Pump it Up
Heyyyyyy 
How are you friends?
This morning, I munched some tea and brown rice toast:
and met up with two work friends to take a Dance Cardio class, followed by BodyPump.
Dance Cardio was a BLAST –during “free style” we took turns ambushing people by shaking and dancing around them- and BodyPump….
owned me.
Holy hell.
I’ve been slacking a little bit in the weights department lately, and every muscle I own was trembling after class! They remembered very quickly what it’s like to burn out.
Here’s how BodyPump goes:
-You grab a step, not for step aerobics purposes, but to lay on for chest and tricep exercises
-You’ll also need a mat and a Body bar with flat weights clipped in place. You’ll usually want to have a light and heavy one on each side so you can adjust as necessary
-Each track represents a specific muscle group. You do high reps, alternate your weights cadence and let your muscles scream for mercy. Today we did: warm up, squats, chest, shoulders, back, lunges, abs, triceps and biceps.
The verdict? I LOVED it. It’s a great choice for people who aren’t familiar with weight lifting enough to do it on their own and the pros can bump it up by adding more weight. The fact that you can adjust the weights to suit your needs means that your muscles will keep guessing and you won’t plateau as quickly.
The only con I can think of was that the music was ultra lame. The instructor was fabulous, but the music was groan-y.
Also, I have a gym rant of the day: fellow fitness instructors, just because someone gives you a mic does not mean that you need to sing (badly) into it. Class does not equal karaoke. Thank you.
I’ll definitely be back and can already tell I’m going to be sooooooooo sore. Lurve.
I ate this bad johnny in the car:
-1/2 C steel-cut GF oats (Bob’s Red Mill brand)
-1 scoop Sun Warrior
-frozen organic blueberries
-Stevia, cinnamon, pinch of sea salt
-blob of almond butter
Since I’m out and about, I packed up a beast to munch later:
-greens
-grilled wild salmon
-tomatoes
-bell pepper
-rosemary
-balsamic dressing
Perfection.
Well I’m off to walk the puppers and then make roons. Meet me back here in the morning for a lil giveaway
xoxo
Gina
Random: Is this fix-able? Or do I need to order a new one? The strap on my Fast in Flight bag unsnapped last night while I was walking into the house and my camera went flying :/ The macro lens is now in two pieces….
66 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I LOVE BodyPump!! I get kinda bored lifting weights on my own so strength training classes are my saving grace! We don’t offer BodyPump at my gym, but I teach a barbell class that is very similar.
Glad you liked it! And I’m cracking up at the karaoke comment. We have an instructor like that at our gym. Even worse is she sounds like she smoked for years so she has a raspy, bad singing voice.
Okay I need to try this tomorrow!! I’ve read three people’s posts about the pump today. Blogworld is telling me to go 🙂
it’s destiny 🙂
I remember struggling to sit down when I took my first class =] So worth it though!
Oh wow Gina you met my first love! Body Pump! When I was in New Zealand for a month last year I was lucky to go to the gym where it all began and where each new series is produced and released (and partied with the staff heehee). Seriously, I AM familiar with free weight training but OMG, Body Pump has given me the most success is reshaping and toning my body (coupled with spin and boxing). And usually the music is really good! You should google the different music tracklists and see which one you like (unless the instructor has used their own which they shouldn’t have) but the music is usually pop stuff like P!nk, JT etc. Very interesting to note through, through all my travels, despite Les Mills instructors having to be trained specifically, that classes can and do vary from gym to gym. Sooo excited you gave it a try!
Every instructor I’ve ever had has sung into the microphone during the class and used lame music – it must be a Body Pump thing! But, I do enjoy feeling the burn! The class atmosphere definitely makes me push myself more so than when I do weights on my own.
