your life is just possibly way too busy and you may like to re-evaluate your priorities ?

I would love to get some feedback and comments from people who have tried the short classes. At our club, we only do the 45 minute and full classes. The 45 minutes one slot in at lunchtimes and the full classes at all other times.

(In other news, I’ve got  out BodyPump 68 workshop coming up next weekend, so i’ll have the usual preview/review up shortly after that.)

Hot of the presses, here is the sizzler for the new BodyPump 68, coming soon:

There is more focus, for example, on pure strength in the Chest Track, emphasis on power in the Back Track and overall, you are going to get a huge cardio blast. There are also some cool new moves in the Triceps, Lunges and Abs Tracks. Watch for lots of Singles and Bottom Halves in combination with slow strength in the Squats Track. The six sets of Singles will increase your heart rate, burn calories and help you get fit faster!

The heavy beat and uplifting feel of Big Girls Don’t Cry really powers you through this great interval training session. The new tempo in the Chest Track is the Slow Bottom Half – it is all about control and it’s tough! Watch out for the 4 Clean & Presses in a row in the Back Track. This is intense! This will lift up the heart rate and bring a huge power-training effect to this track.

No bar is used in the Triceps Track – instead, the focus is on Kickbacks, Pushups and Seated Extensions and you’ll be able to sing along to the Veronicas’ Hook Me Up. Again, the Bottom Halves are the killers in the Biceps Track but give it your all because the song is short.

A remix of Listen to Your Heart will get you through the killer butt workout that is the Lunges Track. Your legs are going to be hammered with the Forward-Stepping Pulsing Lunge and then you’re going to give whatever’s left to the new move – the Front Squat. You position the bar on the front of your shoulders which gives you a totally new sensation in your legs and helps you maintain a perfect back position when squatting.

The Plate Crunch in the Abdominal Track adds resistance to your six–pack. Straight from the weight room, this is authentic resistance abs work at its best and will seal the deal in BODYPUMP® 68.

No doubt about it, this is going to be another huuuuge workout from the Let Mills gang. Can’t wait!

Something non-BodyPump related for a change….

I had an interesting chat with a young lady (early 20’s) the other day. Now, this young lady is a bit of a gym nut like me and looks very much the part. Fit, healthy and quite trim.

We were talking about the previous weekend and she mentioned to me how it was her birthday and about the resulting birthday party. She was very proud of the fact that she resisted the temptation to get stuck into the chocolate birthday cake, resorting to only the tiniest of slivers because of all the fat, carbohydrates and of course associated calories.

This is, of course, while they were out partying, drinking many a cocktail and glasses of wine. She even went so far as to comment that she orders her vodka with diet mixers :)

I couldn’t help but think that this young lady, and many other people just like her, have totally forgotten the fact that calories are in pretty much everything we consume, especially alcohol. Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not about to preach to you that alcohol is bad (sure, technically it is, but who cares). After all, i’m an Aussie bloke, and we’re all required to drink a certain amount of beer as part of our national constitution.

What I do want to mention though, is just how many calories we can consume very quickly from a night on the town.

Ok, check this out: There are 7 calories in a gram of alcohol. There are 9 calories in a gram of pure fat! When you take the percentage and typical volume into consideration, you’re looking at roughly 190 calories for a glass of white wine and about 135 calories for a can of normal beer. (BTW, low carb beer only has about 20 less calories….it’s all marketing)

If you work that out, on a reasonable night on the town, a few glasses of wine, a cocktail, maybe a couple of mixers with diet soda, you’re easily talking about a thousand calories here! That’s about half the total daily calorie requirements of a normal female.
That’s probably a lot more than the whole dinner you had before you went out for the night.

So, if you’re struggling to lose weight but still head down to the pub/bar after work for a ‘few quiet ones with the lads’, you may want to reconsider.

Like they always say, everything in moderation. I wouldn’t be too worried about having a slice or two of birthday cake. Just don’t do it every night. Same with the beer or wine or whatever you prefer. The liquids we consume are just as much a part of our diets as the food.

