Body4Me

Once again, the track list for BODYPUMP has escaped onto the internet. The latest release BODYPUMP 81 promises to be another massive workout.

Here it is, as originally posted by the always informative NZGlenn, the track list for BODYPUMP 81 :

1. You Make Me Feel… – Cobra Starship feat Sabi
2. Higher Ground – Jagged Eagle
3. Loud – Stan Walker
4. Ravers Fantasy (Manox remix) – Manian
5. Domino – Miss Daise
6. I Own You – Shinedown
7. San Francisco (Remix 11) – Fine Tune
8. Blood Is Pumping – Blade X
9. Mr Saxobeat – Alexandra Stan
10. Best Thing I Never Had – Beyoncé

Alternative tracks:
6. Dynamite (Remix IX) – Studio 88 feat Juno Mars
10 Breaking Inside – Shinedown feat. Lzzy Hale of Halestorm

 Naturally, the Australian version will be full of covers and the video links are just indicative.

I really do like the mix of music for this release. The songs are not the ‘top of the charts’ kind of songs that we’ve seen over the past few releases, so they will likely age a lot better.

As always, I’ll post up the full review / preview as soon as we’ve had our workshops.

It’s that Christmassy time of year again. And what a way to finish off the year with a big bang. BodyPump 80 represents the next evolution of the BodyPump program. You can probably tell from the past few releases, the program is getting a little harder and little more intense. This release is no different. The focus is on high-intensity circuit-style training with lots of rounds and minimal recovery and break time. For you, that means a higher heart rate and more muscle activation, two of the primary factors that drive fitness and strength.

So what does it feel like ? Well, I can tell you that this is the first time in a few releases that im actually sitting here writing this with whole-body muscle soreness after launching two Pump classes yesterday. There is not a single track in this whole release that doesn’t push your body right to the edge.

Let’s get a feel for it:

Warmup: I love this warmup. The beat is as lively as you’ll find in a warmup. It’s an absolutely fantastic way to set the mood for the workout with some great Magic Moment opportunities. Don’t get lulled into a false sense of security here though. Yes, the moves are the same as you expect from any warmup, but remember that this is just the start of the day. Well get the usual taste of what’s coming up and you’ll leave the track warn and ready for the real work.

Squats: Let the games begin! Three rounds of high intensity cardio training to smash the legs. The first round begins nice and easy with the usual set up moves followed by a gently set of 2’s and 3’s. Find your rhythm with a repeat of what we just did and then launch into a massive set of singles, bottom halves and more singles. Quick shake out before we start on the second round. Now we shake hings up a bit. It’s basically all singles and bottoms. We get a breather with a 4×4 thrown in there somewhere just for good measure, but then it’s all high intensity singles.The big bass beat of this Lady Gaga remix works really well in this track, especially the last 8 singles when the legs are about to catch on fire :)

Chest: Oh yeah, how long have we waited for the original version of Smells Like Teen Spirit? No dance remix, no re-sequencing, just one of the biggest rock tracks of all time. Let’s Go! I reckon you could predict the moves without ever having seen it. You know this song off by heart. You’ve probably worked out to it in the weight room before this. With The Light Out.. It’s Less Dangerous. So, how does it go?  4’s to set the tone, 3’s to build the pace ,2’s to get the heart beating and a huge set of singles, pulses and bottom 4’s for the chorus. Get a bit grungy and do it all again. The rounds are a good length so that by the time you get to the end of the second one, the muscles are pretty much smashed. Lucky we get a quick break before we head into the final round. 2’s to set the body up and then 20 singles to the end. Grab as much weight as you think you can handle, then add another kilo. If there’s one track that will take you there, it’s this one.

Back: Well, here’s a blast from the past. We haven’t heard from E-Type in a little while. Euro pop at it’s cheesy best. We see the return of the power press. That’s the one where we clean the bar up, catch with that little squat and follow it up with three little presses to the top. This one is a little more challenging than usual because we join the first two rounds together without a break. Let’s head straight into it. Rows and deadlifts start the day before we launch into the power press, triple row combo. Do it a couple of times, follow it with a couple more sets of triple rows and the repeat the whole lot for round two. This is a perfect way to shoot the heart rate right through the roof. After a quick break, we head into rounds three and four where we skip the deadlifts at the start and launch straight into the big presses. Oh, and we get to meet our old friend, the 7-row again a few time too.

Triceps: You only barely get a chance to drop the heart rate from the massive back track when we get straight into the triceps. It’s a really good ‘Till the Word Ends’ remix with a bit of a dubstep feel at the start. First off, go a little heavier on your bar than you normally would as we only have two rounds on the bench for our extensions and presses. Then, a surprise in the middle with 16 big tricep pushups to isolate the muscles. Let me assure you, they bite! Especially the second set of 8. You’re still up on your toes, right ? Also get yourself a big plate for the overhead extensions at the end. The advice for this one is: Atatck every set as if it’s the only one. The track has a very groovy feel and nice quick transitions to keep the muscles under tension the whole time.

Biceps: Another iconic track. I don’t think there will be anyone reading this that hasn’t wanted to lift weights to Eye Of The Tiger! Again, no dance remix, just the original rock beat in its full glory. Now, as you expect from this track, you’ve gotta fight for this one to get to the end. We start with a nice dramatic stagger lift to the guitar riff. When the verse starts, set up your body and get strong for the 2×2’s and 1×3’s. We do this three times to fatigue the biceps before we step into the ring for the real fight: 2 bottom halves & 2 singles * 4. Sounds easy here, but once you’ve done the three preceding sets, your arms are already tingling. Quick stagger& roll. Fake a break. Bang! Surprise! Knock out round! Muscles burning, breathing heavy.Bite down and take the last round like a champion. I think I’ve just found my new favourite bicep track.

