Les Mills On Demand Review
This isn’t a sponsored post, but my friends at Les Mills offered you a free 21-day trial! Get yours here. It’s such a fun way to get in workouts at home or while you’re traveling.
When I’m home with the girls, workouts can be hit or miss. P only goes to school for half days – fellow mom friends know that’s just enough time to eat breakfast, run an errand or two, and it’s time to go back – but on the two days she stays for lunch, I can squeeze in a workout. On the half days, I work out at home. This is what I’ll also be doing now that summer is here and they’ll only be at camp for half days.
I’m so thankful for options I can do while the girls play, whether it’s a ride on my Peloton bike or an on demand workout. I usually start a workout with zero expectations, so if something happens and I can’t finish it’s NBD, but I find that I’m usually pleasantly surprised. It’s not too bad to sneak in a workout with the girls at home if I need to, and I feel like when they see my exercise here and there, they notice that it’s a priority for me to move and be active.
Recently, I got to check out the new platform for Les Mills On Demand and was so PUMPED (<— pun?) by the variety and the quality of classes. When I first tried it out, I was pregnant with P, and the available classes were awesome, but they were different from what’s currently available. Many of the classes were the same videos we receive as instructor training, and sometimes it didn’t translate just right for an at-home workout. They’ve completely revamped the site, added new classes (including classes that were specifically filmed for On Demand), and it’s such a great way to shake up your routine and get an awesome sweat at home. They have over 600 classes to choose from!!
Here are some of my favorite workouts:
BODYPUMP:
BODYPUMP is the muscular endurance barbell workout that I fell in love with years ago. It continues to get better over time as they add more recent tracks and new exercises to the format. They offer tutorials on the common BODYPUMP exercises, along with shorter classes (for example, 30-minute remixes and classes focused on solely upper body or lower body). There are also a ton of the hour-long classic classes, which I love.
BODYFLOW:
This was my first time taking a BODYFLOW class and I really enjoyed this fusion of yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates. They incorporate breathing elements into the flow, and I felt calm and centered when it was over. As someone who doesn’t like to hold poses for a long time, it felt great to MOVE and breathe the entire time. I’ll definitely be adding this one into my rotation.
BODYATTACK:
OMG. BODYATTACK makes me feel like a fierce ninja. The movements sync so perfectly with the music, and I feel like it hypes me up with endorphins. This class is focused on conditioning, strength and agility moves, so you’ll do burpees, squats, and push-ups in between cardio drills and agility work. This workout felt extremely balanced and INTENSE. I can’t wait to do it again this week!
Les Mills GRIT:
I’ve had the opportunity to take live GRIT classes at the IDEA conferences, and they destroy me in the best way possible. They’re a 30-minute High Intensity Interval Training workout, and they offer three varieties: cardio, strength, and plyo.
More of the classes they offer On Demand:
BODYCOMBAT
CXWORX
SPRINT (cycling)
RPM and Immersive Cycling (The Trip)
SH’BAM
BARRE
DANCE (hip hop, contemporary, and house)
You guys. There’s so much to choose from. I’m so excited to continue to try out new workouts, especially since our gym doesn’t offer Les Mills classes.
Pros about Les Mills On Demand:
– My #1 favorite thing about Les Mills is their dedication to safety. All of their classes are designed with purpose and tested for effectiveness, safety, and motivational techniques. I also love that they hold their instructors to such high standards. It was the most challenging and informative certification process that I’ve completed. The videos are lead by master trainers, who inspire me to be a better instructor every time I take a class.
– If you click on a workout, they break it all down for you. You’ll know what equipment you need, the song tracks, and the exercises beforehand. This is perfect for those who want to avoid certain exercises for injury purposes (though they do provide modifications), or like to know what they’re doing in advance.
– The comments section is a gold star. You can read what fellow participants thought of the workout. 🙂
Cons:
Some of the formats require equipment, which you can purchase through the website. Usually it’s not a big deal – especially if you have some dumbbells and a mat at home – but you may need to seriously modify or skip a small few of the formats. For example, I don’t have a step, so I didn’t try any of the BODYSTEP workouts.
I’ll be incorporating some of these workouts in Summer Shape Up (as backup options when you don’t want to do the official workout or would like to switch it up), and here’s a plan I put together for the next few weeks until the Shape Up begins.
I was so excited when Les Mills offered to share a free 21-day trail with you through my referral link. Click here to set it up! I hope you love it as much as I do.
Have you tried Les Mills before? What’s your favorite format?
xo
Gina
29 Comments
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I have been going back and forth about signing up for a couple years but the biggest thing holding me is I only have dumbbells and a mat ! I used to go to the gym loved the classes
You can do so many of the workouts with just those two things!
