Tag Archives: body balance

Fitness rocks on down at the Super Quarterly

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Imagine a fitness class crossed with a rock concert. A workout in “the round”. A group fitness experience at Glastonbury or “T in the Park”. This is a Super Quarterly

Any fitness instructor who teaches one of the Les Mills programmes – I teach Body Combat and Body Balance – has to go on what we call a quarterly workshop every 3 months to see the new music and the new moves.

Super Quarterly

These are usually held in fitness clubs like David Lloyd or Bannatyne’s, and it is essentially a load of instructors attending their own class just like a participant would. Except our instructor is a Master Trainer.

Occasionally they hold a Super Quarterly where the new classes are showcased in a massive venue. We recently had a Super Quarterly in Edinburgh and the atmosphere was incredible. Hundreds of instructors. Loud music. International Master Trainers. It is so motivational and uplifting to feel so much fitness power in one room.

First up was CXWorx – I’ve written about this work out before – it is a 30 minute core training programme and it hurts. In the days that followed I discovered muscle soreness I never thought possible. Abs and butt muscles were totally on fire. I imagine doing this several times a week will yield impressive results.

Then came Body Balance, a delightful mixture of Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates. And it’s tough too. Not in an aerobic sense but it strengthens, stretches and tones. The guest presenter from New Zealand was Corey Baird. He has a soft soothing manner and looks like he was chiseled from oak. The girls love his body and I guess I can see why. Ann-See Yeoh and Kathryn Cullen from the UK put in their usual precise and calmly motivational performances.

super quartery

Of course everyone was building up the last class of the day, Body Combat. This highly intensive, heart thumping mixed martial arts class takes participants out of their daily lives and into a land of make believe – the Bruce Lee film. Or Bruce Willis, or Captain Jack Sparrow, depending upon who your action hero is. Presented by programme director Dan Cohen, the Vauxhall brother, who is short in stature, but giant in technique, moves and motivation. The room simply shook to the thunder of the music and the intensity of the workout. Our UK trainers Dave Cross and Phil Harrison proved their worth alongside the wee man, and the crowd roared its approval.

Here’s a brief video of the Combat masterclass. Just look at all those people fighting for their fitness.

I’m now learning Body Combat 51 and Body Balance 56. I’ll be launching soon. It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to hurt. And it’s going to work.

Over to you: Are you a Les Mills Instructor? Did you go to a Super Quarterly? What do you think of the new releases. If you are a participant in a class – let me know what you think of the new moves and the new music. Please post a comment below.

Can you turn your NY fitness resolution into a habit you won’t break?

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As a fitness instructor I love the New Year. Loaded with resolutions to get fit and to eat more healthily, people flock to the gym and classes are jammed packed full of people desperate to burn calories.

Old hands stand alongside new members and all of them give it 100%. I love the sounds of exertion. The moans and groans brought on my a particularly tough abs routine, or the pained looks as the leg conditioning phase seems to last forever. Faces become beetroot red. Sweat pours down and off the end of noses. And most satisfying of all, everyone looks happy if a little dishevelled.

Body Combat as part of your fitness resolution

The problem with resolutions is that they don’t last. By February the frequency of attendance starts to dwindle. Eagerness is replaced by complacency. Which is a shame. If only that January buzz could become a year long habit rather than a resolution to be broken after a few weeks. I will certainly try and motivate my clients to stick to the January habit. In fact I like the word habit much more than the word resolution.

Calorie burn is the main focus for members during this time. The desire to shed Christmas pounds is strong. But I also encourage adding a holistic session to the cardio blitz. That’s why I love to teach the Body Combat and Body Balance double. One hour of high energy, fat burning martial arts mayhem, followed by one hour of deep Yoga based stretching and strengthening exercises. This is the perfect combination for it promotes weight loss and improves flexibility.

“Turn a fitness resolution into a habit.”

So let’s turn a fitness resolution into a habit. Stick with it all year long and combine your breathless cardio work with some Yoga based exercise as well. Just wait until you see the results and I guarantee the January excitement will continue throughout the whole of the year.

body balance as part of your fitness resolution

Over to you: What are you doing to keep your resolutions this year? How do you stick with it when the temptation to lapse begins? Please leave a comment.

Review of Body Balance Release 52 – yet another stand out class

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Due to a very busy period of teaching Body Combat and Body Balance during the BC46 and BB51 period, combined with  more Hatha and Power Yoga and day job excursions, I neither reviewed those releases and have allowed myself to get almost 6 weeks into the latest set (BC47 and BB52) before putting words on paper and screen.

Review of Body Balance Release 52

For me Body Balance is a revelation at the moment with Jackie Mills continuing to turn out excellent moves choreographed almost lovingly to well selected music. Also the programme is very popular in Edinburgh and my classes are consistently full with waiting lists which just adds to the great feeling Body Balance evokes in me.