Lunges: First, let me tell you, we’ve never done a lunge track like this before. Prepare yourself to get a new set of legs as your current set may just melt during this track. Start the track with just over a minute of squats. Not just any squats though. After a slow setup squat, it’s all singles, bottoms and bottom holds. This set alone would be enough by itself, but here it’s just the first course. Get rid of your bar and set up for lunges. Two rounds each leg. Normal lunges first, and just like the squats, it’s all about the singles and bottoms. Now the fun part. dynamic backward stepping lunges. One slow one. 8 big singles. 8 knee lift lunges. 8 Propulsion lunge. Sounds OK right ? But what’s a propulsion lunge ? Think knee lift lung but then jump into the air as you raise the other knee. You barely get enough time to ponder why the evil minds at Les Mills would punish us like this before we launch straight into the other leg to do it all again. Ouch!
During the workshops, I’ve never seen a bunch of instructors groan and moan as much as this.

Shoulders: Ok, so you think the pain is over for a couple of minutes, right ? Wrong! Not only do we get punished with 4 rounds of non-stop circuit training, we also get two rounds of 16 pushups and a whole new move thrown in for good measure. Let’s start the workout with the bar set to come cool dancy/techno sounds. Some work above the head before we quickly ditch the bar and grab out plates. We see the return of the bent over rear raise before a nice set of side raises, rotator raises and our new move where we start with a rotator raise and add 2 overhead presses before returning to the bottom. It’s a nice addition because it moves the shoulders in every direction. Follow that by 16 pushups and you’re halfway through the track. Yup, halfway. Ouch. Suck it up and do it all again. The track finishes with a decent sized set of overhead presses, just in time for the shoulders to give up :)

Abs: The smooth, slow sounds of Rolling In The Deep fit the ab work for this release perfectly. Even this track has a new move thrown in. It starts as a quick crunch-pulse, modifies itself t add the feet in the air and then morphs into a bicycle crunch. We spend a significant amount of time with our feet in the air to really engage the mid-section. After two rounds of crunches, we transition into a moving hover followed by a couple of side planks with a raised leg option. My body was definitely shaking by the end of it.

Cooldown: Oh, thank goodness, the stretches are slow and long and spend most of their time on the ground. After those propulsion lunges, I need all the recovery I can get.Nothing terribly new or complicated here, just a great opportunity to stretch out your weary muscles and reflect on the incredible workout you just went through.

As I said at the start, BodyPump 80 represents a milestone and evolution in Group Fitness. We have raised the intensity to a new level with the emphasis on high-intensity circuit training and constant innovations in virtually every track. The release is amazing for instructors to present and an absolute knock-out for everyone to participate in. Make sure you get to a gym as soon as you can and be a part of it.

The way we’re going here, we can probably merge BodyPump, Attack and Combat into the one class within a few releases :)

Here it is already, the tracklist for BodyPump 80, hot off the internet here.

If you’ve read the sizzler below, you’ll know this is going to be an amazing release.

Warmup: Resusciate Me – September
Squats: The Edge Of Glory (Glory Mix) – Red Beans & Rice
Chest: Smells Like Teen Spirit – Ninth Immortal
Back: The Tide – Twilight
Triceps: Till The World Ends – Britney Spears
Biceps: Eye Of The Tiger – Altiyan Childs
Lunges: Fading Like A Flower (Club Radio Mix) – Dan Winter
Shoulders: Hands Up! (Sample Ripperz Remix) – Jens O
Abs: Rolling In The Deep – Colourbox
Cooldown: Fade Into Me – David Cook

Yay, E-Type (or at least a cover of it) is back in BodyPump. We haven’t heard from them in aaaaages.

Smell like teen spirit… Eye of the tiger… Oh boy. This one is going to rock!

This round we mark 20 years of BODYPUMP with Release 80 – what a milestone! So to celebrate, we brought the programme back to where it all began: Aotearoa, with an all-New Zealand presenting team and a whole lot of innovation to celebrate the past two decades and welcome in the next!

This release is a great mix of high-intensity aerobic training to get you fit and burn calories; isolated strength training to tone and shape your muscles; and circuit training to push your body to the limit. Time to load up your bar and get working!

You’ll enjoy short bursts of high-intensity training in Tracks 2, 4 and 7 which will lift your heart rate, increase your fitness and burn calories. You’ll be on The Edge Of Glory in no time.

To complement the high-intensity work, there’s pure strength training tracks spread throughout the release to ensure you get a balanced workout. In Tracks 3, 6 and 9 we isolate a particular muscle group – chest (Track 3), biceps (Track 6) and core (Track 9) – to build pressure in the muscle, work it to fatigue and create change.

We’ve got a BODYPUMP first in Track 7: the Propulsion Lunge. It’s a hugely effective power training move where you leap into the air. You may not love these at the time, but you’ll love the results they help you achieve!

Tracks 5 and 8 are circuit-style tracks where you let rip for short bursts of intensity before enjoying a quick recovery. This is where change happens when you push yourself to the limit. Track 8 also sees the debut the Rotator Overhead Press; it’s a total shoulder-conditioning move that will really get your Hands Up! and your shoulders toned.

BODYPUMP 80 is a great release – trust us on this one; you don’t make it through 20 years without learning a thing or two!

