One of the main reasons I left Clark Hatch for True Fitness is because of Les Mills classes. I have always curious about these classes, especially Body Pump. What made me curious is how the 1-hour class can be conducted with compelling choreography. So, I attended Body Pump on the first day I joined my new gym.
What is Body Pump? Wonder why the inventor did not call it Body Inflate or Body Pop. How about Body Bomb or Body Hard? Why the sky is blue?
OK, back to the topic. So, are you tired of working out alone?
Now, you have a choice - weight lifting exercise in big group. Body Pump is a mixture of aerobic exercise with weight lifting training. According to Les Mills website, Body Pump can help you to:
- Burn between 250 and 600 calories per class (depending on your effort)
- Improve strength
- Shape and tone muscles
- Improve bone density (helps ward off osteoporosis)
My First Body Pump Class
When I first entered the class, was shocked to find out that ladies outnumbered guys. Before the class started, like everyone else, I first took a platform (use as a bench), a bar and some weights. Once I felt that the weights were like plastic material, I was wondering whether guys can get a real workout with them. I have been doing weight training for close to two years, so, I took some heavy weight. Also, I told myself I better took more weights than the lady beside me. This choice was a big mistake indeed which I will share with you why.
For the 1-hour class, all the major muscle groups are worked out, from the warm up through legs, chest, back, triceps, biceps, shoulders and abdominals, before the stretch and cool down. Each exercise lasts the length of one track of music (which is about 4 to 5 minutes), with pauses between tracks used to alter weight levels. Every exercise was wrapped up with a well deserved stretch to help with muscle recovery.
After few classes, I realized that Les Mill has 45-minutes class too - eight-track format is used, omitting the triceps and biceps tracks.
Though with a pause between each track, I had to admit that my first class pretty challenging. Normally, for my weight training, after a set, I will take my time to rest before proceed to next set. But, in the class, I had to start lifting again once the instructor started doing it. Therefore, during my first class, at the end of the bicep curls track, my biceps almost exploded and they hurt so much. So, light weight is a better choice.
You may hear some jargons mentioned by the instructor. These all are Body Pump moves. Once you attended few more classes, you will know what they meant when they mentioned squats, chest press, dead row, clean and press, bicep curl and lunges.
So, I came out with my exhausted muscles all over my body after my first class. Felt good though.
What I Like About Body Pump:
- Body Pump is a strength endurance training class. Not just an aerobic exercise. If done correctly, it actually help increase muscle tone and definition .
- Most of the exercises are based around weights ranging from 1 kg to 5 kg. You choose the weight that you are comfortable with. As you progress, you can continue to with increased load. On few occasions, I can even choose the exercise option, either using the bar or just the weight.
- Since Body Bump involves weight training, much the same principles apply as would for strength training. Therefore, it should be done two to three times a week, with a day rest between each session. Do not attend the class consecutively two days. Let your muscles have time to rest for recovery.
- If you think you will get bored with the same music, no worry. Les Mills releases new Body Pump class every three months with new music and choreography.
Mun’s Advice:
- One should focus in the forms than taking heavy weights. I went for heavy weights and failed to maintain the correct postures after few repetitions. Worse, muscles sore like hell after the first class. So, swallow your ego.
- Always keep your joints slightly bent. Do not lock it out.
- Perform the movements with controlled actions. Not jerky so that you will not get injured.
- Do not increase your weight too quick. For beginner, your muscles adapt more slowly, but once your body gets used to it, you will see the strength gain.
- Wear comfortable clothing which will absorb sweat.
- Bring a water bottle and towel. I did not bring my bottle on my first time and I had to run in and out to drink water.
- If it is your first time to Body Pump, arrive early so that the instructor can help you set up, show you how the equipment is used, and how much weight you should use for your first class.
I hope that this BODYPUMP review is helpful. I encourage you to try the program and share with me what you think.
You may want to check out my review of other Les Mills fitness classes.
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Angie Tan // Aug 23, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Cool!! Thanks for the tip.
I’ve been observing from the sidelines for a while. I think I will join when I’ve got more strength. Right now, I’m concentrating on my core muscles.
Mun // Aug 29, 2007 at 12:18 am
Angie, once you have joined the class, do let me know how it goes. ;o)
zz // Sep 3, 2007 at 8:52 pm
this is the first i ever heard of body pump and les mills. i am not a regular gym goer, though came across your site via reddit, and am reading most of the posts :)
i’ve been a member of this gym at mumbai, india for close to 5 years, but have gone less than 30 times during teh whole time. and i sit before a comp the whole day at work, and i guess i am about 20 kgs overweight. getting fit is something i’ve been putting off - and not taking seriously. now i guess it is time to start. nice site.
