Body4Me

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

As some of you may know, starting with release 66, the Les Mills team have introduced a new, shorter variation for Bodypump. It’s a 30 minute ‘Express’ class. In this configuration, you do 6 tracks : Warmup, Squats, Chest, Back, Lunges or Shoulders and then Abs (Core). No cool down and we skip the Triceps and Biceps completely. The workout is focused on moving the major muscle groups and using the maximum calories possible for that class type. You will still need to cool down and stretch after the class yourself.

Now, obviously, Les Mills is just doing what the market is asking. People want shorter classes to fit into their lunch breaks and around their ‘busy schedule’. It first glance, I was really excited about the idea. Hey, it’s a short ‘taster’ class to get new people interested in Group Exercise. It can be used as a warm-up class to something else (RPM, Body Attack, Body Combat, etc). You can squeeze it in anywhere when you want to get a quick workout. That’s all really good and I am totally for it.

But now, I’m a little worried about what this may do to the perception of people and the class. Are we diluting the program ? In our society, everything is about making things quicker, easier and more convenient. Does it make sense to apply that principle to exercise and keeping your body in shape ? At the end of the day, if you want to get fit or lose weight, there are no shortcuts. We all know there is no magic pill that will suddenly make you lose weight (long term). Yes, you can grab a tablet that will stop your intestines from absorbing fats or go to the doctor and get your stomach cut in half, but that’s not really solving the root of the problem. If you don’t change your mindset and how you think about your body, none of these things will last you long term.

If you wan to lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you take in. If you want to build muscle, you need to train them beyond their capacity. By offering shorter and shorter classes, are we giving people false impression that they can achieve their goals with minimal effort and barely raising a sweat ? All too often, I see people in the gym, walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes while chatting to their friends. Yes, I know it’s better than nothing, but really, who are we kidding? You’re not going to achieve any real results with that.

I’m just worried that busy clubs will start offering these classes instead of, rather than alongside, the normal classes and that participants will come to think that half an hour of exercise is all they need to get trim.

So, the way I look at it, it’s a double edged sword. On one side, this new format is an awesome weapon in our fight against globesity for those that use it to supplement their existing workout routine. On the other side, it can be misused to give you a false sense of security that you’re doing everything you need to.

If you’re an instructor and you’re teaching this new format, please make sure that you educate your participants  about the purpose of the class. Explain the benefits of each class format and try to ‘up-sell’ the longer formats.

If you’re a participant or someone who has not done a Group Exercise class before, try it out. BodyPump is an absolutely fantastic way to get in shape. Use it to add to your workout regime. You can try the short format as a warmup to a bigger workout or you can do it on an off-day. Just be aware that the class was originally designed as a 55 minute workout that targts every muscle group to give a full, balanced workout. The 30 minute class will be a compromised version that you may not want to solely rely on. And maybe, let’s ask ourselves, how busy are we really that we have to cut 15-30 minutes out of keeping ourselves in shape. At the end of the day, you only get one body. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Is your email, that spreadsheet, that report, that tv show really that important…. ?

**Update: Hmm.. Seems like google has decided that everything Pump 67 related should go to this page. Please click the ‘Home‘ button at the top of the page to get the full 67 coverage, including the preview and summary of the first week with it.***

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

It’s that time again… We’re about to gear up for the next BodyPump release! Woohoo!

BODYPUMP® 67 is another strong and challenging release. This quarter the focus is on communicating the workout factor participants will get from each track. Instructors do this by coaching the specific weight selection, training objective and exercises used. Check out the new take on some old-school bicep training and a new Plank Crunch to challenge the core stabilizers. And watch for the chance to increase your weight selection in several of the tracks so you can get stronger, faster.

The music is a classic BODYPUMP® mix that features Heavy Rock from Finger Eleven in the Chest Track, with E–Type’s Eurofighter next up. P!nk is in the house with one of her biggest hits for the Triceps Track, followed by a wild and cheeky Bon Jovi number for the biceps work. So, cruise into the workout in the Warmup and get the feel of the steel with a mix of Deadrows, Wide Rows and Deadrows With Underhand Grip.