Check out this BodyPump workshop held recently in Texas for the release of BodyPump 79:

(Originally posted by  Carol Limme on Google+)

I wish I could get that many people to my classes :)

Hello and welcome. Spring is in the air in sunny downtown Melbourne and what better time to crank up the next BodyPump workshop. Release 79 is in the house. Ladies and gentlemen, let the fun begin.

The focus for BodyPump 79 is easy-to-follow moves combined with high intensity and high endurance rounds to shape our bodies for Summer (or Winter, depending on your side of the globe)

Warmup: We start of this ‘next level’ workout with a fairly familiar tune that will take us ‘Higher’. As expected, no real surprises here, just the usual sequence of deadlifts, rows, squats, lunges and bicep curls. Not that we need anything new in the warmup. The first 5 minutes are here to warm up and connect with the workout. Given the awesome tunes playing, there is certainly no problem doing that

Squats: Ok, time to work. The advice for the day: At least triple(!) your warmup weight. This one is going to hit us with 4 massive rounds of work. We get a nice little combo too. Let me tell you, when the beat hits, you’ll know the song. This one will definitely take us ‘closer to the edge’. After a little 2×2 warmup, the chorus takes us into the 4 single + 4 bottom combo. You’ll be surprised how quickly your heart rate is going to shoot up. Small chance to slow down a bit with some 2’s and 3’s and then straight back into the combo. Too easy so far ? Well, i didn’t think so, but since you asked, how about some evil little ‘down, hold, up slow’ combos to build the acid before you smash the single combo again ? Catch your breath, lather, rinse repeat. Bet you’re rethinking tripling your bar weight right about now :)

Chest: Another remake of a current pop track to push the chest. Nice easy beat to get us started and aligned. 2’s, 3’s, a couple of slow ones and a nice solid set of singles and bottom halves. Nothing unexpected today, you can just lose yourself in the music and focus on the workout. You will feel a little tingle though around two thirds into the track when you realise you’ve done an awful lot of singles without a break. Don’t worry, you’ll get a quick break before a big 90 second finish. Dig deep though, that last round feels a lot longer than you think!

Back: Oh yeah, the Power Press combo is back. Inspired by Cross Fit to really get the blood pumping and the heart rate racing, we combine this with a new wider grip to target more muscles. We start with a normal single row and triple warmup round to a nice big techno beat. Perfect way to start the workout. Quick break and then get yourself up with your new medium wide grip for 3 rounds with 2 breaks. The first round starts with some slow deadlifts before the beat drops away and you head upstairs for the Power Press. It’s a bit of an odd point in the music as you’re lifting without the usual big bass beat, but don’t worry, it comes back stronger than ever by the time you head upstairs again for the second time. Throw in some triple rows and our old friend the 7-row to finish it and your heart & lungs are screaming by the end of the first round. Two more rounds to go. Can you handle it ? I was starting to wonder by the end.

Triceps: A man singing Lady Gaga’s ‘Born this way’ ? Hmm…Australia’s PPCA licensing and royalty restrictions have a bit to answer for :) Once your get past the artist choice, we get stuck into a solid tricep workout starting with the bar in a fairly predictable extension, press set. Let’s mix it up with some tricep dips to shock the muscles, visiting some slow and deep dips as well as singles and quick-slows along the way. Finish the track with a massive round of seated overhead extensions and by the end of the track you’ve totally forgotten about the song itself.

Biceps: Woohoo. Big rock track in the house. From memory, the last time we saw ‘Livin on a Prayer’ was somewhere in the late 30’s. Let’s give it a shot. I think you could probably make the choreography up yourself just by listening to the song and get it right. This is a perfect bicep track. 2’s during the verse, 1/3 for the pre-chorus and tense bottom halves for the chorus. Tap your toes, sing along and just have fun with this one. Go big a little bigger on the weights too. Trust me, you’ll be too busy singing along to notice that your arms just caught fire.

Lunges: I’ve got to say, the lunge tracks seem to be getting harder and harder lately and this one is no different. Set to a dance remix of ‘Grenade’, we’re getting hit with consecutive sets of squats and lunges . There are minimal breaks between changes, so you’re going to really feel this workout within the first couple of minutes. Start off with a decent sized bar and hit some slow squats to set the mood. Quick transition to mega-set of lunges to raise the heart rate and cringe as we get into the dreaded ‘quick down-hold-slow up’ lunge that just totally burns up the legs. Reset for round two as we do it all again on the other leg. Ok, so now you’re ready for a break. But wait… No… Round 3 ? what ? but I only have 2 legs! Hah, Surprise! We’re back to the first leg with some single and bottom half punishment. Care to swap legs for round 4 ? No, i did’t think so. Do it anyway :) Vicious, but totally worth it.

Shoulders: Scooter is back! Awesome. Check out the video on Youtube for this track: “J’adore Hardcore”, it was shot in my town of Melbourne, Australia :) So, apart from the great music, what’s new ? For Release 79, we get to combine Pushups, a bent-over standing rear delt raise, side raises, rotator presses and our old friend the peck deck. Twice! the new Standing rear delt raise is a really interesting move. Because you’re standing, you’re much more aware of your body and end up executing them more effectively, I think. I certainly feel it much more. the transition between the moves is seamless and by the time you hit the peck deck, the massive beat will drive you through the roof! Save some fuel for the end though… There are 17 pushups!

Abs: Ahh, my old friend the Rotating Side Plank is back. How I’ve missed you. Remember it from BP 66 ? Start with a Side Plank and then thread the top arm around and under the body. First though, we’ll start with a quick round of crunches with a new upside-down plate hold that is designed to get your elbows out of the way and open your chest properly. Nice track overall, although it seems quite short in comparison to the usual ab tracks.

