My first experience walking blindly into a BodyPump class....

 Yesterday was my first time into a gym class after not attending gym for about 5-6 years. I have since then grown fat and put on weight. Joining Livesmart360 gave me the energy and the inspiration to join a gym and prove my worth and also be role model.

All these while the only classes I joined were Pilates and Yoga and an Aerobic class or two, and Belly Dancing... And I foolishly walked into a BodyPump class... hahaha.. I am also laughing at myself...

And oh my gosh... what a shock it was, but geared for a challenge, I followed the class to the end diligently.. or at least 98%... faltering at the end... and almost feeling faint towards the end of the session. It was truly a bootcamp kinda thingie... and my muscles and body are all screaming from the over work out....  and when it was over, I felt like I was walking on rubbery legs...

But well.. it was kinda interesting and challenging but/and I am so gonna do it again, my own promise and keeping up to my New Year's resolution.. next week... I need my fit body back and quick!!!!!

According to the wikipedia, the BodyPump classes are performed to music using free weights-plates, barbells and an aerobic step. Participants choose their weights based on the exercise and their personal goals. Major muscle groups are worked via series of compound and isolation-based exercises including squats, presses, dead lifts. The focus is towards muscle endurance using several repetitionsThe full BodyPump class consists of 10 tracks, each (except for tracks 1 and 10) targeting a specific muscle group. The full class (including time between tracks for weight changes) runs for 60 minutes.

For the 60-minute format, the class is arranged to the 8 tracks on a CD produced by the company, timed to allow for around 60 minutes of exercise and 2 minutes of weight changes between tracks.

• Track 1: Provides a warm-up with the lowest weight of the class. During the warm-up, most muscle groups are trained in short succession, and stance and barbell grip is often changed when cycling through all different exercises.
• Track 2: Squats. This track targets the legs, notably the quadriceps and glutes and participants are advised to use the highest weight of the entire class. A typical weight for squats ranges between two and three times the warm-up weight. The weight is placed in the neck of the participant.
• Track 3: Chest. In this track, participants are invited to lie on their backs on a step, and perform chest presses with the barbell. Sometimes, depending on the choreography of the release, these are combines with chest push-ups. A typical weight will be around 1,5 times the warm-up weight.
• Track 4: Back. In this track, participants stand up and train the muscles of their back. Exercises performed vary from release to release, but mostly contain dead lifts, dead rows and sometimes clean-and-presses. A typical weight selection will be between chest and squat weight.
• Track 5: Triceps. As the first of the smaller muscle training, participants will select a lower weight, usually slightly above warm-up weight and perform triceps exercises. These change per release, but mostly consist of triceps extensions with a barbell, triceps pushups, kickbacks with a single free weight and dips on a step.
• Track 6: Biceps. After the triceps, participants stand up again and use the barbell to do bicep crunches and sometimes bicep dead rows. Mostly, the weight will remain the same as for triceps, or slightly more.
• Track 7: Lunges. Participants take on a heavier weight, usually the same as for the chest track to train the legs again. In this track, squats can be included but most of the time will be spent doing lunges to train the butt and the glutes. These lunges can be performed with the barbell in the neck, or without a barbell but by adding a plyometric element by jumping at the end of the lunge.
• Track 8: Shoulders. The participants select a weight comparable to their warm-up weight on the barbell, and two free weights. The track traditionally starts with pushups, after which the participants use free weights for shoulder raises, either to the side or to the front. At the end, the bar is used for upright or overhead presses, with a heavier weight than using free weights only. Sometimes the choreography adds another set of pushups at the end.
• Track 9: Abdominals and core. Usually no weights are used, and participants perform abdominal crunches or planks to strengthen the core.
• Track 10: Cool down and stretching.

A new BodyPump release, consisting of new music and choreography, is developed and released to health clubs and instructors every three months. Muscle groups are always worked in the same order as stated in the Les Mills Instructor Resources, allowing for consistency across releases. Instructors can choose to work with one release, or mix tracks from multiple releases, to target strength endurance gains for their particular class. Instructors and trainers are provided with guidance from Les Mills International regarding the mixing of tracks for classes. The pre-choreographed class meets the Les Mills methodology that students will find a more consistent experience when attending a BodyPump class in any location around the world.

Music is used to create a "musical journey" that guides and encourages participants through the work out. A normal class consists of 10 tracks each lasting between 4 and 6 minutes. These are usually cover versions or re-mixes of popular chart or classic rock releases. The tracks are mixed to allow for an aerobic block count of 32 beats and will vary in speed depending on the exercise being performed. The music is choreographed and (with the exception of the first and last track which are used for warm up and stretch/ cool down purposes respectively) each track targets a different muscle group. The tracks, in order, follow the format of: warm up, legs/squats, chest, back, triceps, biceps, lunges, shoulders, abdominals and finally a cool down encompassing a variety of stretches. Between each track there is a short interval to allow for stretching the muscle just exercised, change weights for the next track and to allow the instructor to brief the next exercise.

Due to the nature of the program maximum heart rate (MHR) increases in different phases.In addition, the aerobic capacity changes are based on music selection beats per minute (BPM).