Now, enough preaching from me. Get back to the gym! There’s a Pump class on somewhere…. Get to it :)

I have finally added some more content to the So, you want to be a BodyPump Instructor page.

We now have the Certification section up. I know a few of you asked for more in that part.

The next part is getting a Cue Library up and running. Good cueing is something I found quite difficult to do when I first started instructing. I had one or two ways of describing and pre-cueing a move. It took me quite a while to work up a decent library of sayings.

I plan to go through every track and every move and put in a few lines on how to pre-cue it and how to describe the move once you’re there.

This is where I need your help though. It doesn’t matter if you’re an instructor or a participant who has heard a great cue that really connected, please leave a comment or email me (patrick [at] body4me……) with your cues.

How do you describe a 2/2 bicep curl ? How do you explain what a bottom half squat should feel like ?
Let me know!

Ok, the first week of the new BodyPump release is over… So, what’s the verdict ? In a couple of words, this release rocks. No question about it.

First, we have the warmup. Like we already know, nice cruisy song that changes the sequencing around from the usual warmups. I really like the 2/2 lunges we do at the start of the leg warmup. It’s quite different to normal and really allows you to stretch the muscles before moving into the squats. The extra bicep rows are a nice introduction to the bicep track later on.

The real work starts in the squat track… and what a track it is. I know it’s a hard one, but don’t go easy here. Normal squat weight please! The bass beats hit us from the start with a nice big first round and lots of singles. Quick break and we’re straight into the second round. Normal stuff, then we meet our new best friends, the 24 bottom halves… Now, they come in a 4 * pulse + 4 * 4 configuration, but I think a nice ‘option’ would be to offer to combine the last 4’s in the first round to make it an 8 and then combine the 4*4’s into 2 * 8’s to really make it hurt. I had a few people try it the other day and the difference was huge. It’s of course only something for the seasoned Pumper. Give it a try though… Your legs will thank in that special way… ;)

Chest next and for this one, I think you do need a little more than usual to really feel it. Yes, I know the breaks are only 5 seconds long, but the track itself doesn’t seem as hard as some we’ve had in the past. Really try to stay low on those bottom halves, especially the ones at the end.

Back comes in big with a nice tune from E-Type. I like that we get straight into the workout without the little warmup round we normally get. The two sets of clean and presses work really well together, especially combined with the quick wide rows. I just wish the second and third round were a little bit longer. You’re just getting into the track and it’s over already.

Triceps are set to a rather familiar tune from the radio, but that’s ok. It’s a good song with a lot of hard work. The first two rounds on the bench need a little more weight than usual to do their job, but then the triceps kickbacks only need a couple of kilos to do the damage. If you’re doing these properly (arm tucked into the side, elbow not moving, pushing the plate behind you, etc), you will not need any more weight. This one has massive burn potential. Use it!

Oh man, how much do I love the bicep track! I said in the review that I wasn’t into country music, but this one changed my mind. The first two rounds are a heap of fun because they are achievable with your normal weight. Then, we add the extra weight… ok, no problem so far… we can do bicep rows with the extra few kilos on.. what, you want me to go all the way up with that ? and do bottom halves ? and then top halves ? Are you insane ? That’s basically the expression on the face of every participant I’ve been getting :) If you ever wanted a challenge for your biceps in BodyPump, this is the one for you. I have found my new favourite bicep track.

For the lunges, we get an awesome remix of a dance classic. You’ll know this one. The workout flows quite smoothly form the static lunges to the dynamic lunges. Fun, achievable but hard. I reckon it could have done with a few bottom halves at the end to increase the burn.

Nice pick on the shoulder track. As we’ve seen on the past few releases, we get a whole range of different moves for the shoulders. Pushups, rear delt raises, front raise, mac raise, side raise, rotator press, shoulder press….. Sounds like a lot, but the massive beat carries us right to the end. Challenge yourself and go with the instructor suggestion to grab a slightly heavier weight for the first couple of moves. It pre-fatigues the rear delts nicely for the rest of the workout. Awesome track overall. I love the faster beat. Oh, by the way. The pushups at the start… there are only 8 of them so you’ll be doing them on your toes, thank you very much.