PS – I don’t have any good advice for the lens, but it doesn’t look very fixable to me. Sorry lady. :/
Sorry about your lens 🙁
You are getting me ‘pumped’ for body pump…im starting it up again after a few years being off it and I cant wait to build muscle. The class also goes by really quick, it’s just a shame about the music! I hope it is better than I remember 😉
I LOLed when I read that because my spinning instructor ALWAYS sings while she’s teaching a class. I always just thought that was normal. Guess not. ha
I knew you’d love BodyPump! I’ve actually yet to hear of anyone who DOESN’T like it! 😛
Haha I have the same complaint! I went to NodyPump today (I ususally go on Mondays) and this instructor kept singing along- and not very well either!
Hope your lens is okay! I know they aren’t cheap! 🙁
Body Pump sounds amazing. If it ever gets offered in my area I’m going to jump all over it! 🙂
As for the lens – boo!!!! 🙁 That makes me sad!!! I say it can’t be fixed and if it can it will likely cost a mint.
I can’t quite tell but from the picture it looks like a 50mm F1.8 – I just got a Reber T1i (as a present from the Husband) and he bought me that lens for just about $100. I don’t think you could fix it for less!
aww I totally got an overuse injury from body pump. The routine/music is sent to the instructors to teach with for the entire month. It is the same routine for every class – so the inability to mix it up combined with the high reps didnt agree with me. And yes… the company makes you play the same music for every class for that month – until they send out a new music mix and new workout set. I’d agree – the music sucks! I love weight training classes and mixing it up in the weight room. Great review of the class though Gina!
The music in Body Pump is notoriously bad. I’m pretty sure when I went there was an ultra dance version of a C+C Music Factory song. Barf.
I’ve never tried rosemary in my salads before! I’ll have to give that a shot sometime!
Body pump sounds fabulous! I have cool fitness class envy! We only have the bare minimum in my town! I need to request that the gym offer these types of classes! 🙂
High five for oatmeal-in-the-car 🙂 I did that every morning in college while driving to class – talk about multitasking at a red light! And you wouldn’t believe how long it took me to figure out that I should put the salad dressing in a separate container inside the salad bowl so it doesn’t spill in my cooler… where do you get the tiny dressing containers?
I know what you mean about the music. It’s like they take a Kelly Clarkson song and then have someone else record it and thats what they play….at least that’s how it work at the gym I go to. About 7 years ago when I started doing it, they had the actual real songs sung by the real artists…but a few years later it changed.
Amen about the singing along! I appreciate the enthusiasm but geez Louise.
Sounds like a fun class.
I always like to try new workouts…
I get bored quite easily.
I haven’t heard of a body pump class where I live, but from the way you and other people have described it, it is very similar to a hard-core total body class I go to at my gym. We have the different tracks that represent each body part, but the music in my class is awesome! Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Black eyed Peas, etc. It’s all dance tracks which helps to keep your mind off the PAIN. There is no mic (or bad karaokee) but there is an instructor screaming at us if we don’t do a push-up properly. It is one of those “I can wait until this hell is over” classes that for some insane reason you keep going back! 😉
LOVE the BodyPump! I can attest to the trembling muscles…if I go more than week or so, my muscles are totally feelin’ the burn! 🙂
Unfortunately, that lens does not look fixable. 🙁
You could always take it to a Canon service center, but it looks pretty trashed. It’d be a lot easier to just get a new one.
I tried Cardio Dance for the first time last week and loved it! Such a nice change of pace. Since joining the gym, I’ve really loved taking classes instead of working out by myself.
I work with toddlers at a preschool and I like to sing off key to them all day. Today I sang All By Myself to the last one at the snack table. Needless to say, he finished his snack crazy fast!
I agree with you on the singing and the music. I love the class, but the music is quite boring. I wish they’d up it a little!