Then challenge your legs using a high number of Bottom Half Squats while keeping perfect form. The strong beats of Jan Wayne’s Piece Of My Heart will lift the commitment level of the workout. Enjoy the ‘X–factor’ in a wicked Shoulder Track and the Plank Crunch that rounds out the workout in the Abdominals Track. BODYPUMP® 67 is an awesome class that’ll leave you feeling physically exhausted but emotionally empowered!

Like I said in my previous post, I had a listen to the release tracklist and it’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see how the Plank Crunch is going to work. I still love the Moby song from 66.

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

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to have a listen to the upcoming BodyPump 67 release. Of course, it’s been killing me to not just post the tracklist and tell you all about it :) As we know though, we don’t want to spoil the fun for all the places where it has not yet been released.

What can i tell you about it though? The warmup is happy and lively, as always. The squat track is huge. Love the beat!. Chest, nice and grungy. I’m sure it’s going to hurt. Back, fun and fast paced. You’ll know the artist… we may have seen them before once or twice :) Triceps are good, not quite as ‘dancey’ as the last few releases. Uh, i’m going to like the Biceps track. Again, familiar artist, lots of guitar. The Lunges feature the usual up-pace dance beat we all know and love. Good song too, classic. You’ll all know it. The shoulder track is once again lively with a big beat. Not as ‘heavy’ a sound as we’ve had over the last couple of releases. Then come the abs… ermm…not quite sure what to say here.. Not the sort of music you’d usually hear in a BodyPump class, that’s for certain. Points for variety though… :) The cooldown is another big guitar based song you’ll probably know. Nice finisher.

So overall… Very different feel to BodyPump 66. Lots of guitar and not as ‘dancey’ (Yes, i know it’s not a real word) as the last release. I love that every release has a quite unique feel to it. Bodypump 67 is going to be another big workout, as always. Can’t wait!

Hi Everyone.

Well, we just finished our first week of Bodypump 66 classes. So, what’s the verdict from the crowd ? They love it!

I’ve had some real positive feedback about the warmup track. It’s a nice upbeat song with a really good bass line. It sets the mood very well. The Squat track is awesome with it’s three big rounds. For me though, the real fun is in the Chest track. Now, do yourself a favour : Go heavier on the weights ! The track is designed to allow you to put a little more weight on the bar as we finish early on the bench to hit the pushups. For my first class, I used my normal chest weigths and it simply wasn’t enough. Since then, I’ve been putting an extra 2.5kg on each end and it really makes a difference. You need to overload the muscles in the ‘Get Down’ part to make the track work properly.

The Back track is the next big one. Four sets of clean & presses is a lot of work ! You really have to focus and pull together to finish the last few sets of triple rows in good form.

As I said before, I love the Tricep track. Again, the choreography works very very well. I like it that much, I wish the whole track were longer. I’m sure my participants feel otherwise about the dips at the end though :)

The next big track is the Lunges. It looks easy on paper, but, wow, does it hurt. You get a few dynamic lunges to warm up, then 32 proper ones to really hit home. Each Leg. Once again, I had one of my usually so well mannered front row ladies whisper some pretty harsh obscenities during the track. That’s when you know the workout is doing it’s job… :) I really like the lunge tracks from the last few releases.

For the shoulders, again, go with the heavy option. Towards the end, you have the choice to very quickly grab a bar instead of using the hand weights. I highly recommend that one. Don’t get me wrong though, the track is hard, real hard. The Arnold Press move tires out every part of your deltoids. Using the bar at the end though really makes you feel though you couldn’t have done another press if you wanted to.