Ok.. Hardest. Ab Track. Ever. The plank crunch can make a grown man cry. The look of disbelief I’ve been getting at the end of this track is priceless. Unless you have a lower back issue, do yourself the favour and stay on your toes… Don’t go with the knee option. Tough it out to the end. There are only 16 of them. Your abs will thank you later. Just keep that butt at shoulder level. I’ve seen a few people try to do it from a ‘downward dog’ yoga position. Needless to say, they were corrected rather promptly :) Keep it low and keep the abs locked in place. We all want that six pack… work for it!

After all that, the recovery/stretch track is a welcome relief. Nice big song with loooong stretches. Thanks Glen! Nothing better than being able to take a few seconds to slow the heart rate in one position before moving on the next one. You really feel properly recovered at the end of this one.

So, overall, this is another massive workout. BodyPump66 was huge and this is as good or even better. We have heaps of opportunities to increase our weight or try something new to challenge ourselves. Seriously folks, throw yourself in the deep end with this one. If ever there was a BodyPump release to really help you change the shape of your body, this is the one!

As always, Enjoy The Workout!

A new quarter, a new BodyPump release. I’ve just come back from out latest workshop for BodyPump 67  in the city. It was cold and rainy outside, but we turned up the heat inside. It felt like one of the biggest workshops ever. We had 293 instructors doing the masterclass at the same. Talk about energy! Nothing quite like the master trainers yelling ‘Are You Ready!’ and 300 instructors yelling back at the top of their lungs.

Ok, so what do we have here. The theme for BodyPump 67 is ‘The New More Powerful You’. No doubt about it too. By the end of this workout, you’ll feel… something… maybe not new, but certainly trashed :)  This is seriously one awesome release. With the last few releases, it has usually taken me a few listens before I liked a few of the songs. Not this time.  As soon as they hit play, I liked what I heard. The whole release has a similar feel to release 63. Big beats, nice grungy raw sounds when you need them and new moves to get deep into the target muscles.

Oh, and if you’ve been checking out the tracklists for this release on the internet, let me tell you, they’re wrong! Wrong mixes, wrong artists, wrong feel.

** Edit 29/9/2008: Now that all the quarterlies are over, here is the tracklist for BodyPump 67:

1.  Bleeding Love - Jamie Knight
2. Piece Of My Heart - Jan Wayne
3. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
4. Eurofighter - E-Type
5. Cuz I Can - P!nk
6. We Got It Going On - Bon Jovi
7. I Need A Miracle - KLM
8. Now You’re Gone - DJ Alex - Basshunter
9. B Boy Baby - Mutya Buena
10. Angel - Aerosmith

As you know, the secret to any good exercise program is variety.  Different moves, different weights and different intensity. The choreography team have really taken that to heart and given us a completely new and different workout. With Bodypump 67, We have new moves and  new sequencing to keep it exciting and effective.

So, without further delay, here is my (non-spoiler) preview and review of Bodypump 67:

Warmup:  Ok, you’re thinking… I know what’s gonna happen here… Nice light song about love, a few deadlifts, deadrows, Upright rows, etc, etc.  Well, you’re right about the first part. It is a light fluffy song about love. You already know from the sizzler that the song is called Bleeding Love. I know i’m a bit silly, but i couldn’t help giggling to myself, thinking “if you’re bleeding love, you’re doing it wrong” :) Anyway, back  to it. The general sequence is what you would expect, although they have moved a few of the moves around to mix it up a bit.We also do moves that we would normally see in the back track. I really like the warmup. It’s lively and really gets the body warm for the main onslaught.

Squats: Bring! The! Bass! Ahh yeah! I love my dance music and this one is right up my alley. Once the bassline hits, you know you’re in for one helluva workout! You’ll hear the rhythm and think and it’s a particular song, but you’re wrong :) Three big rounds with two breaks. You’ll need them too.  Big sets of singles and LOTS of bottom halves.. is 24 in a row enough for you ? No need to go heavier than normal on this one. Put on your normal weigths and pray you get to then end in one piece. This is a perfect example of changing the intensity to keep the muscles from adapting. I love this one. Close you’re eyes and imagine the strobes and coloured lights in the club. My new favourite squat track.