Hey girl! Glad to hear you liked pump! I teach pump, so I just wanted to add my two cents. 1. The order of the class and muscle groups worked in that order is always the same. Warmup Squats Chest Back triceps biceps lunges shoulders abs cool down. 2. A new release (new music/new choreography) comes out every quarter. Most instructors will teach the new stuff for ~3 or 4 weeks (depending on the instructor) and then they will go back to older releases. This keeps the class/music always interesting/different. I also second the notion about singing 😉
gina! I knew i had to comment when I saw your poor lens. That same EXACT thing happened to me (with that same lens). Unfortunately it’s broken 🙁 I always thought it was me, but now I KNOW that lens isn’t good quality if yours broke, too. Booo
I am so glad that you loved BodyPump! I agree with some of the tracks being lame. Don’t worry, there are SOOOO many different routines. (I think they are up in the 50’s now..) I really love how it pushed me harder than just solo strength training. I am so sad that I have to leave my gym next fall when I transfer colleges. 🙁 Hopefully where I go has a gym with Les Mills, or something similar!
I want my muscles to burn! Hurts so good 🙂
“Class does not equal karaoke. Thank you.”– LOL but SO TRUE!!!
I was so surprised that you never took Body Pump before…between working in a gym, teaching group fitness classes, being a former dancer, and a trainer…and this was your first class?! It dawned on me after you posted about it this morning how surprising that way…but I am glad you loved it!! It has your name written all over it I think.
Omg I bought a lens last night. And a dslr. I think I just had a heart attack. For you. So sorry!
It’s one of those things..the full moon tonight, the winter solstice, in yoga tradition things breaking and going out, computer and tech issues, they are all VERY common. The last two solstices…one my fridge broke, another my microwave broke,and another my car got hit by a rock and the windshield cracked. Coincidences? Nah. I think it IS the full moon prana. I post about this stuff and I know some ppl think Im crazy but I believe in it 🙂 Sorry about the lens!
Sorry about the lens! It’s probably not fixable, or even worth the money! The beauty of that lens is it’s really inexpensive. The downfall is it’s cheaply made. Boo!
Blueberries are my favorite addition to oats. You pretty much had my ideal breakfast and lunch today. I’d copy it tomorrow but I need to make a major grocery trip for that.
RIP lens 🙁 Prob not worth getting fixed. We had a body pump type class while I was in college and it really challenged my muscles. I miss it.
Oh dear….
“Also, I have a gym rant of the day: fellow fitness instructors, just because someone gives you a mic does not mean that you need to sing (badly) into it. Class does not equal karaoke. Thank you.”
GUILTY! BUT! In my defense, I like to think that when people are focusing on the pain I’m causing their eardrums, they forget the pain in their quads and glutes. 😀
omgosh noo! so sorry about the lens 🙁 also, your oatmeal looks insanely good to me right now so some reason!
alright, way to body pump it! Not a fan of instructors singing in the mic, no matter how good they might be.
I’ve never heard of that class before. I’ll have to give it a try sometime.
Amen to the karaoke comment!!
I have to say that the thumbnail of the bad johnny looked like kitty litter! 😉
Sorry about your lens!
I’m a little afraid of BodyPump – thanks for the description 🙂
my lens did that… it still held together by a little something, but it (knock on wood) hasn’t broken since. I’m thinking you could put it back together, but it might be better to just get a new 50mm…
If there was an instructor singing to the tracks with the mic I might just walk out then and there.
I really need to try a body pump class. i’ve always been curious about it!! Good to know you liked it!
I took a BodyPump class when I was studying abroad in London and the instructor sang Britney Spears into her mic. It was horrible.
Your body pump sounds like my boot camp! (I don’t teach… I attend).
We use a mat, steps for chest and tricep pushups – as well as lunges, 2 hand weights, and the big barbell with light weights (well – I did 5lb on each side).
Your broken camera lens makes me sad 🙁 Hope you can find a way to fix it!
The lens is done….im sorry… 🙁
FInally have my hands on some sun warrior– verdict? I love it– thanks for motioning me towards the best protein powder 🙂
Where did you get the supper cute little blue container?
amazon- it’s from my bento lunch box 🙂
I am so jealous – they do not teach body pump at my gym, and after reading about it on other blogs for years now, I want to take it so bad!