Body4Me

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!

Hey hey!
Finally heard the tracklist yesterday (boy were we wrong with some of the tracks as you said) Really liked it, except, to be honest, the abs track. Way too… weeerrrlll I dunno. Didn’t like it anyway.
LOVE the rest of the release though it ROCKS.
Again, thanks for the info and looking forward to your “cert” postings… (hint heheh no rest for the wicked) take care!!!

Hi Mate.

You know.. I was doubtful about the abs track too. I’m still not the biggest fan of the music itself, but I love the move and the slowness of everything. If you do the plank crunch properly and really extend the leg at the back, the thing really hurts..

Pat

Yes yes, i’ll get onto the certification posting…busy weekend.. baby’s christening, learning new pump release, choreographing my cycle class…

Hey, congrats with the christening and all, and apologies if I’m pushing too hard for the updates, did not mean to be such a pain in the backside ;-) Thanks for all your effort untill now, excellent! Happy pumping…. I looooooovvveee the new release!!!! (launch here in our gym in NL on 7 sept, but was so lucky as to get the preview)

Just read your review of 67, and I guess it can’t come soon enough to my club. I don’t know if it’s because I’m on the other side of the globe, but I think our instructors is at the workshop for 67 next week or so, so it won’t be ’til late september that I can try it… :-(

Anyway, is it possible to get a correct tracklist yet? I’ve downloaded (legally of course) the music from the last two releases to my mp3-player to listen to when I excercise on my own with the machines, and it really helps! Makes me put that little energy extra into it, just because of the beats. Personally I like 65 better than 66, but I guess that’s mostly because of the cruel dips :-)

Took your tip though and try to smile (or grin rather) at my instructor everytime I’m doing the dips (as well as the lower squats and other appropriate exercices) and she always starts to smile back when she catches my eye! Lifts the spirits of everyone!

Just out of curiosity - how’s the boy/girl ratio at your classes? I think it’s about 1:5 here (both participants and instructors). I have met the attitude that group classes are “girly” - then they haven’t tried BP!

I’ve taken ‘nough space here - thanks for your inspirational blogg!

BP 67 will be rolled out in my country this week. I cant wait to try this out. I just love BP 66 both the songs and the tracks. After reading your review, I should be well prepare to hit on…Yeah!!! Will add on once I have attend the BP 67. Looking forward.

From a guy that just fall in luv with BP

Hi Peter.

Thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoy my little ramblings :)

Thanks for taking the tip to interact with the instructor. It is amazing what difference it makes to us. A smile, a grunt, a groan, a quiet ‘damn you, it hurts’ makes all the difference to a class. It lets us know that we’re doing our job properly and getting you to push your limits. Nice work!

Now with the track list… As much as I would like to just post the whole list with Youtube links to make it easy, Les Mills frown upon it until all the quarterlies are done. They want to keep the surprise and anticipation up for each new release and I can understand that. That’s why I don’t mention the track names in the reviews. Given that it’s all their brand and copyright, I’d just as soon play nicely and not upset the powers that be.

In terms of girl:boy ratio, our classes here are even more skewed towards the girls. in some early morning classes, I could quite easily have 10 to 20 girls for every guy in some classes. In the evening ones, out of 50 participants, I’ll have somewhere around 8-10 guys. Mind you, I’m getting a lot more guys coming to my classes because I ‘turn it up’ a notch or two :)
In my cycle classes, the ratio is much more even. This morning, I had just about as many guys as girls.

Hey Scott, also thanks for the comment. After a week of doing it, I really like the new release. It Hurts!

Oh, and when you guys and girls say ‘my country’, let us know where you’re from… I’d love to know who is reading this and where Pump has a following. I’m just on a big island at the bottom of the world you know :)

Pat

I understand Pat, just a bit impatient I guess. And by the way, my country is Sweden, so quite the opposite side of the Earth from you.

Keep it up!

Hi Pat,

I am from Malaysia. I was just informed BP67 will only be released in my gym early October, eventhough the instructor workshop was conducted last week. The release is normally two weelks before the quarter ends. So, I have to wait a bit longer before enjoying the release. Surprise to hear there are some many female participants in your class. Over here, the ratio is about 50:50. By the way, I need a bit of tips from you on chest track. I have no problem of doing it right for all tracks expect chest. I find it hard to have my chest muscle to do the pushing. More often or not, is the shoulders do more work than chest. Appreciate if you can share some technique.