Chest: If you liked Enter Sandman (Metallica) or Famous Last Words (My Chemical Romance) from 63, you’ll love this one!.  Again, familiar beat but a different song. Raw. Energy. It’s a bit slower than usual, so you can add at least an extra kilo or two. I did and believe me, I felt the difference. Nice sequencing of slow and fast work to let you get through it.  Something new too.. Two breaks!. But, they feel like they’re about 5 seconds long each. You have long enough to stretch the arms back and then it’s straight back into it.

Back: E-Type is back in full euro-electro-pop goodness. Cheesy as it is, it works perfectly as a Back track. High energy beats and lyrics you can really work with. We get a different track layout too. Gone is the usual small warmup round. We get straight into the workout. Four sets of Clean and Press sets in total with a couple of breaks. There are some real quick changeovers too, so you’ll have to pay attention. If you’re looking to get the heart rate up, this is the perfect song. I reckon you can go a little heavier tha usual because of the sequencing. It works perfectly if you want to challenge yourself a bit more.

Triceps: Ouch! It hurts! Make it Stop!.. They’re just a few of the thoughts going through my head towards the end of the tricep track. P!nk is in the house with a funcky attitude track that hurts like all heck. We start on the bench with a nice heavy weight (heavier than usual) and end on the floor with a wicked set of tricep kickbacks for each arm. One tip though, do the tricep kickbacks properly if you really want to feel this one. No momentum swing. Stop at 90 degrees. I’m a big fan of this track. The only way it could be any harder if if it had dips in it. Thank goodness it doesn’t :)

Biceps: I’ll be the first to admit that i’m not usually a big country music fan, but the bicep tracks tend to work really well with it. This one is no exception. Bon Jovi gives us just over 4 minutes of party time. Big, toe tapping energy tune with a heap of work. To keep things fresh, the choreography team give us new moves and a weight change half way through the track. I really advise you take them up on the challenge and add that extra kilo or two when called for. It makes a massive difference. Don’t worry, the new move allows you to carry the extra weight to the end. You’ll make it.

Lunges: This is one of the all time classic dance songs andwe get an awesome new remix of it for our lunges. Definite Ibiza feel to it. We’ve been enjoying the bench lunges over the past few releases and this one once again gets us up on the step. Maybe it was just the intensity of the rest of the workout, but I could really feel this one get in deep. We start with a nice slow set of weighted lunges and then explode into the dynamic stepping lunges. As usualy, one leg at a time until you’re about to crumble :) Not much else to say here. The music rocks, the lyrics work and the workout hurts. It’s everything you could want from your lunges.

Shoulders:  This is the shoulder track ?  We normally save the fast techno tracks for the lunges, but this time we get a massive bass tune to hit the shoulders hard! Huge variety of moves. Pushups, Front Raise, Mac Raises, Side Raise, Rotator Raise, Overhead Press! Grab your plates. Are you Ready ? We haven’t had a tune as big as this for ages. I love it. The shoudler track is usually my favourite becuase they hit us hard when we’re just about out of energy and this one fits the bill. The beat is much faster than normal so you don’t even get tiem to think about the pain :) Empty the tank on this one. It’s a big as it gets!

Abs/Core: Ok, you’ve probably checked out the tracklists on the internet and thought “What the heck is this?”. Don’t worry… Yes it is that song, but it is a really good new R&B remix by a different artist. It’s a short song, but it’s worth it. We keep the innovation going with a new move they told us about in the sizzler. Plank Crunch.. It’s basically what it says, a plank and an upside down crunch at the same time. It sounds odd but it feels awesome. And by awesome, I of course mean painful. Everything about this track is slow and deliberate. You can feel evrything contract as you move.