Tai Chi (Airplanes): Unexpected music this. A quiet piano introduction, followed by a modern pop chorus then moves into the sort of rap verse we rarely hear in Body Balance. The two moves are very simple and effectively repeated verse chorus verse chorus. It’s only just over three minutes long and is a short sharp introduction. Nevertheless this is the track I have received most requests to change and the feedback is that it is too repetitive. Personally I feel it is too short to be repetitive but sometimes there is a groundswell of opinion so I am changing this one soon.

Sun Salutations (Daylight): I was just starting out as a Body Balance participant the first time this exact same piece of music appeared as a Sun Salutation in BB18 (though for the detail geeks out there this time the track has been edited so that it is about a minute shorter). The moves are refreshing with a complete departure from the usual Sun Salutation sequence with Child’s Pose, Striking Cobra, Warriors One and Two and Three Legged Dog all making an appearance. The sequence is very quick as the track is quite up beat and as such it is very challenging for new people. But the flow of the moves is so different that this stands out amongst Sun Salutation tracks. I assume that the music was edited for timing reasons which is a shame I would have been tempted to try and use the earlier, longer version and maybe increased the number of salutations from 4 to 6.

Standing Strength (Give Love): The flow into track 3 is achieved by repeating the first part of the sun salutation sequence and this sets up the standing poses well and also provides a well needed couple of rests as the track progresses. Again quite a number of quick changes but by the end of each side the lead leg is burning and screaming for a break. Once again, as in recent releases, Jackie has overlaid subtle modifications to the Yoga poses that form the basis of the track and this adds to the interest. By the time we are in wide legged intense pose just waiting for the music to finish our legs are just about done in. Don’t let people come upright until they can’t hear the music at all.

Balance (If I could Turn Back the Hands of Time): So just what we need after a tough standing strength is a tough balance track and this really does challenge us to the extreme. The slower music helps to lower the heart rate, and the natural flow from pose to pose helps disguise the intensity of what is going on but by the end there is an epidemic of wobbling going on. I always tell my people that wobbling is good – in this track I’m not sure they believe me. The Tree to Half Moon to Warrior 3 is a great sequence.

Hips (Set the Fire to the Third Bar): Now the pace slows right down as we sink to the floor for the hips track. I love hip tracks that allow you to teach breathing and you need to breathe deep to get into these exquistive poses. For people who work their legs hard by running or in cardio classes this deep Swan Pose is perfect. With forehead on the floor it feels deep – and I almost want the track to be longer so we can stay down and enjoy it even more.

Core Abs (Love Generation): Well this abs track was already quite well known even before I launched it. We had all heard the rumours that it was nine and a half minutes long and had been winding the classes up about this on coming storm. I think they were disappointed when it turned out to be only slight less than 9 minutes.

Some have critisised this for being two fragmented, others have said it doesn’t really work the abs. Well once to “hear” the music changes the flow is actually quite good. And even though you do have to work hard to keep the effort in your abs rather than your legs – if you can it is a tough one. The knee to elbow cycling works well. I started counting my class down on the final 8, then cunningly adding another 4 on at the end (i.e. starting to count down the final 12 if you know what I mean) – and this has turned into a game over the weeks. You know you have them when you start to count down the final 8 (or so they think) then add another 12 then a final 4. They never do any more that the choreography says – but it works on getting them focussed.

Others have critisised the Lola Pose. It is difficult but you have to teach it in a fun way. And once people get over the preconception that it is all about arm strength – then they can achieve lift off.

Review of Body Balance Release 52

Back (Crossfire): Holding Camel pose in this track for long periods makes up for the rapidly changing sequences earlier. In fact I can’t remember ever being given the chance to explore Camel in as mucg depth before, let alone have time to demonstrate 2 other varients. The Cat, Child’s Pose and Striking cobra is a nice flowing contrast to the initial static poses and by the time we finish in Bow Pose everyone is ready to have their strings cut so that they can flop back to the ground.

Twists (This Ain’t a Love Song): Very quirky music and a necessarily quick series of twists. We are in and out of this one before we have time to think.

Hamstrings (Stop Crying your Heart Out): Another Leona Lewis track and another one of her songs that provides an almost cinematic build up to the finale quite similar to “Run” which was used in BB46. Gorilla Pose is give room to breathe and extend before the music gets louder and we finish in a flowing return to the Tai Chi moves from the opening track. Great climax – but not quite the end…

Relaxation (Eternal OM):  Using this first, short, relaxation track to keep people in a wide leg forward bend to stretch their hamstrings for a little longer is a subtle way of scuppering the plans of people who usually dive for the door before the relaxation starts.

Relaxation/Meditation (Lux Mundi): The music is a little bland, but after that climax we don’t want anything complex.

So yet another great Body Balance release with some real differences. The Sun Salutation and the Abs track are almost experimental in their use of different exercises and I am certainly in favour of this. If the quality of Balance releases continues on this path then classes will remain full and waiting lists will grow even longer.

Over to you: I hope you enjoyed this review of Body Balance release 52. What did you think of this class? What about that 9 minute core abs track? Let me know your thoughts. Please leave a comment.

