Has anyone tried a Bodypump class? I tried it for the very first time at my gym today, with a friend, and loved it. If your gym offers it, I would recommend giving it a whirl :)
I'm a believer. Even though I know it's hardly healthy, I pump five times a week - it's the best hour of the day.
I LOVE bodypump! I rave about it to all of my friends who, when they finally try it, hate it because it has a lot of upper body work and they're scared about bulking up. So not true. The women in class who've been at it for months look amazing.
I like to go once a week and do free-weights two other times in the week. I think it's a good way to mix up low weight-high reps with high weight-low reps.
What kind of weights do you people use? Here are mine for Bodypump 66:
- warm-up 5 kg per side
- squats 10 kg
- chest 5 kg
- back 7,5 kg
- triceps 4,5 kg
- biceps 4 kg
- lunges ~5 kg
- shoulders 3 kg
I am addicted to the lesmills classes -- I do Pump 2 or 3 times -- and my FAVORITE is Combat -- I do that three times a week. Flow is really nice too - esp. the new release. Do y'alls gym's have any of the other lesmills classes?
How are you logging Pump? I used "circuit training" and put in 55 mins... I wasn't really sure what would be most accurated. I don't use tons of weight, but it's still a real challenge for me (esp. as I am a tiny person)
My BP Weights ---
- warm up - 1 kg per side
- squats - 2.5 kg per side
- chest - 1 kg per side
- back - 2 kg per side
- triceps -1 kg per side
- biceps - 1 kg per side (I might up this to 2)
- lunges - 1 kg per side (same here...)
- shoulders - 2lb free weights in each hand
I know I look like a wimp - but I'm really fatigued by the end of each set for just about every one one of these. I only weigh like 48.5 kg myself after all.
I've heard Bodypump only burns about 390 calories per hour, so if I were to log it, I'd use weight lifting - vigorous effort (I have my activity level set high enough so I don't log my daily workouts). If I recall correctly, circuit training has a far higher amount of calories burned per hour? It obviously depends on your body composition and weights as well.
You don't look like a wimp to me! You know who does? The posers who pile on way too much weight to show off and then end up cheating on all the moves with terrible technique 'cause they can't handle the load. Please. Anyway, Bodypump is hard work regardless of your weights of choice.
Actually, my instructor just shared a story about how she took her mother to a BP class once and her mother insisted on using only 1 kg per side throughout the class despite recommendations from her daughter to add at least another kilo. The next day her mom had to ask her husband to flush the toilet for her because she was so worn out from her workout!
Any thoughts on program 66? I miss the squats and abs from 65, these new moves are a bit too easy. The new program is heavy on the shoulders, which has been giving me great results I can see already. I love the clean and press in the back track, love the push-ups and tricep dips! Lunges on the board are a great addition too, you're kicking your butt through the whole song. Biceps are kind of lame and there's even a break, but maybe this is my cue to add more weights.
Hey eveliina -- you're so right about the posers. We had a woman -- get this -- actually _answer her cell phone_ and try to keep lifting with it under her ear! #@$@!? Not only rude -- but just DUMB. She's probably in her mid to early fifties, wears a TON of makeup and bright colored walmart workout gear. It's kind of hilarious really.
I just got back from class, actually. I used 2kg for the lunches which was a great challenge -- but I dunno, I still find the biceps pretty challenging. They are slow for sure, so it is a break in that way - but I don't think I can up it and complete that many sets... I decided I def need to go up to 2kg/side for chest...
As for the new release... I think the new music is so cheesy! (On your way to the disco!) I kinda like it anyway, though. I do love the clean and press!
Also -- when I logged 55 mis of circuit training it said I burned 354 -- so that sounds about right, yeah?
I am a Body Pump instructor and I love love love it!!!! It truly is such a great class! I have to teach it two times today which is a crazy thing to do and I totally don't reccomend that but it really is fun and a huge calorie burner. For all of you who haven't tried it definitely do. I now have the V shape in my shoulder and I owe it all to BP!!!
I love Body Pump! I've been doing it for a couple of months now and am seeing some differences in the way my body looks.