The Abs track is another one of my new favourites. The song itself is really good, but the rolling side plank move is my new favourite. It’s another one of those things that looks easy on paper but is quite hard to do properly. Watch your hips! Lock them into place. The idea is that you move your upper body and use your obliques to stabilise and rotate. If you move your hips forward during the movement, you take all the work right out of it. Don’t worry, once you’re doing it right, you’ll know it :)

So, once again, BodyPump 66 is a fantastic whole-body workout. The use of body weight exercises throughout the class really gets in deep. The music is fantastic, the choreography is perfectly matched and workout is hard. If you have friends that think group exercise classes are the easy option instead of going to the gym ‘properly’, bring them along to this one.

Enjoy your workout.

BodyPump. One Tribe, One Bar, One Workout.

Kia Kaha!

It’s May,so it is time for the quarterly BodyPump workshops. We just had ours this morning. Once again, massive room, heaps of people and a concert style sound system. I so wish we had the same sound system at our gym. 20,000 watts worth of Bass would make a fair difference to the atmosphere :)

First Impressions of BodyPump 66… Wow! If i didn’t know better, you’d think we’d gone back to the mid 40’s in terms of huge workout intensity. This one is massive! The squat track is huge, the chest track hurts, the lunges burn and the shoulder track brings a world of pain. Yay :)

The theme for release 66 is: Heroes Made Here. The focus for this release is on tough sequences of work combined with functional innovations. There are lots of body weight exercises that target the main muscle groups as well as hitting the smaller stabiliser muscles.
As always, the official rundown by Les Mills Program Choreographer Glen Ostergaard can be found here.

If you just want to look at the tracklist for this release, please have a quick look around in Google. There are plenty of sites by now that have it. Like I mentioned in my previous post, Less Mills would prefer us to not post the track list until the release has been launched around the world, so i’m going to give you this preview without spoiling the fun :).

**Edit 09/07/2008: Now that the quarterlies are well and truly over, here is the tracklist for BodyPump 66:

01. Rain Down Love - Freemasons Feat. Siedah Garrett
02. Cisko Disco (DJ Radio Mix) - Rico Bass v.s Deejay Bonito
03. Get Up - Technotronic
04. What Hurts The Most - Cascada
05. Time After Time - Quietdrive
06. On Your Way To The Disco - Rogue Traders
07. Show Me Heaven - Micky Modelle vs Jessy
08. Where Are You 2007 - Paffendorf vs The Real Booty Babes Club Mix Paffendorf
09. Extreme Ways Bourne’s Ultimatum - Moby
10. Always On Your Side - Sheryl Crow

Here is a track-by-track preview of what you can expect from BodyPump 66:

Warmup: As usual, the theme of the song centers around ‘Love’. That’s ok though, because you’ll love this track as much as I do. Here we have a happy track with a good beat, good lyrics and a good range of exercises. Definite toe-tapper. By the time you’re finished here, you’re definitely in the mood for an awesome workout. This one is also really good for beginners as we do an introduction to quite a few of the moves in the 4/4 slow-motion mode.

Legs (Squats): You know this one. As the sizzler mentions, a lot of instructors may yell ‘Oooooh.. we’re half way there…’ way too many times :). It’s a great remix with a huge beat! Lots of slow work and lots of singles. I love the setup from the 3/1’s to the Singles. Energy ! Energy! Energy! By the time you’re finished with the bottom halves, it’s straight into the next round. If this one doesn’t make your legs burn by the end, I don’t know what will.

Chest: Oh my goodness.. The never ending Chest Track. Don’t worry, it does end eventually after about 5 and a half minutes, but if feels like forever because we’ve gone a bit heavier on the weights. This one feels straight out of the mid 40’s. Even the song is appropriate for an old-school workout. Funky beat and lots of work. We get familiar with the normal power moves and then we hit a new little innovation that will totally overload your muscles. The extra time under tension we get in this track will make a huge difference. Best of all, once you think you couldn’t possible lift another round, it’s time for push ups. Not just normal push ups either.. Evil Push ups ;)

Back: Peak Time! As usual, Cascada does not disappoint. Big track with a massive beat. All the moves you would normally expect, and at nearly 6 minutes long, you’ll know you’ve done some hard work by the end. This track is so long, in fact, that there is room for another round of Clean & Presses. That means your break is pretty much smack bang in the middle! Lots of rows too, normal and wide.

