RickInOz

Well, it’s that time again. The new BodyPump release 65 was launched at our gym tonight. As has become tradition, admittedly only a year old one but a tradition nevertheless, I present my review for “The Lads” and other interested people who will have to wait a little longer for their turn.

Warmup: A fairly upbeat track that covers all the main moves, but adds nothing new. They treat the legs fairly lightly to spare them for the squats track. Music: Way Of Life – Slinkee Minx

Squats: This is a moderately tough track. There are a lot of bottom-half reps mixed into the track with a 12-rep set as a sting in the tail. The choreography mixes up the slow and quick moves well and allows a couple of short breaks in unexpected places. Music: Just Like Paradise (Skitz Clubb Mixx) – Nick Skitz

Chest: Be warned this is one tough track. It’s been a while since I’ve been unable to finish a chest track, but I couldn’t quite push out the last few singles tonight. It’s essentially 3 long rounds with 2 sets of bottom-halves per round. To add to the pain, there is no break and it is quite a long track, so get ready to pull out extra stamina. Music: Breakaway (Chris Fraser Radio Edit) – Inaya Day

Back: Another tough track. As with the back track in 63 it’s not particularly cardio-intensive, but I still struggled. As before there are a lot of wide-grip rows and dead-lifts so my forearms were on fire by the end. Only 3 sets of 4 clean-and-presses failed to get my heart-rate above 170, so don’t expect this to be a big calorie burner. The beginning of the track was a bit strange as the choreography didn’t match the music at all, but after the first chorus (with obligatory clean-and-presses) it sorted itself out. Yet another anonymous Euro-cheese track: Wanna Be Free – Paradise

Triceps: This is the first track to try something new. It starts simply enough on the box with extensions and presses, but each of the first 2 rounds ends with a “transition” move. This comprises a press held at the bottom, followed by the pullover from 62, before pushing up to the top of the extension range. The track finishes with some seated overhead extensions with a slow-range/single combo. Overall it’s not that hard depending on how much you lift in the final round. Music: Get Down Feat. Stush – Groove Armada

Biceps: I was warned in advance that this was a tough track, but it wasn’t that bad. It has quite a slow pace and lots of 2/2 and 3/1 ranges so doesn’t stress the arms that much. There is a new combo of a half-range hold, top hold, slow down, then 2 singles. This mixes moves seen in previous releases, but I’ve not done this exact combo before. There are also 2 set of bottom-half reps to add a little burn factor. The added challenge of this track is the lack of break, and by the end my arms definitely had that “Pump” feeling. Music: Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast – Airbourne

Lunges: Another tough track. It starts with front and back dynamic lunges as introduced in the previous release. Then onto static lunges with the usual variety of rep speeds. I wasn’t doing too badly until the end of the first round with a slow range, hold at the bottom for 4 counts, before a slow rise. It was even worse at the end of the second round. This is definitely a return to form for LesMills, as some of the recent lunge tracks have been a little soft. Music: Blinded By The Light – Michael Mind feat. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band

Shoulders: This one has the potential to be a tough one if you push hard enough. It starts with press-ups before moving onto plate-work. We see another welcome return of the Mac-raise, and there are a lot of them. As if there weren’t enough lateral raises with the Mac-raises, we get some more before moving onto overhead presses. You can use the bar for the last stretch, and I did tonight, but most will stick with handweights. Music: Meet Her At The Love Parade 2007 (Club Mix) – DJ Aligator

Abs: This is the weak point of the release. Having just killed the shoulders this track starts with a long hover. The hold is broken up into side holds with the option of raising the top leg. In normal circumstances I like the hover and can achieve good form, but tonight I was struggling badly due to shoulder fatigue. As blessed relief there is a simple set of crunches to close. Music: Stronger (Radio Edit) – Kanye West

Warmdown: I enjoyed this much more than the insipid offering from 64. The music was more relaxing and has a more optimistic message. As always they cover all the main muscle groups and it provides a nice counterpoint to the intensity of the rest of the release. Music: Like The Sun – RyanDan

So overall impressions? On balance I liked this release far more than the previous one. The music was far more uplifting in general and certainly a better range and choice. There were also some interesting choreography additions like the new combo in triceps and biceps and the holds in the lunge track.

This release is certainly challenging. Some may find it too much so, and I would imagine that newbies would find the scarcity of breaks make it daunting. They definitely dropped the ball by having the hover as the initial round of the abs track. Logical choreography would have moved it to the end to give the shoulders a break. I know Glen is trying to increase the overall intensity of the class, but they are at risk of going too far with their obsessive mantra: “Big”.

It’s been a while since I’ve heard other people’s opinions, and am still waiting for comments on release 63 and 64 – hint, hint!