BodyPump 64 Review
Posted on Monday 26th November 2007
That’s right - it’s out - the new BodyPump 64 release from LesMills arrived tonight and here is the review for all of you back in the UK who will have to wait a little longer before getting it. This review will be in the same style as the previous reviews only this time I will be providing YouTube links to the music so you know what is in store.
Warmup: A very formulaic first track again. I know there is little they can do with the choreography but this wasn’t at all inspiring. It does work out all the major muscle groups and by the end my heart rate was up to a working range, so I suppose it did what it was intended to do. Music is: Walk Away - Tony Moran feat Kristine W.
Squats: Most of you will find this quite an easy track so consider putting on some extra weight. It’s three rounds of almost the same chore with 2 short breaks to change the width of your stance. The end of each round features a set of bottom-halves, but it isn’t quite enough to make this anything other than a medium difficulty track. They have also re-introduced the 2:2, 2 single combo last seen in BP57. Glen was harking back to his childhood with a (poor quality) remix of Boston’s More than a Feeling.
Chest: This was a little different, and quite a tough track. The start is simple enough with two rounds of straightforward chore (including the 2:2, 2 single combo again) before the break. In the normal scheme of things you would expect just one more round and that would be it. Expecting that I was ready to declare this an easy track before the sting in the tail caught me by surprise. There are actually 2 rounds after the break with the final one being in reverse - i.e: start moves from the bottom. By the end I was absolutely killed especially since I’ve recently gone up to 3 reds and a blue. Music is In Love With You by Freestylers.
Back: This is quite a short track, almost in the same league as BP55. It starts with a short round with an underhand grip. Then it’s 2 rounds with a break between. The significant new feature is that each round has 6 clean-and-presses. I found that the limiting factor is grip strength as I wasn’t really out-of-breath at the end but my forearms were on fire. Music: See the Light - Paradise.
Triceps: LesMills are trying to mix this one up. Rather than starting on the box and finishing with extras it switches that around. The first round is dips, followed by overhead extensions before lying down. You have to be quick as the transitions are quick, so for an extra challenge try putting the handweights you will use for the overhead extensions on your lap while doing the dips. On the box there is a combination of extensions and single presses. Overall not a particularly challenging track. Music is the antipodean INXS with Hungry.
Biceps: This is a reasonably easy track. It follows a standard 3 round approach with a break after the second. The beat is fairly slow so even the singles don’t feel that rushed. The first two rounds have bottom-half pulses and full-range singles feature in the latter-two rounds. LesMills suggests that you add an extra yellow for the final round to provide an extra challenge. I didn’t tonight as I wasn’t sure what to expect after the break but may try this option in the future. Having said that I’m finding 2 reds hard enough as it is! Music: Hey Everybody - Bomfunk MC’s.
Lunges: And now for something different. This track starts simply enough with 2 rounds of static lunges with the bar. Then comes the difference: the dynamic lunges are both back and forward which require a lot of core strength and balance so are a welcome addition to add difficulty to the discipline. You will need a lot of floorspace to do these properly, which isn’t always available in a packed studio. Despite that it was quite an easy track overall. Music was a crap cover by Milk Inc of A-ha’s Sun Always Shines on TV..
Shoulders: Those who find shoulders difficult will be happy to know that there are no press-ups. In fact this is quite a short track with a 2 sets of upright rows then shoulder presses. They re-introduce the 2:2, 2 single combo in the shoulder press, before moving onto some lateral raises. Then it’s back to the shoulder presses to finish. They suggest you stick with the handweights, but since the last set of presses is quite short I think it would be reasonable to go back to the bar. Music is the grungy Keep your Hands off my Girl by Good Charlotte.
Abs: This is yet another rather easy track. It starts with the forward bar-roll from 63 before moving onto crunches. I don’t find the bar-roll that difficult even with reasonable range so would like to go back to the leg extensions of BP55 or 58. The crunch set is quite short and rather unchallenging. I tried doing bicycle kicks with the twists to add some resistance but it still wasn’t enough even with 10kg on my chest. We hark back to 1994 with Ini Kamoze’s Here comes the Hotstepper.
Warm-down: A reasonable track in terms of movements and muscles stretched. They keep concentrating too much on the lower body and not enough on the arms and shoulders. I’m not sure why we have to do 3 different back and gluteal stretches, but I guess Glen must like doing these. It was also quite a short track by comparison to many other releases which must mean they are worried about instructors over-running. Another Christina Aguillera track - Hurt - isn’t really suited to a warm-down. It is insipid and not that relaxing, so I wasn’t too upset when it finished early.
So, overall impressions? I liked the new choreography in Chest, Triceps and Lunges, but otherwise this release was nothing special. My main grumble is the poor music choice. In many tracks the beat is either two slow to be motivating, or simply doesn’t fit with the choreography. This is probably the worst yet and represents a steady decline in music quality since Glen took over from Mike. It’s a shame as this would have been an enjoyable release if it were not for the uninspiring soundtrack. In a class like BodyPump, the music is everything and drives the pace and choreography. If this isn’t available then the class does rather fall flat.
Perhaps you will like it better than me, so once you have had a go please post your comments or reviews.
Look forward to doing the new release shortly when it comes out thanks for the review Ric will give you my comments seems challenging
Was hunting out info on BP65 and came across your site.
I wasn’t keen on the BP64 music at all when we started doing it in Jan but it really grew on me. Alarmingly, I’ve gone from thinking the Aha cover was crap to having it as the Power Song on my iPod since it makes me run faster.
The chest track has grown on me too.
For once, I’ll almost be sad to see a release go especially if 65 is as brutal as it sounds!