The only track I cant go up on weights is my triceps...so hard =(
I love this class! I just joined my gym a little over a week ago and in my orientation session with a trainer the class was starting so she encouraged me to try it. I've only gone once, last Monday, because I was too sore to move the next couple days! I'm going again tomorrow morning and I hope I'll be able to make it Thursday morning as well (pending my arms being able to move...) :)
How do you people get the bar off your back after squats? I could easily load on some more weight, except that I can't hoist the thing off my shoulders safely after the track is over.
Hey alwhite -- they don't sell the equipment and the dvd's except to gyms. Some unscrupulous instructors sell the DVDs they are given to learn the choreo on ebay. That is illegal, of course, and they are usually taken down. Because they are hard to come by the go for very high prices. You can also find torrents of many of the DVDs online - also illegal - but free. Of course, a BodyPump DVD isn't much good to you without the equipment. And of course, half of what makes the classes so great is the group environment and the live encouragement of the teacher and other participants!
Has anyone else had the chance to try release 67 yet? My senior instructor has special permission to train with 67 and I got my first taste of it this morning at 8 am (let me tell you, when the alarm goes off at 6:50 and you know you have to walk through the rain to the gym, that calls for some serious motivation :)).
The warm-up was typical save for the slowest lunges in 6 years and a wide grip row. Squats were run-of-the-mill, no surprises there. The chest track had a catchy beat, no push-ups whatsoever and three pretty tight rounds of honest bench-pressing. The only change I noticed in the back track was the music, apart from that it was your usual 16 clean&presses, deadlifts and deadrows. No more dips in the tricep track, lots of pullovers and as a new addition kick-backs. Biceps went through a make-over with bicep rows (you heard me) and some new tricks, lunges were done on the board and they started off with weights and ended with hyperfast dynamic lunges, watch out for those! Shoulders had some push-ups with a different tempo, military presses etc. No static planks in the abs.
All in all I think this will be a great release once I up my weights a bit, the first time with a new program I gotta go light lest I end up running out of energy in the middle of a track. There's a lot of potential to increase weights for the chest, back and biceps.
Ok I know I'm going to hear a bunch of Bodypump meltdowns, but you guys have to realize that flinging around light weights for an hour is way less effective than doing traditional weight lifting. I go nuts reading these threads because your time could be so much better used doing three sets of heavy squats rather than five minutes of light squats.
To answer the question, yes I've tried classes like this. No, I didn't like it because it doesn't build muscle effectively, it just makes you really good and doing lots of reps with light weights.
spirochete, why being "really good in doing lots of reps with light weights" is so bad?
I LOVE BodyPump, totally addicted to it. I've been doing it for a year now, 3x/week for the last 9 months.
My current weights are
- warm up - 3.5 kg per side
- squats - 8.5 kg per side
- chest - 5 kg per side
- back - 6 kg per side
- triceps -3.5 kg per side
- biceps - 3.5 kg per side
- lunges - 7.5 kg per side
- shoulders - 2.5 kg disks in each hand
I know 37 lbs for squats (8.5 kg x 2) is ridiculous for serious weight lifting, but it's ENDURANCE training. I weigh 100 lbs and I think the fact that I can squat for 5-6 minutes with 37% of my body weight doesn't exactly show I'm weak, does it?
Weight lifting for strength and endurance achieve different goals, it doesn't mean one is worse than the other.
I plan on adding some real strength training to my workouts, but I'm not going to quit Pump. I have become sooo much stronger during the last year! I am sure I could have achieved much better results strength-wise if I were traditional weight lifting, but I'm more interested in endurance. I truly think it's more important in our everyday life.
There's one more factor - it's FUN!!! Great music, a room full of people with the same goal doing everything in unison, you can almost see the energy in the air :) I love being part of this.
I don't feel like I'm wasting time doing this for an hour as opposed to doing the "traditional" thing for 30 minutes in the weight lifting area in the company of my iPod. Pump is MUCH more satisfying. My goal is not to deadlift 200 lbs and lose 5% of bodyfat in 3 months. My primary goal is to enjoy my workout so that I want to come back, only after that comes bodyfat, increasing weights and building muscle.