Elvina // Sep 6, 2007 at 1:08 pm
I love bodypump a lot. I used to attend only once a week thinking it would help me to tone up…yeah it did but very minimal result. Then I’ve started attending 3 times per week now .. and the results are good. Am very happy with pump classes.. It really make me work hard .. I do not really increase the weights but I rather focus more on doing each track with the correct technique. I still have the same result… I will continue with this work out. And by the way Mun, I really love your blog. Informative and it’s fun reading all the comments too :) Keep up the good work!
Victoria // Sep 19, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Hi there, I will be moving to Mumbai in November and was really excited to see this conversation - are you telling me they have the BODYPUMP classes in Mumbai???? Do tell, which gym!
Look fowrard to hearing from you.
An avid pump devotee.
zz // Sep 19, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I am not exactly sure there are body pump classes in any of the gyms in mumbai. my comment was more about my laziness in getting to the gym in teh first place, not about the bodypump classes. there are a few good gyms in mumbai - one chain called Talwalkars are pretty much decent, but crowded. There are a few good niche ones, so you’ll have to hunt around and see if they have body pump sessions. i might actually dig up and see which gym has bodypump classes, and will inform you if i find. have fun in mumbai when you’re here.
–
cheers
Victoria // Sep 20, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Thanks for your fast response ZZ.
Would be hugely appreciated if you did manage to find something out re classes, but Im also trying to contact Les Mills about bringing BODY classes out to Mumbai myself….will keep you posted!
Yes, looking forward to moving to Mumbai myself. we are currently living in Sweden which is nice, but quiet and conservative - I miss the energy of Asia! 6 weeks to go…
zz // Sep 20, 2007 at 7:38 pm
woah, nice! someone bringing the classes to mumbai would be nice. Am planning to call up a few of the better gyms in mumbai this weekend to figure out if they have bodypump sessions. my gut feeling is there arent gyms out there offering it.
sassyjam // Oct 11, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Body Pump’s awesome!..
i loved the class the moment i started it. i love the fact that you can push and monitor yourself buy adding more weights and see the difference
Maggie Miller // Dec 14, 2007 at 10:17 am
Where do I buy bodypump equipment?
Adrian Tiernan // Dec 19, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Hi all
Ive been doing free wheight training for 3 years now 3 days a week with two days in between cardio.
In the last 6 months i had hit a plato.
So i replaced one of my cardio days with a pump class.
Its worked wonders it has broken my plato with my free wheights and also give my muscles more definition.
I will keep this up for as long i can
Regards
ali hassan // Dec 21, 2007 at 9:41 pm
hey friends…….
next wednesday i m travelling to mumbai…… and i will findout which club give offer the bodypump claSS……
merry crismas and happy new year
love u all ali hassan
kuwait
Susen // Jan 24, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Thanks for all the tips. I had a knee injury; been working with a personal trainer but this week thought I would add Body Pump. Thanks to you chose light weights and found the class comfortable. Will add more weight gradually. The teacher was very good and made sure I was comfortable.
As said in previous posts the class was about 90% women.
(Did the class in LA Fitness, Victoria, London. Instructor was Becky)
ali hassan // Jan 28, 2008 at 4:31 pm
hi friends……. i was searching bodypump class in mumbai but nobady offer suh lesmills class……i feel bad…… but i m planing to open my owb brand in mumbai……. and i will keep all lesmills class……..
well next month i will go back to kuwait…. and start my own bodypump class…… soo see u there
karen // Feb 1, 2008 at 11:28 am
hi mun,
i am an avid reader of ur blog. i have been doing body pump ,off and on for over 6 months. last week i saw a picture of myself and realised i looked like a deformed body bulder. my shoulders and chest were huge but my lower body was small.. i really dont know what i have been doing wrong. Have i been carrying too heavy weights for the shoulder and chest exercises.. its really not flattering to look like he man if ur a woman u know? so i have decided to stay off pump class for a while and do more cardio stuff..
what would you suggest i do? i work out primarily to burn fat and tone up. i want the buffed look but not to this extent la..
please help.
Adrian // Mar 4, 2008 at 9:45 am
Try to introduce a mid to lower body work out for you legs and abs .eg free weights or weight machines at least once a week.
This may even up your body profile and give the impression of a small upper body.
Patrick // Mar 20, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Hi Mun.