 

Review of Body Balance Release 50 – a milestone for a great fitness class

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The last release of Body Balance, No 49, was so near to perfection that nothing could exceed the standard it set, even if it was a landmark like the 50th class.

So for my review of Body Balance release 50 I have decided to re-base my opinions and consider number 50 purely on its own merits and not as something that lives in the shadow of what has gone before. I really like this class, and from the feedback I have got from the people, they do too. Body Balance is very popular in Edinburgh at the moment, with most classes full with long waiting lists. This is a credit to the consistent quality Jackie given us over the last few years (and hopefully our teaching as instructors).

Review of Body Balance Release 50

Tai Chi (Soldier of Love): A very simple warm up arm wraps, a soft arm push and block and effectively a long series of arm circles and squats. Deceptively hard on the legs and if you encourage the participants to go deep then this can get sore before we even start. The outro into the second set of arm wraps just requires silence.

Sun Salutations (Won’t Give Up): An extended sun salutation with extra flat back extends and forward folds which stretch the legs nicely after the warm up punished them so much. The music is pleasant and the little breaks in between each sequence are welcome. The knee down and hands raised up after the lunge feels a little awkward. I actually feel this works better if you rise from low lunge to high lunge off the knee. Also the bent knee back bend feels a but strained as well. Straight legs feels fine.

Standing Strength (Breakeven): A standout track. Ann-See definitely “takes people places” in the DVD and you can take your participants deeper every time. I always like it when Jackie (and now Diana I suppose) introduce variations on traditional yoga poses, and the knee hugging Warrior One and the Side Bend Warrior One are innovative challenging and in the case of the side bend feel fantastic. Then it’s on to more traditional Warrior 2, Sun Warrior, Extended Warrior and then that lengthy drop into the deepest most challenging Intense pose of them all. Always elicits gasps from people at the end.

Balance (I see You (Theme from Avatar)): In the intro sequence in the Yoga Ballet Open Attitude Pose I have a strong urge to do something silly. I want rise up on tip toes and then start turning in a circle like a doll on a music box. Many lady participants are not Avatar fans so you shouldn’t over use the Avatar links – but the star fighter pilot in my likes to use the Aeroplane Pose to really dive down deep. Fire those lasers! Can’t really argue with a balance track with Dancer’s Pose in it.

Hips (Wanted): Lovely and simple hips track which really allows you to focus on the breathing to get deep down into that swan pose. The snoring references seem to make people comment about kicking their hubbies during the night – but the point here is to get the class focusing on breath. And lets face it in our busy lives most of us are breathing far too shallow anyway!

Abs (Sweet and Amazing): Apart from the music being sickly sweet and sugary like a great big cloud of candy floss – this track hits you with a sweet and amazing move that really works the “six-pack” muscles. Simple but effective. Two days after doing this track for the first time I found myself complaining of stomach ache. I started wondering what I had eaten until I realised it wasn’t food that had created the tenderness. It was Sweet and Amazing that did it.

Back (Hey Soul Sister): What a catchy bubbly feel-good song. You cannot help singing along however out of tune you are. Simple but challenging moves and no rest or respite for the full track. So good I want to do it twice.

Twists (Please Don’t Stop the Rain): This is a fairly standard twist track. Nothing wrong with the moves and they flow quite nicely. By this time most people, however well you try to co-ordinate the room are probably facing in different directions so from this track onwards I find it is all about “front leg” and “back leg”. Left and right just doesn’t cut it. Like the twisted down dogs and the child’s pose twist.

Hamstrings 1 (Vanilla Twilight): Lovely blissful calf stretches in the down dog and a different take on Triangle make this one flow along in the blink of an eye. Good music if a little difficult to find the “blocks” to match with the moves.

Hamstrings 2 (Here I confess): Another lovely Sleepthief song, Hindi Squats and a seated hamstring stretch sequence which some people would probably prefer to do with a yoga band. Quite challenging for the less flexible and means the class doesn’t finish with us lying on our backs – more sort of reclined.

Relaxation (Hundred Thousand Angels): I cannot remember the last time they used a proper song in the relaxation as opposed to an instrumental. This is a beautiful song and you cannot, repeat cannot talk over it. Let the people relax deeply and let them absorb the lyrics and the melody. I have had many people come up afterwards asking for the name of the song and the artist.

Relaxation/Meditation (Tally’s Lullaby): This is a lovely piano based outro to ease everyone back to the moment.

So a good strong release. Some quite simple tracks which hide within them some quite challenging outcomes. The DVD looks lovely as well with all the colourful costumes and the lightly is especially pretty with the “star-filters” used on the cameras. But I did just wonder whether the team were off afterwards to take part in a local production of Mamma Mia – it did look very ABBA. A great start to the fifties then.

Over to You: Are you a Body Balance Instructor? What did you think of release 50? Was it celebrating a milestone as you expected? Are you a participant? Have you enjoyed number 50?