Any exercise you do is the best one so whatever works; Bodypump, world champion garden hose lasso or whatever. Just get moving
Hyperbole like "I don't want to deadlift 200lbs" doesn't really mean anything, since it's already been stated a reason people take this class is to feel strong.
If your goal is to be really good at Bodypump, then you're right. Traditional strength training is not what you should be doing. If your goal is to keep muscle while losing weight or even to grow muscle then Bodypump is NOT the better choice.
I'll never understand why people get so bent out of shape over Bodypump. It's great that people like it and they go. It's summer so I'm running like a fiend. It's TERRIBLE for fat loss because I'm actually losing muscle and not losing any more fat than if I just ate less. I'm not going to sit here and defend it because I love running. I'd run 3 hours a day if I had the time.
Original Post by spirochete:
Ok I know I'm going to hear a bunch of Bodypump meltdowns, but you guys have to realize that flinging around light weights for an hour is way less effective than doing traditional weight lifting. I go nuts reading these threads because your time could be so much better used doing three sets of heavy squats rather than five minutes of light squats.
Talking about endurance exercise I know I'm going to hear a bunch of weight lifting meltdowns.. Your time could be so much better used sharing your weight lifting expertise with people whose goals it caters to. I'm well aware that you can't improve in both fields simultaneously, but for me BodyPump and endurance training in general is something I do in addition to, not instead of serious weight lifting (what I lift at the gym makes the 22 kg I use in BodyPump look only marginally heavier than a loaf of bread) and apart from having to prioritize, I don't see how the two types of exercise are in any way mutually exclusive. I doubt you'll find anyone at a BP class or on this thread labouring under the assumption that the class is worthwhile if you're aiming for muscle hypertrophy and if you do, I bet your advice would be better received sans the slightly condescending tone.
spirochete:
Hyperbole like "I don't want to deadlift 200lbs" doesn't really mean anything, since it's already been stated a reason people take this class is to feel strong.
What's hyperbolic about that statement? I'll be the first to admit that back when I started going to BodyPump I hadn't a clue even as to what a deadlift was and now I'm amused when I recall being really impressed with my 15 kilo weights, but I had to start somewhere and BP was great for learning the right techniques under an expert's instruction and offered a great stepping stone to upgrading to the free weight area (seeing as I was interested in traditional lifting as well). For some people the feeling of being completely exhausted from 50 minutes of pushing yourself to your personal limits and then managing to eek out 8 military presses on top of that counts as feeling strong regardless of their choice of weights, even if that doesn't correlate with your eperiences.
Most people who go to Body Pump labor under the misapprehension that it's strength training, but it's not even strength endurance training - more than 20 reps is cardio. It may be endurance-strength cardio, but it doesn't belong in the strength training conceptual corner at all no matter what the Les Mills marketing material says. You're well aware of this, but most people aren't.
But at the same time, BP is good for teaching good form for the exercises, even if the loads and training parameters used disqualifies it from being strength training.
However, what Spirochete is pointing out in her inimitable style is that for fat loss purposes, actual, real strength training using proper, heavy weights and a sub-12 rep range is multiple times better for fat loss than any type of cardio you care to name, including the body Pump version.
You're correct in thinking that BP isn't much good for muscular hypertrophy, however, you're incorrect in thinking that it's any good for fat loss or muscle retention in a dieting situation. Like all cardio, it's insufficient stimulation for your muscles to encourage your body to retain muscle in a calorie deficit, which is the whole point of strength training for dieters.
Which makes it extremely ineffective training for the goal most common among dieters on this site - losing fat. any results you've had are entirely due to your real strength training, the endurance training over in BP classes haven't made a difference as far as fat loss is concerned.
Now, if you're a martial artist using weight training as a conditioning tool for your chosen sport, the cardio and anaerobic conditioning you get from endurance training with weights has a lot of carryover to your sport and is a useful tool for you. But outside of that fairly narrow exception, BP is hype with only very little substance inasmuch as you at least learn correct form for most exercies.
Overall though, BP has the trappings of resistance training but not the substance.