Stretch/Cooldown: Nice to see the choreography team change things up a bit this time around. Set to a beautiful song, we get nice long stretches in a completely different sequence that is sure to trip a a few instructors here and there :) We see a couple of new stretches and spend virtually not time on the ground at all. Nothing terribly exciting here, just a well earned break after a massive workout.

So, what’s my impression overall ? Without a shadow of a doubt, this is my new favourite Bodypump release. There is absolutely not a single ‘weak’ link in this whole chain. Every track is fair but vicious. Every track oozed energy and excitement and every track gives you the best possible workout for the muscle group. If you walk out of a BodyPump 79 class without being a quivering, sweaty mess, you and I need to have a very serious talk about your weight selection :)

Once again, congratulations to the Les Mills team for an absolutely outstanding release. They have set a new benchmark, and given the whispers I have heard about Bodypump 80 coming up, things are only about to get even crazier!

Now, get out of here. Enough sitting at the computer. Find a gym, grab a bar & some weights and get into it!

With all the excitement about the BodyPump 80 filming, let’s not forget about release 79 coming up for most of us in a couple of weeks.

Here is the official teaser from the Les Mills website:

If you’re after a simple, effective and athletic workout, BODYPUMP™ 79 is the one for you.

It’s a challenging release that’ll test you to the limits, so it’s important to recognize what those limits are, especially if you’re new. Make sure your weight selection isn’t too heavy, form and technique are strong, and that you take any options you need to get to the end.

Your Warmup will help you prepare mentally and physically for the test ahead, starting with a Squat routine that will take you Closer To The Edge of your fitness. A new combination - 4 Singles, followed by 4 Bottom Halves - will pound your legs to virtual submission.

In Track 3, remember to allow your shoulder blades to squeeze together as you lower the bar to get the most out of your Chest workout.

The Back track introduces an innovative Mid-bar Grip - half a hand-width wider than in SET position - that changes the way the muscles fire. Don’t forget to bend your knees through the tough Power Press/Triple Row Combo and we’re bringing back 7 Rows to really nail the back.

“You bring your best, we’ll bring ours.”

Be prepared to have the kitchen sink thrown at your triceps - Tricep Extensions, Tricep Presses, Seated Dips and Overhead Extensions will take you to the point of fatigue. You weren’t Born This Way, but you are on the right track, baby!

After a hardcore Biceps track, set to an American classic, Lunges set off a Grenade in your legs. Then it’s on to shoulders, where an old favorite awaits you - that’s right, the Rotator Pec Dec from BODYPUMP™ 75!

Even the Abs track has something new - a Reverse Weight Grip that opens up the chest and makes Crunches just a little trickier. Let’s call it one last twist of the knife.

But don’t worry - if we’ve made it this far, We’ll Be Alright.

Ok, so BodyPum p 80 was recently filmed in New Zealand. From the sounds of it, it is going to be even more massive than the last few releases we’ve seen.  I have no idea how it can get any bigger than the Sweet Child ‘O Mine chest track we saw in BodyPump 78, but I can’t wait to find out!

Superstar instructor and blogger NZGlen got the chance to  interview the Program Director for BodyPump Glen Ostergaard.

Check out the full interview on the Les Mils website here.

Wow, it’s been quiet around these parts, hasn’t it :)

My apologies, real life has taken over a little for the past few months. but rest assured, everything is back to normal now.

We have the quarterly workshops coming up in a couple of weeks and i’ll be back to providing you will the full run-down of BodyPump 79.

For now though, we’ll have to do with the tracklist, straight from Les Mills themselves:

Warmup: Higher – Logan S. feat. Mandy Brewer
Squats: Closer To The Edge – Mekon Garden
Chest: Party All Night (Sleep All Day) – Sean Kingston
Back: Written In The Stars (Sunny Dee Remix) – Jason Born
Triceps: Born This Way – Southern Light
Biceps: Livin’ On A Prayer – Altiyan Childs
Lunges: Grenade (Damn-R Mix) – Jason Born
Shoulders: J’Adore Hardcore (Extended Mix) – Scooter
Abdominals: We’ll Be Alright – Travie McCoy
Cooldown: The Crow & The Butterfly – Shinedown
Alternative 5 – Triceps: If We Ever Meet Again (Hans-O-Matik Bigroom Radio Cut) – Pandora BX

PS: Check out the video of J’Adore Hardcore, it was shot in my hometown, Melbourne - Australia :)

As always, hot off the presses, here is the BodyPump 78 Sizzler.

Review coming shortly.

This workout is all about building lean muscle through pressure and pushing you to fatigue in each and every track. Saturday sets a positive tone in the Warmup as you move through the ranges of motion that prepare you for the rest of the class.

Squats create a Beautiful Monster in three stages, using Singles to drive the heart rate up and then twisting the knife with some strong Bottom Halves.

You’ll instantly recognize the guitar intro and by the end of Track 3, your chest will be screaming at you, so focus on great technique through the pain.

Four Clean & Presses in a row throw down the “cardio kicker” challenge to the back, while very quick transitions give the Triceps no respite in Track 5. Likewise, the return of the Bicep Rows means you don’t get a chance to relax… there’ll be no raising of the glass afterwards!

Track 7 will set off the fireworks in your legs with an overpowering sequence of Squats – Lunges – Squats – Lunges – Squats – Lunges – (gulp!) more Lunges. You’ll be a little shaky on your feet, but next stop is Africa for a three-pronged attack on your shoulders – Deltoid Raises, Side Raises and Overhead Presses.