I haven’t tried Les Mills before but always wanted to! I really need to get back to a good strength training routine because I’ve been focusing a bit too much on cardio (it’s so much more convenient), so this seems perfect! On an unrelated note, have you watched The Rain on Netflix? Martin looks like he could be The Pilot’s twin. Look it up if you haven’t seen it!
No I haven’t seen it! Googling now..
I wish it was available in Canada! Looks like it would be perfect for those days when I don’t have time to get to the gym.
Ahhh I’m sorry it’s not available!
It just became available in Canada
I was a member at Les Mills for a few months (at the actual gyms) and while I love the classes, I found their schedule didn’t work great for the classes I could take while dealing with ongoing ankle issues. On demand would definitely fix that problem. Hopefully they’ve revamped their barre class because I found it to be lackluster. I was so excited to see it on the schedule expecting a barre3 type class and there were zero shakes and quakes.
Yes, I think it’s more dance-y than traditional barre classes. Even so, there are so many awesome formats I love!
I’m interested in The trip! What would be a great stationary bike?
This sounds awesome! I no longer live near a gym with body pump and I miss it. Opinion on what weights I would need to pull it off minus having a whole barbell set?
I usually get away with having a moderate set – 12s because there are so many biceps curls or 15s – and one heavy ond like 20-25 for squats and back
Thanks so much for this post. I immediately signed up for the trial. I am totally frugal when it comes to fitness and have been loving Sydney Cummings on YouTube (she posts a new work out EVERYDAY and they are awesome), but I have been wanting to mix it up too. These work outs are intense, and the accents are fun 🙂 I was not expecting to like it because I pretty much have a strong disdain over all the beach body workouts but these are way better! They may have gotten a subscriber out of me.
i totally agree- i think the workouts are way more fun! i’m so happy you’re enjoying them so far.
Hi Gina! I love Les Mills classes! My gym used to offer them. I used to do body attack, pump and body flow several times a week. My gym stopped offering them and I also got a peloton which I love but miss the strength training I got from Les Mills.
At home classes are the perfect alternative! I can’t wait to sign up and get started!
Thanks so much. I had no idea they even existed!
my current gym is at least half (maybe a bit more) of les mills classes and i love them! so much variety, and i completely agree…the instructors are trained to be top notch. might be needing to get this as i’m moving soon, and i’m glad to know it would be worth it!
Does the revamp include bodypump videos with real music that is on the radio with words? Or just techno-ish stuff? That was my problem with the OnDemand version before, I need the words!
Thanks very much for sharing! From your experience, which (types of) videos would you suggest for pregnancy? Assuming someone is healthy, active, and their doctor has no concerns re: exercise, of course! Thank you.
I have beachbody on demand, but no LES MILLS!! Is this a separate monthly fee??
yes, it’s a different company! entirely different workout
ughh thank u!! have a great weekend..thank u for getting back to me!! xo
Do you just pick any bodypump workout each week ? Like for the workouts do you just rotate the workouts and make a schedule that way ?
yep, that’s absolutely it!
Do you notice a big difference between using the barbell vs using free weights? I like using the bar in bodypump class but don’t have one at home. Any recommendations for doing it with free weights?
Body Pump instructor here 🙂
I actually like doing Bodypump at home with dumbbells and then use the barbell in class – I find training with dumbbells helps both sides work equally, whereas with the bar, our stronger side can help more than the weaker one without us even realizing it (I think Gina said this on the blog when she did a focus on BP post a long time ago!). Many of the newer BP releases also use plates without the bar for some sets so you won’t have to modify too much to use dumbbells. The biggest difference is that it’s hard to go as heavy with Squats and Back 🙂
Love LMOD!
I’d love to see you do a focus on post about the Les Mills cycle workouts (I bet you’d love SPRINT, it’s soooo hard and good). I teach Pump, Combat, SPRINT, and RPM, and adding the 2 cycle formats to my workouts has made a huge difference in my overall fitness 🙂
Do you know how to take advantage of the 30 day free trial? When I click through your partner link, the first page says 30 day free trial. Then it sneakily switches to a 14 day trial. And when I click the Help / Support Contact Us no link, I was taken to a page whose button said Feedback rather than Submit. I’m feeling as though this is a bait and switch practice, and it’s not leaving a very good feeling even though everything above seems like it’s exactly what I’m seeking.
hi meredith,
i’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. would you mind sending me a couple of screenshots? fitnessista@gmail.com
i can reach out to tech ASAP and see what’s going on
thank you!
Been a member for a couple of months now. Great review by the way.