Cooldown: Ahh, you’ve made it! What a workout. And what better than to finish it off with a big Aerosmith ballad. I really like this one becuase the stretches are nice and long. A few releases back, we had a tendency to make the stretches 2*8 counts, whihc I thought was a big quick. This time around, everything is 4*8 counts, which gives you plenty of time to feel the muscle relax, bring the heart rate down and focus on breathing.It’s the perfect way to round our a massive workout.

So, what did I think of it overall ? Love! It! This is one of the most powerful and fun releases of the 60’s. The music captures the workout perfectly. The moves give us variety.  The fitness magic is there in every song!

Honestly, every release the Glen Ostergaard (program director adn choreographer) and the team have done has been better than the last. These guys are pulling out all stops to give us the perfect workout every time. The amount of innovation we have seen in the 60’s has never been done before. Every time you step into the group exercise room, you’re in for a totally different workout. No wonder bodyPump is now the most popular group exercise program on the planet.

After having listened to the release3-4 times now, I like it more and more each time and I know you will too. Let me know what you think of it.

Have a fantastic workout!

Do you ever get one of those moments when you look at something and think to yourself: ‘Why are they doing this ?’

The other day I was leaving the gym and I saw a couple of things that made me think. My gym is on the first floor with about 3 meters worth of stairs. We have a lift for wheelchairs and prams and things, but on this particular day, there was a guy that was waiting for the lift to go downstairs. Now, this guy was quite overweight (>150kg). I did watch him work out, so I was pretty sure he wasn’t injured and needed the lift. A few minutes later as I was walking down the stairs myself, there was a young lady rummaging through her handbag for a cigarette which she proceeded to light as soon as she cleared the door way.

Now, the thing is: I don’t think either of those two even thought about what they are going before they did it. It was totally subconscious and out of habit. And that’s what struck me. Here we have people that a making a conscious effort to do something good for themselves by going to the gym but then immediately slip back into their subconscious habits to undo it all.

I have posted on this topic before here, but I want to touch on it again. I am a firm believer in the thought that it is your habits that determine your life, not what you do ‘on purpose’. Yes, you can go to the gym a few times a week because you know you should, but what you do when you get home is just so much more important. Is it just a habit to grab a beer or a glass of wine when you get home ? Or a muffin for morning tea ? I don’t want to preach or judge here, I am just as guilty as everyone else. I love my deserts. A bowl of ice cream or a cookie after dinner was just a normal thing to do. However, it was also stopping my from achieving my goals. I was working hard to lose weight but I was sabotaging myself without even realising it.

My turning point came when I worked out that point about habits determining the rest of your life and more importantly that your reality is really just determined by what you focus on and what you decide it means to you. I wont bore you with all the details, but the point of the story is this: It’s All In Your Head!

If you find yourself held back but can’t explain why, do yourself a favour and just spend a day (or a week if you can) and check in with yourself every time you do something our of habit or routine. Ask yourself: Is this really helping me ? Do I really want this ? Is this really aligned with my goals ? There is a good chance that, just like me, you’ll find a whole lot of little things that you do that are not serving you as much as they could.  Once you’ve done that, the important part is replacing them with new habits that will actually help you.  I did it by using little post-it notes in all the places that led me astray. On my fridge, on the inside of my wallet, on the dashboard of my car. It worked too, but that’s a whole other post :)

That’s all from me for now. I’m getting ready for the new Pump workshop and putting together my next cycle class.

Have an awesome workout.

**Update: I’ve got the review/preview of BodyPump 67 up here **

Ahh yeah.. It’s BodyPump workshop time again!

In a couple of short weeks, the quarterlyBodyPump 67 workshop is coming to town. (Has it been 3 months already?…. I guess having a baby warps time a bit). Can’t wait. Catching up with people I only get to  see at the workshops and getting a sneak peek at all the other programs.

Naturally, i’ll be posting a (non-spoiler) preview as soon as I can after that. I’m really looking forward to this one. There are some great songs in this coming release and possibly a few surprises. I’ve really enjoyed the variety of new moves in the ab tracks over the last few editions and this one promised to shake things up again.

I’ll keep you posted ….

For more of the current Les Mills promotional videos, check out their YouTube Page