But Please Don’t Go just yet… what about your abs? We’ve got some Side Oblique Crunches and Crunches with a Pulse and Hover, forward and back.

By the time you stretch and leave, the past hour will seem like Just A Dream… except your body will be telling you otherwise.

BTW, i did this release at the Ultimate Super Workshop in Sydney a few weeks ago, and let me tell you, it Massive!

Hi Everyone

Wow, seems like the Christmas quarter lasted a bit longer than the previous ones. Either the good people at Les Mills took an extended holiday, or recording the cover version of the music for Australia took a little longer than usual.

Either way Ladies and Gentlemen, the way was well worth it. BodyPump 77 is one of the best releases we have seen in a while. The music is great, the exercises are a bit harder and the new move innovations take BodyPump 77 to a whole new level.

The easiest way to describe it: It’s BodyPump, but turned up to 11!

Let’s get straight into it.

Warmup: Wow, this is easily my new favourite warmup track. Normally, you wouldn’t get that excited about a warmup track, but this one has an awesome beat and really sets the mood. The exercises are the same as we would normally expect to see, with the usual intro of wide lifts and rows. It’s when the chorus hits that the room really livens up. It almost feels like an interval track. We get smooth, controlled moves through the verses and then big explosive movements through the chorus. Turn it up and get set for one massive workout.

Squats: Let the onslaught begin. It’s time to hit the legs with 4 rounds of massive work. The first two rounds start us off with a nice set of two by two’s followed by massive singles and bottom halves. Then, it gets interesting. You’re not even half way. The second half of the track is where the real work comes in. Singles, Bottoms, to the bottom quick with a little stop and plenty more bottom halves to follow up. Sounds reasonable but let me assure you, by the end of the third round you may get a little worried that your legs could actually explode during the fourth round. Just clench your teeth and hang in there. Oh, and it’s all set to Bon Jovi’s - It’s my Life, so you have no choice but to go big :)

Chest: Little change of pace here. We leave the big rock tune of the squat track and hit the club where the DJ will have us falling in love. Ramp up the weight a little bit from usual, draw your belly in and get ready to work. Nice easy start with twos and threes followed by singles and bottom halves through the chorus. Halfway through the chorus, check your feet… you’ll be tapping your toes :) Straight into the second round to do it all again and a nice long third round that starts with some magic moment super slows. Once again, at the end of the third round you’ll be pretty keen on a break and thankfully we get one. It’s only a quick one before, Bada-bing Bada-boom, we’re back to work in the last round to build maximum pressure in the chest.

Back: Uh-oh.. When the master trainers in the workshop tell you that you may want to go a little bit lighter on the weight for the first time doing this track, you know you might be in trouble. We have a new move; it’s called the Power Press. One Clean followed by three (yes, three!) presses from the chin to the roof. Prepare to take your heart rate to new heights. The work begins with a quick warm up round with a nice thumping beat to get the heart rate up. When the work begins in the second round, prepare yourself with a few deadlift, then hold-and-brace and power on to the top for a massive set of Power Presses. Follow that up with never-ending triple rows and you’ll be gasping for air by the end of this round. Now, do it all again two more times and you’ll see why I said that this is BodyPump turned up to 11!

Triceps: After that back workout, we need to hit the bench a little just to be able to breathe. Thankfully, Enrique will get us back into party mode with a little ‘I Like It’. The song is deceptively happy, so you won’t even notice the three huge rounds of extensions, presses and pullover-combos. Now, your shoulders may be a bit wobbly from the previous track, so be sure to pull the elbows right into the body to isolate the triceps and keep the work where it’s supposed to be. After the bench work, we’ll finish this one with a set of overhead extension with a large plate. Oh yes, I like it!

Biceps: Oh yeah, I love this one. The bicep tracks have been a bit hit and miss lately, so I’m real happy that the BodyPump team have taken us back to some good, solid rock for the biceps. The track comes in three rounds, with each round getting longer and harder. Ouch. The start of this track just sets the mood perfectly with slow moves and super intense guitar to get us moving with purpose and intensity. Actually, the whole track is a bit slower than usual to keep building pressure in the muscles. Two tough rounds composed of 2×2’s, bottoms and our power move combo before a quick break and recovery round of bicep rows. Round three is where we turn it up a notch. Stand strong and smash through three combos and a big set of singles.

Lunges: For the first time in a little while we start the lunge track with a quick stretch on the ground. I like the stretches, they give you a good chance to find your posture and get a quick breather. Trust me, you’ll need it. As soon as the beat hits, we’re up for static lunges on the bench. Slow ones, a little quicker and a whole bunch of singles. After that, you’ll get about half a second to drop your plates and go straight into the dynamic backward stepping lunges and some awesome ‘knee it in the guts’ power lunges. The quick transition helps keep the heart rate nice and high. Hit the same quick transition and now do it all again on the other leg. Love it! Just when you thought it was finished, grab your bar for the last round of squats. There’s a beautiful ‘calm-before-the-storm’ moment as we breathe through the super slows before the insane onslaught of singles and bottom halves. If you can still walk at the end of this track, you need to check your weights :)

Shoulders: Scooter in the house! ‘24 hours a day, 12 months a year, It’s all about the sound, You’re about to hear’. You want some intensity in your shoulder track ? Come and get some right here! Scooter’s Ti Sento is the perfect finish for the big muscle groups as we start with pushups and migrate straight into a super long set of one-knee reverse flys. I love how this track keeps going just when you think each set is over. It builds massive pressure in the muscles and pushes you further than you’ve ever thought your shoulders could go. Grab another super-extended set of side raises and rotator presses before heading for the bar to scream a loud Scooter “Yeah” at the end as your arms are about to explode.

