Finally, I have tried Body Jam.
What is Body Jam? Body Jam is a mixture of dance and aerobics moves blended with the latest sounds of hip hop, funk, and Latin American music. It can be considered as a cardio workout. Apart from making you sweat, fun is another important element in the 1-hour class. I realized that what is more important is to release yourself and enjoy the moves in the music. Therefore, not to be confused by the jargons of Body Jam dance moves – double back turn, moon run, jive kick, rip it, grab and drop, tweeter turn, jump turn and krump club routine.
Like other Les Mills classes, new Body Jam is released every three months with new music and choreography so that you will not get bored.
Benefits of Body Jam
- You will burn calories.
- Not everyone can dance well. But dance is great for improving coordination with focus on movement tempos.
My first Body Jam class:
Before going for my first Body Jam class, I had such a great expectation, much higher than I had on Body Pump. Sad to say, the higher the expectation, the worse the experience was. My first class was a bad experience for me. The instructor has assumed everyone could dance like Michael Jackson.
Out of fourteen of us, four of us raised our hand when he asked who the first timer was. Another few who walked in later, I was not sure how many of them were first timer. The instructor pretended that he did not notice our existence. He should have skipped that question if it did not make any difference.
The class started with warm up for shoulders, chest and hips. Not so bad. But, it got worse later. I could move my butts, shake my heads, swung my hands but he only showed us the steps ONCE. Yes, only ONCE. After twenty minutes, except the first few girls were able to follow what the instructor was doing, others have slowed down. One older woman, standing beside me, smiled and shook her head.
I was not alone.
I wished the clock could have ticked faster. But, since I was in the class, I told myself to bite my tongue to get it done.
Finally, an hour has gone. The kind instructor asked, “Anyone have anything to ask?” No one asked anything. I walked up and asked his name. Why? So that I would not attend his class anymore.
My second Body Jam class:
Because of my close friend’s persuasion, I went for Body Jam second time. Fortunately, this instructor was much better.
Things went really well. The instructor was fantastic. He went extra miles to show us the steps, not twice, but at least five times to get us started. Front view and side view. He taught us to mind our steps before paying attention to our hands. At least twenty five of us were in the class and I guessed that number alone proved that he has a huge fan base.
At the end of the class, I walked out from the class feeling happy that I gave it another try. If not because of my friend and this instructor, I would not have known Body Jam is that fun.
My advice:
- You will sweat a lot. So, bring a water bottle and towel.
- Wear something loose and comfortable for maximum movement.
- As for shoes, go for shoes which allow you to twist and turn comfortably.
- Focus on the steps first. Once you master the move then you can follow upper part body moves.
- Before you join the class, ask around to make sure the instructor is good. Otherwise, it will really spoil the fun. It is the instructor who makes the difference.
If you want to dance like those people in MTV, join Body Jam and get ready to get high on the feeling of dance. Once you get used to it, you will agree that the choreography is simple.
Anyone else has good or not so good experience attending your first Body Jam class? As for the experience Body Jam students, leave your comments too to share with us your experience.
You may want to check out my review of other Les Mills fitness classes.
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Cedric // Sep 25, 2007 at 9:39 AM
I am so glad to have google your site on yahoo…came to know you have a new one….. was redirected to a porno site in ur previous url…was like…. Ooooo….
Elvina // Sep 25, 2007 at 9:58 AM
My first Body Jam class was fun as the instructor was good. She really took the effort to teach us step by step although there were few regulars there. So I had fun and was able to follow correctly. But some of the music tracks are not nice though. BodyJam uses lotsa trance music. There is another class .. MTV Jam in which I’ve attended also. It teaches you those dance move you see on MTV… Hehehe … So, now I am learning to dance like a Pussycat Doll.. LoL
Simon Paul // Sep 25, 2007 at 12:30 PM
Way to go, coyote ;)
Elvina // Oct 3, 2007 at 8:46 AM
After a long time, finally I have the guts to attend Body Jam class yesterday. There were so many people and 50% of them are middle aged ladies.. ;p For the first time, I really sweat a lot in a Body Jam class. It was fun and music is not too bad too. Think I will stick to this class for time being ;)
Simon Paul // Oct 3, 2007 at 11:57 AM
I wish if I could. I like to hip around with great HipHop music. It’s like a club but less people and I get to dance around and sweat out all I can. Still, I’m into high reps training & high intensity cardio :(
Vicky // Oct 20, 2008 at 6:07 PM
It was very nice to read your review. I am interested in becoming a BodyJam instructor, but don’t know how to yet. Does anyone have any advise?
Would like to do it partime.
Thanx !! :)
Melissa // Mar 24, 2009 at 9:22 PM
I really didn’t like my first experience either. It wasn’t the teacher, it was my not liking the moves too much! I kept going for the unit that was being done, feeling very much like the white girl who doesn’t have rhythm!! I always thought I could dance good enough, but not this pop-lock stuff…I look like I’m trying too hard or something! Well, last night I went to the Body Jam class and it was different and a lot better. I still felt like the white chick with no rhythm, but I was getting it better than most of the people in the class. My advice to those wanting to take these classes is to keep going because they change the music and choreography every so often so you get a chance to do all kinds of dancing! I really liked the one last night and will be sad to see it go!
I just wish I knew about how many calories I burned in that hour. I worked pretty hard, so I am guessing around 400 – 450?