BodyPump

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BodyPump is a weight-based group-fitness program, created and distributed globally by Les Mills International. Originally created in 1991 by Phillip Mills to attract men to the group fitness room, it is now found in 70 countries and 10,000 health-clubs and gyms worldwide.

The first BodyPump classes started in December 1991 in Auckland, New Zealand, according to (Information published in the United Kingdom via a report by Alan Felstead). The concept according to Phillip Mills was to get men into the aerobics room.^{[citation needed]}

BodyPump classes are 55 minutes in length and contain ten separate muscle-group specific tracks. There is also a 45 minute class format, which omits two tracks and is used in timeslots where participants generally don't have a full hour to spare.^[1] Lately BodyPump Express classes, which last 30 minutes, have been introduced in Japan. ^[2] Like all of the Les Mills group-fitness programs, BodyPump is pre-choreographed by Les Mills International, giving it global homogeneity.

The 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 strength levels. Major muscle groups are worked via series of compound and isolation-based exercises including squats, presses, dead lifts and as well as other exercises. The focus is towards muscle endurance using several repetitions. ^[3]

A new BodyPump class, 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 achieve maximal gains in strength and hypertrophy for their class. Instructors and trainers are provided with guidance from Les Mills International regarding the mixing of tracks for classes.

Music is used to guide and encourage participants. A normal class contains ten mainstream hit songs. The music is choreographed and each track targets a different muscle group. The tracks, in order, consist of a warm up followed by squats, chest, back (clean and presses, dead lifts and dead rows), triceps, biceps, lunges, shoulders (a selection of push-ups, lateral raises, frontal raises and military presses), abdominals and finally a cool down encompassing a variety of stretches.

Due to the nature of the program maximum heart rate (MHR) increases in different phases. ^[4] In addition, the aerobic capacity changes are based on music selection beats per minute (BPM).

[edit] References

^ BODYPUMP site.
^ BTS Japan.
^ Smith, Jessica (2001). Safety Principles of BODYPUMP. American Fitness.
^ Stanforth, Dixie; Philip R. Stanforth, Margaret P. Hoemeke (2000). Physiologic and Metabolic Responses to a Body Pump Workout. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

[edit] Further reading

Lythe J., Pfitzinger, P. Caloric expenditure and aerobic demand of Bodystep, Bodyattack, Bodycombat and RPM. Auckland: UniSports Centre for Sport Performance , University of Auckland, New Zealand, 1999:15.
Lythe, J., Pfitzinger, P. and Ho, D. The Physical and Psychological Response to 13 weeks of Structured Group-fitness Exercise in Untrained Individuals. Auckland: UniSports Centre for Sport Performance, University of Auckland, New Zealand, 2000:33.
Felstead, Bishop, Fuller, Jewson, Lee, Unwin. Moving to the music: Learning processes, training and productive systems - the case of exercise to music instruction. London, United Kingdom, 2006:8