Abs: Hmm.. Odd song, but great moves. I think the choreography team that are producing the new Les Mills CX30 core program have been sneaking some moves in here to see how they can punish us the most :) This time around, we get to try out the new side oblique crunch in a combination of slow, quick and pulse moves. Super effective. Just make sure you open up and really lift that top shoulder off the ground. After that we also revisit the walking hover with both hands and legs. To make it even more interesting, we’ll finish this one off with a nice hover combo that is guaranteed to leave you gasping.

Cooldown: Perfect song for a perfect workout. Good, long, slow stretches through all the major muscle groups to bring relief to tired, exhausted muscles. Not much else to say here. By now, you’re too exhausted to care anyway :)

Overall, BodyPump 77 well and truly delivers what it promises. It’s a fantastic high-energy workout with great new music and fantastic new moves. I’ve instructed it a few times now and my classes absolutely love it. Get out there and give it a try straight as soon as you can.

Hi Everyone.

Here we go. Christmas and New Years are all over and we’re ready to go for 2011…And what better way to start than to get straight back int the gym as soon as you’re back from holidays (or even better… while you’re still on holidays) and get into your latest BodyPump release from the awesome team at Les Mills.

My apologies for taking a little longer than usual to get the review up, The combination of family, gym and work has left me with little time to sit in front of the computer in the evening.

So, on to BodyPump 76. What is this release all about ? We’re targeting the smaller muscle groups as well as overloading the big ones with short, sharp sets & bigger than usual weights.

Warmup:  The warmup usually sets the mood for the whole hour, and this time around, it does not disappoint. We start the workout with a nice dance remix of ‘The Climb’. Slow shoulder rolls and slow deadlifts start the day followed by the usual assortment of upper an lower body workout. The song is very happy an uplifting and really helps get us in the mood. In terms of moves, there is everything you would expect, plus a few wide lifts thrown in at the start. Oh, and unlike the past couple of releases, we get a decent number of squats to warm the legs up.

Squats:  Let the workout begin! The focus today is a set of shorter rounds with more weight than usual. The warmup round kicks in hard with a big bass beat and a long set of 2’s and 3’s. You’ll instantly recognise the song when the lyrics kick in. Once the warmup is done, we’ll get familiar with a new tempo, the one-down-and-three-up. I love this move. The legs instantly catch fire from the little hold at the bottom of the move. The round keeps going with a whole bunch of singles before we hit the bottom for 3 * 4 bottom halves. Think it’s over ? Sorry… there are still the 2’s and 3’s to go before finish the first round. The break is just long enough to kick out each leg before we hit rounds two and three. This is one serious workout for the legs, made achievable by the constant changes in tempo.

Chest: Another instantly recognisable song. Actually, when I heard it, my first thought was ‘why haven’t we had this tack earlier ?’ I’m a big U2 fan, so this one is one of my favourites. The moves and tempo match the music perfectly. Be warned though, you’ll get into the song and forget that there are a lot of rounds and changes. Everything starts nice and easy with 3/1’s. When the ‘Beautiful Day’ chorus hits, we explode into the singles and a lot of bottom halves in the later rounds. You’ll be fighting the weights as well as the urge to sing along. After the break, the last big power rounds will make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Slows, singles, bottoms, slows and a massive set of singles that will make every fibre in your chest burn.

Back: Wow, how do you follow that chest track ? Easy… take a great remix of Cascada’s Pyromania, throw in some new sequencing of moves and make it haaard! Yes, I know… It’s Cascada again, but the song is quite different and the remix really adds some life to the original version. Our new move involves two clean and presses in a row followed by two rows. It doesn’t sound like much of a change, but the two lifts to the top really push up the heart rate a lot more than the usual top / bottom combo. Follow the combo move with lots of wide triple rows and some unexpected wide deadlifts and you have a massive back track. Thankfully, each round cuts out a move, so it gets easier as the track goes on. Just grab your bar and go!

Triceps: This one feels quite similar to the tricep tracks from the past couple of releases. We get just about every move we have in our repertoire. The catchy ‘My First Kiss’ tune carries us along as we start the workout with a whole lot of tricep dips before we quickly transition to our knees for kickbacks. Before you know it, we’re up on the bench again for a massive set of pushups after which we’re back down again for kickbacks on the other side. Let’s finish the track with standing overhead extensions and you’ve worked every millimetre of muscle.

Biceps: The bipce track in this release has a similar feel to the more subtle track we saw in release 75. Unlike other releases, this one actually gets harder as the track goes on, so chose your weights carefully. Keeping the theme of the release with a new move consisting of a mid-range pulse (sort of like two bottom halves joined together) followed by two singles. The sneaky thing about this track is that when you think a round is over, we’re only half way. By the time we get to the end of each round, the arms are well and truly burning!

Lunges: Here’s my one-word review of this track: Ouch! We’re going to do something we’ve never done before… we’re going back to our squat weight for the lunge track. Ok, before you start thinking ‘That’s crazy talk’, hear me out. We’re going to hit the legs for about a minute and a half with some wide squats using the big weight, and then we’re going to drop back to our normal lunge weight for the rest of the track. To make it a little more interesting, we’ll also use the bench top as a step up to get more muscle activation. The music in this suits the tempo perfectly, with the super slows building the anticipation for the top half singles and a Storm of singles and bottom halves to finish off each round. Don’t be scared, grab the big weights and give it a go.

