Les Mills Classes New Releases

Finally...! I think this time, my gym was the slowest in launching the new releases among the other gyms in the Klang Valley.

Here are my 2 cents about the new releases:

BODYPUMP 62
Music: Ok, not great but not too bad either. I like the songs for the warm-up (I Believe in Dreams) and chest (Rock This Party). As for the tracks, the "highlights" in this release must be the Triceps and the Lunges. I have been forewarned about these 2 and was expecting the worst. The first time doing it was always the hardest but it gets easier from then on. I went back to carrying 6kg per side for triceps since I started not feeling "so sore" from carrying the downloaded 5kg per side after a few tries. It is still one of the harder tracks but not the most difficult ones. Still, I like that it has interesting combinations of the usual extensions to pullovers and then the standing overhead extensions before finishing with 8 push-ups. Hmm..., I just hope that my arms won't turned too bulky from carrying the additional weight since 6kg is slowly turning into the norm for me now
Lunges: Again, started with lunges on the board (hmm...., seems to be a favourite in the recent BP releases) but it has something new. Backward power lunges with one foot on the step board. Although harder this way, I am not too concerned with power lunges. For some reason, I can take any form of power lunges rather well. *wink*
Others: I feel that the squats, chest, back and shoulders are on the easier side. Increased squats to 17.5kg per side and it was ok for this track Increased weights for back too to 9.5kg per side after a few classes and that was when it became more challenging. Biceps, although short (song was less than 4 mins) it wasn't as easy as I thought. For chest track, it gets challenging after the short break (but then I increased the weights to 8.5kg after the break). Shoulders not really difficult since we do not need to use the bar.

RPM
Overall impression: Feels that it is tougher than the previous release especially if the instructor goes by the book and plays the track without any breaks in between. The "star" is obviously the 5th track (interval track) with what feels like the longest ever 2-min time trail at the end. I got fooled by the instructor during the first class where the instructor lied (for her sake, she said it was "recommended" in the book) that it was only 1 minute instead of 2. So members were already pushing hard in that "1" minute which obviously stretched to 2. So at the end of it, I was barely able to breathe. From then on, I learned that the key to surviving this track is to pace yourself. Not too much too soon but yet at the same time, don't hold back too much. Track7 is also quite challenging with 5 mountain peaks.

BodyStep
OK music, I feel. Quite fun. Not overly challenging but still provides quite a good cardio workout. However, my mind always plays the late Anita Mui's "Cheong Ping San Pek Hoi" during the party track when the English version of this song plays. Believe it or not, this was the first time I heard the English version of this song.

BodyAttack
I really like Track 6, the "samba" track. Very gaya leh.... The first 4 tracks are pretty alright too. Track 5 (body-conditioning) was rather tiring with what seems like endless push-ups throughout the entire track. Ouch...! But the climax (Track 9) was a bit of a let-down though. Not challenging enough.....

Post-Marathon

Did I manage to do it? Yes, I did. Managed to attend all 3 classes (BodyAttack+BodyPump+BodyStep). Not a big deal actually, Body Attack was a shorter class of 45 minutes (where Track 8-Interval Training and Abs are excluded) so it felt more like a warm-up class for me. Continuing with my experiment with the TIMEX HRM, heart rate averaged at about 65-70% with a peak at about 85-89% towards the end of the last power track. The mediocre HR is also probably due to the fact that it was the 1st class of the evening so the studio was reasonably cold (I hate it when that gave me goosebumps). But darn, I kind of "mis-stepped" a little, causing a little sprain to the "bridge" of my left foot (the area between the arch and ball). That happened before and it could be quite a pain in the neck in the sense that it could be persistent and be a hassle when doing high-impact exercises (e.g., BodyAttack and BodyStep).

Next was BodyPump. Nothing extraordinary to mention. Average HR zone was in the 70-80% region (probably some were in the 60-70% region), highest was during the Back track, probably because I increased my weights during the last 6 lifts. Upper body felt a bit tired at the end of the track, particularly the shoulder.

Last, was BodyStep. By now, body was a little fatigued due the fact that muscles were already worked out during BodyPump. And true enough, the little "sprain" that occurred during the earlier BodyAttack class started to bother me a little but it remained hardly noticeable until the "gallopping" in the "Speed" track. Today's HR was not as high as the other day, although mostly was still in the 70-80% region with the max at about 169-172 bpm. But what I can conclude is not to underestimate BodyStep. It is easily on-par with "powerhouse" programs such as BodyAttack and RPM especially if you take on the challenge of increasing the step board to the highest level*.