Triceps: I love this song! It’s a remix of the old Cindy Lauper - Time after Time song. The song fits the movements perfectly. We split our time between the bench and dips, so you can really afford to go a little heavier on the bar than you normally would. You’ll be too busy humming along to the music to notice the pain anyway :) We have a great new pull-over combo move that will really put some load into the triceps. A couple of rounds of presses, extensions and combos and we’re ready for the dips. You remember them from release 64, right ? How many this time ? Too many to count.. Well over 20.. Ouch!

Biceps: Rogue Traders hit us once again with a tough workout. It’s only 4 minutes long, but you’ll feel every second. The track is designed to keep your arms pretty much under constant tension the whole time. Good variety of moves including plenty of bottom halves with a short break towards the end. Watch out for the final round though. We finish it off with some real burners!

Lunges: Another remix. Huuuuge techno beat that kicks in as soon as we’re done with the stretches. We start off with some wicked backward stepping lunges off the bench and finish the log off with a nice long set of normal weighted lunges. Shake, rinse, repeat on the other leg :) Once again, we have the option of using the single pate to really utilise the core muscles. The lyrics work really well on this one. You just can’t help but smile during this track. It’s just a fun, uplifting song.

Shoulders: The first time I heard this song, I thought to myself…’This isn’t going to be pretty’. Let me assure you, I wasn’t wrong. There are virtually no lyrics. Just a big dance beat. It sounds almost robotic. Again, a workout straight from the early 40’s. Like any good shoulder track, we start with a big set of push ups before we step into a world of pain :). We hit some delt raises and then the real fun begins! You remember the Modified Arnold Press from a few releases ago ? Well, it’s back. With a vengeance. Not only do we do them both slow and fast, we also change the move slightly to get even deeper into the shoulders. Use your normal weights for this one and pray that you’ll make it to the end.

Abs: Beautiful, atmospheric sound by Moby. This one is not so much a normal Ab workout as a full-on oblique workout. The focus here is very much on giving you that nice V shape in your body. We’ve got a new move here, the Side Plank Roll. You may know this move from Body Balance. It’s basically like a side plank but then we thread the top arm under the bottom of the chest while keeping your hips in place. If it sounds hard, that’s because it is :) We finish the workout with nice modified oblique crunches. I really like this Ab workout. I think it’s it’s one of the best we’ve had in a while (with the exception of 65, which was also awesome).

Cooldown/Stretch: Nice slow duet by Sheryl Crow. The best part of this song is that the stretches really last a long time. We get plenty of time to relax and reward some tired muscles. Not much else to say about this one. It’s just a nice and relaxing song.

So, overall, another massive workout from the Les Mills team. Glen Ostergaard and the rest of the choreography team have done another great job. Once day i’ll have to make it over to New Zealand for a filming. The Bodypump 66 DVD looks simply amazing. These guys have built an absolute empire on fitness and it’s easy to see why. Solid workouts, fantastic music and constant innovation. Well Done!

Can’t wait to get into this release. With quality like this, I can’t wait for BodyPump 67. Bring it on!

The other big news is that starting with this release, Les Mills are introducing a new 30 minute ‘express’ class format. In this configuration, you do 6 tracks : Warmup, Squats, Chest, Back, Lunges or Shoulders and then Abs (Core). No cool down and we skip the Triceps and Biceps completely. The workout is focused on moving the major muscle groups and using the maximum calories possible for that class type. You will still need to cool down and stretch after the class yourself.

There has been growing demand for shorter classes that people can fit into their lunch breaks. I think these could also be fantastic as introductory classes or as a ‘warmup’ to an RPM/Attack/Combat class. By my way of thinking, anything that will get people in the gym to keep fit and healthy is a good thing. There is a good chance that a newcomer who has started with an express class will move up to the full classes. That has to be good. We still keep the 45 minute format as well though. This new class style is just another weapon in our arsenal against the growing ‘globesity’ problem.

Have an awesome workout. Let me know if you like it!