Hey Peter,

I do agree with you. Those song tracks really can motivate us. Just to name a few……Show me Heaven….See the light…Yeah!!!

I just did my Pump training and I passed! but of course I had to get the lunge track to learn… after 2 weeks of lunging, I can tell you I was hurting! we calculated that in the first weekend of training, we did 540 squats and 730 lunges….

Sheen - OH, MAN!

I have to say I think lunges is the hardest move to get right, but when you get it right you feel it :) Over all BP is a lot more about technique than I first thought, took me a good 5-6 times before I started to get the moves right (and good support from my instructor). Lunges are still hard.

About motivating tracks: (I know I leave thread just a notch)
An instructor at my spinningclass likes to play “Out in the fields” (Gary Moore) at the end of class - just when you’re pushing as hard as you can - and then the chorus hits you: “Death is just a heartbeat away”… :)

Hey Pat! Getting cert. this weekend in Body Pump and your review of the classes really helped me. I am in the states so I dont think 67 has been released yet. I am a Spin instructor as well so I have NO problem getting in front of a class and getting them motivated. My main problem is I havent had a chance to take many classes because of my busy schedule. If you have any further sugestions about the Cert. class, please post. Everything and anything will help! Thanks!

Hi everyone.
Ok, been away a couple of days and suddenly i have half a dozen comments to reply :)
So, here it goes… one mega comment:

@Sheen: Well done! welcome to the club. I had Back and triceps for my training. I thought my shoulders were going to drop off at some stage. Mind you, i’d rather that than the squat track though… that just plain hurts. You know, every now and again, i love mentioning to my class how many squats or lunges we have… ‘Hey, there are only 84 lunges in this one’… and watch the look of horror in the class :) Awesome work.

@Peter: you’re absolutely right about it being all about the form. BodyPump is not about raw weights. It’s what you can do with those small weigths that counts. Perfect example is the current (67) tricep track. Tricep kickbacks are the hardest thing to get right, but once you do, you don’t need more than a 2.5kg plate to be in a world of pain.

@Scott: Now, without seeing you in action, it’s really hard to give tips on technique. I guess the most important thing to remember is to stay wide and get to that ‘L’ shape (90 degrees) with your elbows at the bottom. Once you dip your elbows below the bench top, you start involving the shoulder muscles in the workout, which we don’t want. Also, make sure you keep the bar in the middle of the chest, somewhere aournd where you heart is. Sometimes, i see people with the bar up around their throat, which we also don’t want. Just imagine that your chest muscle starts really wide and attaches to the middle of your chest and then funnels down up by the armpit area and attaches to the top of the arm. If the angles are too great for that muscle to get proper leverage, you’ll start using the shoulder muscles to help out. So again, it’s all about form and isolation.

@Bareleo: Glad the review helped. Have you had a look at the ‘Become a bodyPump instructor’ article at the top ? You’ll probably find some good pointers in there. Given that you’re already a spin instructor, you’ll probably find this easy. as long as you can learn the choreography, you’ll be fine. And, once you get used to Pump, you’ll find that all the songs have a very similar pattern and layout. Once you’ve done 3 or 4 releases, it’ll be easy.

Thanks for all the comments guys (and girls?)
Pat

Finally, I attended the BP67:). I particularly like the squats track with the unique bottom half, not to mention the song for this track…just love it. Also, I find the bicep with the xtra kilo after the break really help to burn the muscle. Ouch…it hurts! Generally, the entire BP67 was ok but less challenging compares to 66 & 65. In terms of the songs, this BP67 has lots of those “heavy metal feeling” songs. I still prefer the BP66 song tracks….a good mix of songs that really make you sing along as you carry on the exercise. Have fun and will be bumping over the next days…Yeah!!!

I attended 3 BP 67 classes last week. I just feel energise each time I attend. I am almost fall in luv with each track. The xtra kilo of bicep is really really nice and wonderful. Unusual slower movement of chest track and two short and quick break really make it works. Yeah!!!

Hey Scott.
Glad you like the release. I’ll have to come back to it soon. We’re already cycling them out. I’ve done 62, 60 and 59 over the past couple of weeks.
I love the bicep track in 67 as well. The extra 2 kilos each side seems manageable when you’re doing the rows… then the bottom halves hurt… then the top halves.. argghh… Love it!
I hope they bring back some tricep dips again soon. After doing them in 60 last week and nearly having my arms fall off, i can’t wait for more :) kickbacks are ok but dips get the results…

Pat