Shoulders: Another new move today. Reverse Flys. The move is quite similar to the kneeling rear delt raise, except this time the plates are facing each other as we lift them out to the sides. It’s a perfect little exercise for the rear delts and all those little muscles between the shoulder blades. Like in the triceps track, we get maximum variety with a set of pushups to start, then the flys followed by side raises, mac raises and a bar to the top to complete the punishment.

Abs: Oh boy, another killer Ab track. Honestly, I don’t know what evil training manual the Les Mills team are looking at to come up with these moves. We track starts nice and reasonable with crunches and reverse curls, like we’ve seen plenty of times before. To make it more interesting, we constantly alternate between those two moves for about 3 minutes without a break. Then, we discover the pleasures of the ‘hover with pointer’ move. Sounds nasty, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Hover position on your elbows, feet wide. Take one arm, lift and point it forward to 12 o’clock, then, keep it up and take it to 3 o’clock. Bring it back in and repeat on the other side. Do that a heap of times and then do it all again even quicker. Yikes!

Cooldown: Hmm.. interesting.. I think the choreography team ran out of time on this one and just reused the same moves in the same sequence form release 73, just set to different music. Oh well, makes it easy to learn I guess. It’s a nice relaxed cool down track, although I would have been happier to hold each of the moves for a little bit longer.

So overall, a really nice release. If the biceps track had a little more energy in it, it would have been a perfect release. The music is great and even the Australian PPCA-free covers sound pretty good.

My recommendation is to really get into this one and go with the suggested weight selections. I know it’s a bit heavier than usual, but it’s totally worth it.

Wow, it feels like we only just launched the last release the other day and now BodyPump 76 is already on the cards.

I was hoping to be able to give you the ‘Sizzler’ by now, that seems to have been delayed.

Best I can do at the moment is give you a look at the tracklist for BodyPump 76, since it’s out all over the internet already anyway. Enjoy

(As always, the youtube links are only there as a guide. The actual song you’ll hear in the class will be a different mic or a cover version)

1    The Climb (Almighty Essential Radio Edit)  -    Almighty Pop Factor
2    Telephone (Original Radio Edit) -    Pandora BX
3    Beautiful Day -    Lee Jones
4    Pyromania -    Sun Flash
5    My First Kiss -    3OH!3 feat. Ke$ha
6    Not Myself Tonight -    Christina Aguilera
7    Storm -    DJ Lotus
8    Bring It Back -    Paffendorf
9    Cooler Than Me -    Mike Posner
10  The Truth -    Kris Allen

Australian workshops are in the middle of November, so look out for the full review a few days later.

Once again, it’s new release time. My apologies for being a bit late this time around. The releases in Australia were delayed by nearly a month to give Les Mills extra time to record our cover versions. I’m happy to say that the wait was worth it as the music is first rate  and the next release (76) has already been announced to be on time.

Without further ado, here are some first impressions of BodyPump 75:

Warmup: As usual, we set the mood with an upbeat, bassy track. This time, it’s Cascada’s turn to get our heart rate up and running. Interesting to hear them in something other than the Back track :). The lyrics in the song work really well with the music, mood and moves. Nothing unusual in terms of moves, although we do get introduced to some wide lifts that we’ll see again later in the workout. As in the previous release, the warmup for the legs seems a little short, but it works well with the music.

Squats: Let the workout begin! Three big rounds for the legs. Long one, Medium one and a short(ish) one to finish off. It’s a big song with a massive bass beat. For this release, we get a really nice sequence of moves that trains every part of the leg at maximum intensity while still keeping it achievable. The choreography team vary each round with high intensity singles and bottom pulses and  2/2, 3/1 moves. The rounds are a lot longer than you think, so hang on tight. By the time we get to the last round and all the nice easy 2/2’s are replaced by an onslaught of singles and you’ll be gasping for air!

Chest: Uhh, i like this one. It’s a very different beat to what we normally get. Not sure how to explain it, but the sound a lot ‘rougher’. The track is divided into 4 rounds on the bench before we hit the pushups! Yes, that right, 4 rounds, then pushups. Even better, the challenge is to do the pushups with your feet on the bench. Ouch. Don’t worry though, they’re all over in 15 seconds. Overall, it’s another punishing track, thanks to the perfect choreography. Like in the Squat rack, we get a great mix of high and low intensity moves in each round and a big block of slow 4/4’s at the end to ‘recover’. Sing along with the lyrics and fill in the blanks when the going gets tough :)

Back: Quite simply, this is one of the best Back tracks we’ve had in a while. You know the song, you know the lyrics, you know the beat. The first round is completely unexpected. Guitar, drums, all the things you’d expect from a classic rock song. Rock song ? in a Back track ? … Stay with me.. Suddenly, half way through the warmup wide rows, the beat starts teasing its way in. First break. Boom! Grab your bar, it’s about to get serious. Clean-press combo, rows, wide rows. With each move, the beat gets bigger. After some very quick breaks, we get another two big rounds of high energy work.

Triceps: What a surprise, Pink makes an appearance in BodyPump :). (And in the non-PPCA version in Australia, the role of Pink is played by a male artist. Interesting…). Her ‘Bad Influence’ serves as a nice contrast to the high energy Back track we just experienced. We get two rounds on the bench with the bar in the usual moves followed by two rounds on the floor with a plate for some kickbacks. Do yourself a favour and go a little heavier than you normally would to get the best out of this track.

