How to Make BodyPump Work for You!

I am a certified Les Mills BodyPump instructor. If you're not familiar with this class, it's a 60-minute weight-based group fitness class. All the exercises are choreographed to up-beat, usually very popular music that you typically hear on the radio. The class starts out with a warm-up, then it intensifies with a squat track. Working the chest comes next, followed by a cardio-kicking back track to work everything from the shoulders to the legs. Then we sculpt the triceps and biceps, get the heart rate back up with killer lunges, then we heat up the upper back and shoulders. The entire work-out ends with an awesome abs exercise, followed by a cool down.

There are 10 exercise tracks, including the warm-up and cool down. Each track is anywhere from 3:30 to 6:00 minutes long. Most tracks have very short breaks (like no more than 10 seconds). Few tracks have NO breaks. So, obviously this is a muscular endurance class where you're lifting weight that is significantly light (about 20 percent of your maximum). However, even though the class involves light weight, the class is anything BUT easy. I have seen bulky guys who struggle with the class!

The purpose of the class is to build strength, slim down, tone up, and increase lean muscle mass. Personally, I've gained about 15 pounds of lean muscle from this class alone. If you think that you need to lift heavy in order to build muscle mass, think again! As long as you could work your muscles to fatigue, you'll get results as if you would if you were to lift heavy.

Now, in essence, BodyPump (or any similar class) is not easy. BUT, you could make it easy, and if you do, you won't get results.

Remember that there are two rules for gaining muscle and toning up: consistency and progression. If you're going to participant in BodyPump, you need to do it at least two times a week. That's the consistency part. When your muscles get used your normal weight, you need to increase the weight -- that's the progression part.

Very often I see participants who seem scared to go up on their weights. When we would transition from one track to another, I would be changing my weights while some of the participants don't even change their weights. These would be the folks who won't see results.

For instance, if you could curl 10 pounds total without breaking a sweat, then you need to up the weight to 15 pounds. Progression should be very gradual as every little bit of weight could make a big difference in your work-out. If you continue to lift 10 pounds when it's easy for you, don't expect results.

Go to class with a purpose. If you're just there to have a good time with your friends, then maybe it doesn't matter how heavy or light you go on your weights. However, if you're there to get results, then take your work-out more seriously and periodically increase your weight. These 60 minutes could absolutely rock your world if you do it right.

Aiyo A. Jones, M.S.
NCSF-Certified Fitness Trainer
http://www.21dayhealthchallenge.com