Well done on giving it a go. Even more so well done on the review. Entertaining and quite accurate. I’m a BodyPump instructor in Australia, where the program is very popular.
You are perfectly correct in your advice about the weight selection. All too often, i see newcomers set themselves up with the same weights they use in their free weigths session.
Bodypump is all about strength and endurance, not massive weights. Sure, most weightlifters can squat most of their body weight for 3 * 10 sets, but that’s not something you can do when a typical Pump squat track has between 80 and 100 squats.
As i always tell my classes, form is more important than weights.
Again, good work and i hope you’re enjoying your classes.
Patrick
Sandi // Jul 29, 2008 at 4:12 am
Hi, I am a Body Jam addict, and recently joint Body Pump as well in order to get some more definition and burn some more calories. I am planning to do 2 a week Pump, and twice a week Body Jam. I wonder how long do I have to do Pump before I see results.
How many sessions will I have to do to start seeing some body changes?
Sandi
Adrian // Jul 29, 2008 at 11:52 am
I would a least go 3 days a week for the two weeks and make sure you are at least giving it 90 to 100% effort on your weights side of things .but still being able to keep correct form you want to walk out of there knowing you couldnt realy go any harder.
I am sure if you kept this up you would notice changes in youe body profile fairly soon. say within 3 to 4 week sessions
Nadz // Oct 11, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Hi Guys,
It was interesting to read all of your comments.
I have a question for you tho… I’ve been doing les mills step classes for a while now and absolutely love them.
However.. I did pump classes as well for about 3 weeks at one stage and started to notice i was getting bulkier. I don’t want to do that obviously.. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it all in my head? I think i must build muscle easy as i gained almost 2 kgs when i did it…. Any comments? advice? I’d like to tone… down rather than up :)
Mun // Oct 11, 2008 at 9:51 pm
To karen and Nadz: It is common to see your weight goes up a little bit after you have regularly attended Body Pump. The increase is because of the build up of your muscle which is heavier than fat.
I suggest you to incorporate cardiovascular exercise too. Try out Body Jam.
ali // Oct 12, 2008 at 2:00 am
well direct com to the point……. when u do same weight training ur bone density will go high thats y u when u weight ur self u feel that u gain 1 or 2 kg …. but chek ur body fat % i m sure ur body fat will go down and fat free mass u will gain…..
well i m teaching bodypump since 2years now…. and bodypump is low weight and high repition workout so there is no chance for gaining any weight … it will just tone ur body and gain muscels…..
if u have good food,good gym,good exercise program,good equipment, then there in no chance to gain any weight…..
fitness is battle
Karen // Oct 12, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Hi All. there is this new thingy at celebrity fitness called PowerJump. Has anyone tried it yet?
Thanks for the advice mun, i am now doing more cardio like body combat, RPM and working out on the machines.
I would like to ask for an article on women building muscles. I know women cant get as bulky as men, but i have seen some women, eg; instructors at the gym and some women on tv who have pretty decent muscles. How does one get that effect of well toned, muscular arms and thighs.
Also i just started taking a drink supplement called Sculpt. Its got whey protein and soy protein in it. It has helped me feel more energized and less hungry. Any tips on taking supplements?
thankand regards
k
ali // Oct 15, 2008 at 3:10 pm
powerjump is not new aerobic classes its called U Rebounding classes people change the name.. and i teach u rebounding classes
Shane // Oct 23, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Hope Your instruction is good and good to know more about your style of aerobics..Keep on going..Hope you to make total performance based on aerobics..
ttraynor // Nov 23, 2008 at 2:40 am
I have taken three clients out of “Bodypump World” and introduced them to proper and scientifically proven strength and conditioning training. All three changed their appearance and strength more in 6-30-minute training sessions than they did in many months of Bodypump attendance. They subsequently quit doing Bodypump and have gotten me three more clients by virtue of people noticing their physical transformation in just 3-4 weeks after starting with me.
Don’t get me wrong–it is not about ME being such a great trainer (but I am pretty good….) but more about leading them out of the hype and getting down to hard, progressive training–REAL training. Frankly, I was astounded how unconditioned, weak and physically unable to dig down and really train–practically as bad a couch-potato walking in and starting from ground-zero…Mind blowing–to the point I was motivated to make this post.
Another benefit to doing real training is that they save about 2 hours of time a week they can give back to their families, careers, etc. Your time IS your life–stop wasting it.
Wouldn’t you want to know if there was a better/best way to get fit, strong and lean? Sorry to all the “true believers”, there IS a better, more effective way to train which takes less personal time. It is what it is….