Biceps: Hmm, this one is interesting. I’ll be the first to admit that i’m n ot the world’s greatest fan of country music, but something is missing here. The Biceps track is usually one of the tougher tracks for the participants, so the music has more beat and motivation to it. This time around though, the Biceps track is lacking a defining beat and energy. Mind you, i’m sure all the country music fans would disagree with me :). Anyway, on to the track itself.  Before you start, make sure you arm yourself with a little more weight than usual as the whole song is only 3:50 including a 10 second intro and break.  That gives us 2 rounds before the break and a finisher round that ties everything together nicely. Nothing out of the ordinary here today. Nice even sets of 3’s, 2’s, 1/3’s and bottom halves.

Lunges: After the last two mellow tracks, Tiesto’s energy brings the high intensity with a vengeance. The track is split into three parts, two lunge sections at the start and a squat section at the end. As always when we have a squat component, go a little heavier on the weights to get the most out of it. The choreography is married perfectly to the music. We get the build-up, the calm-before-the-storm, the explosion of power, the active recovery and the massive race to the end. And even better, there is no break between the two lunge components so your legs are burning all the way through. By the time we get to the squats, there is just enough time to shake the legs out before the works kicks in again. The super slows make the hair on the back of your neck stand up before the final round of singles and bottom halves smashes your legs. Love it!

Shoulders: What can i say? Oh yeah: Hardest. Shoulder Track. Ever. Turn up the music, grab your plates and hope your arms don’t fall off! We’re starting with the bar for some upright rows and overhead presses while the incredible bass beat drives our heart rate through the roof. Quick break and we’re on the plates for a nice set o side raises and more Mac raises that you will care to count. (Hint: the first time you do this, be careful, there are more mac raises than you think !) Another quick break before some more side raises. Now the fun begins. Your arms are already shot and we haven’t even hit the hard stuff yet. To get used to the new moves, we’ll start with a set of Rotator Presses. Now, imagine combining that with a Pec Deck Press (yes, the machine from the gym floor). Keep your elbows high, grit your teeth and push through what feels like an eternity. And for good measure, let’s finish it off with 16 pushups. Up on your toes, thanks.

Abs: Thank goodness we’re on the floor for the first round of abs. After that shoulder workout, i can hardly use my arms to wipe the sweat off my brow. Uh oh… i spoke too soon. There are only two rounds of crunches on the floor before we get another new move. In keeping with the tradition of introducing impossibly hard moves at the end of the abs track in the last couple of releases, This time round, we’re on the floor in a hover and stepping out sideways to the beat with alternating legs. Just when you thought that’s as hard as i gets, we switch it up and use the arms instead of the legs to step out sideways. So, one arm is underneath you and the other is in pushup position. Yup, it’s as hard as it sounds :)

Cooldown: Love the lyrics on this one. ‘What do you want from me?’… Given the workout we just went through, apparently the answer is: Everything :). Slightly different format for the cooldown in this release. We’re only on the floor for the lower back stretches for the first minute. All the other stretches are done kneeling or standing up. As an instructor, i like this because it gives me much more chance to connect with the participants at the end of the workout. It’s nice to be able to look around the room and see some of the expressions ranging from ‘wow, what a workout’ to ‘dude, you’re crazy’

Overall, this is proably the strongest release we’ve had in the 70’s. Massive tracks to get the body temperature up at the start, a little breather in the middle through tracks 5 and 6 and then an absolutely over the top effort at the end to hit every muscle group as hard as we could have.

For the Australians affected by the PPCA ruling, our covers this time around are much, much better quality. Rather than replacing unique voices with bad copies (think Britney- 3 in release 74), where needed, the Less Mills team have opted to change the gender of the performing artist and give the song a slightly different feel. This actually works really well and doesn’t feel out of place. It makes the songs sound less like a cover and more like a deliberate remake. Well done guys.

Hot off the presses, here is the BODYPUMP 5 Sizzler to get you all excited :)

BODYPUMP fans are already describing the shoulder track on this release as the toughest ever and who could blame them ?

The opening track - Fever - serves as a preview of the carnage to come, as you find the perfect SET position over the big punchy beats. Game on!

Track 2 engages the legs with heavy Squats and sets the tone for the rest of the workout, with a barrage on the upper body and a chest section that lays down a challenge - Press ups of an elevated platform.

The first new element arrives in Track 4 - a wider lift grip for the Rows that has you feeling the intensity build-up behind the shoulders - then go slightly heavier than usual to target the triceps, culminating with one-arm kickbacks for best isolation.

In Track 6, Susan Renata straps on her spurs and holsters, an and has some fun riding the range, while working the ‘guns’ to Cowboy Casanova, the real showpiece of this release.

Then it’s time for yet another innovation - wider feet set in the Hover position to stabilise and challenge the core as you walk the hands, one by one, to Press-Up width and back.Wow, sounds amazing.

And since the track list is already out all over the internet, here it is again, shamelessly borrowed from nzglen :)

BODYPUMP 75 Track List

1. Fever – OneZeroOne
2. Watcha Say (B-Tastic Remix) – Henry Blank
3. Shut It Down – Pitbull featuring Akon
4. Wherever You Will Go (Handz Up Edit) – Jan Wayne
5. Bad Influence – P!nk
6. Cowboy Casanova – Carrie Underwood
7. I Will Be Here – DJ Lotus
8. Ravers In The UK (Hypasonic Remix) – Manian
9. More – Usher
10. Whataya Want From Me – Adam Lamber

Can’t wait! As usual, i’ll have the preview / review of this release up as soon as we finish the workshops.