As always thanks to Simon Philp for pointing out the list. Check out his blog – you’ll find much more Les Mills stuff here!
Now it’s your turn: What do you think of the Les Mills Body Combat release 61 tracklist? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.
If you want more spoilers you can click on the links above to see the music on Amazon. They won’t be exactly the same mixes because Les Mills often edit the tracks, and some are Les Mills cover versions and not available commercially. But it will give you a good feel for what’s on its way.
Is this the most relentless Body Combat class so far?
Are programme directors Dan and Rachael celebrating 15 years of Body Combat with a super-fast intense workout? Les Mills Body Combat release 60 sets new standards.
After teaching a new release I usually develop “delayed onset muscle soreness” the day after. And then I get used to the moves and the aching subsides. Not this time. I am still developing DOMS even after 3 weeks of teaching.
On the masterclass DVD, after the conditioning track, Rachael says, “You’re going to wonder what we were on after you teach that.”
Not just the conditioning track though. I wonder what they were on whilst choreographing the whole class. It is relentless. Not a beat goes by without some challenge. You’ll be breathless and drowning in sweat.
A strong start with an apt song title. A dance remix of the famous Pat Benatar song. The usual introduction to upper cuts, jabs and hooks melts into a shuffle sequence featuring the “decoy switch” move we’ve not seen for many releases. The decoy sets the tone for leg conditioning almost from the start so it’s not a surprise to see that we also practice squats and ginga lunges within the first few minutes.
A packed lower body warm up with knee strikes, front kicks, shoot lunges, hip rolls, roundhouse, side and back kicks. You’ll feel muscle burn in your legs during this track to the extent you’ll think it feels like a Combat track. Together the two warm ups last nearly ten minutes, so we’re hot a ready to move into the harder work.
Given this dance version of Katy Perry’s Roar is all about lions and tigers (and Champions) – I think the choreographers missed the opportunity to include the claw strike move.
Back Fist
Combat 1– Black or White (Combat Remix) – The Treat Ring
Not quite the shortest Combat track in Body Combat history but it makes up for its brevity with intensity. Apart from the 32 beats at the start there is not one beat in the track that isn’t attached to a punch, kick, plyo-push or back fist. And for us old-timers, if you listen carefully, there are a few sound effects and warning bells included in the music. In the early days of Body Combat (up to number 15) we had these bells to remind us of imminent choreography change.
Power 1 – Fly Away – Deer Between
We’ve heard this track before back in Body Combat release 29 and in my opinion that older version is better than this one. However the moves are fast and furious with a focus on repeated hooks. Feel your shoulders begin to burn. Here we also see the first example of the “interval within and interval”. For example on the repeating jabs section, go at it on level one for the first 32 punches. Then relish the opportunity to show a visible rise in intensity. I want to see it. I want you to feel it. We all want to hear it.
Ouch! Squats. Plyo-lunges, roundhouse knees and side kicks joined together into a long sequence without a break. It hurts and it works. I’m always impressed by how a track like this tricks you. Your kicking leg “seems” it’s doing all the work. But by the time we finish each half of the track your support leg is screaming for a rest. It doesn’t get one.
Timing is a little tricky in this one. I’ve found stepping back into the first plyo-lunge helps you keep on the beat before jumping the rest.
We need the shuffling forward section of this song to recover from “Emergency” before once again laying on the jabs thick. More opportunities to play with different levels of intensity. A very fast track and if you try to take your “hook, upper, hook combo” off the beat of the music, it feels faster and more authentic. The song itself is unremarkable but the moves carry it.
More decoy switches continue the onslaught on our legs. The “Head Tummy Head” punches build nicely to the eventual addition of three powerful front kicks. I can’t help smiling when I teach this song and remember a classic cue a friend of mine came up with for a similar combo. “Head Knackers Head,” he said. That won’t offend anyone will it?
Superman Punch
Muay Thai – Kryptonite – Proof Luke
Have we ever had a track as fast, relentless, intense and gruelling as this? Running man knees challenge stamina, and you might forget to breathe. I like the “Superman Punch”. However I had the benefit of a twenty-minute tutorial on the quarterly workshop. Putting across so much information in less than a minute is challenging.
But once you get it you can feel how powerful the move is.
In some ways I wish they hadn’t called it the “Superman Punch” because that conjures up an image of jumping high into the air – which we don’t do. The jump forward is low, imperceptible and sharp.
The last section of endless knee strikes – four on four, then two on two, then one on one will have you shaking and wanting to throw up.
Not much respite here either. A huge track 8 which burns the shoulders and continues to challenge stamina. It’s a good job there’s no shuffling about here because I’m not sure we could take it. Endless upper cuts encourage abdominal twists – like sit ups stood up.
Ab Attack
Conditioning – You’re the Best – Blazed Calm
In recent conditioning tracks we’ve seen hovers, planks, komodo dragons, Brazillian cross chokes and allsorts of CXWORX cast offs. Here is nothing other than good old-fashioned crunches and press ups. Interesting that given its simplicity it turns out it’s one of the most intense and painful conditioning tracks I can remember.
I challenge anyone not to sing along the chorus of this song at least once.
“You’re going to wonder what we were on,” said Rachael
“Now we are free”, originally from the Russell Crowe movie Gladiator, feels like cool breeze after a day of blazing sun. It’s mellow, chilled and slow. Just what we need after the last three relentless sweat fests!
Body Combat release 60 might be the most intense ever. In some ways it’s a shame it came out when it did. Due to the dates of the Quarterlies this time round, quarter three is very short. Most clubs will launch mid/end July and the next releases will be here in September. That combined with summer holidays means that many people might miss the full effects of this marvellous class.
Now it’s your turn:
Do you agree with my review of Les Mills Body Combat release 60? Is it the fastest most intense we’ve ever done? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Or post a link to your own review.
Yes – the next release of Les Mills Body Combat hits a fitness club near you soon.
Can release 60 – which celebrates 15 years of Body Combat – match up to the last one?
Our presenter for the Edinburgh Quarterly, the mighty Dave Cross, delivered a motivational masterclass. You know that Dave puts extra work into his delivery because he doesn’t just present a “live” version of the instructor DVD. It’s refreshing. You always come away from Dave’s quarterlies with new ideas.
As he unveiled Body Combat release 60 it became clear that it’s very similar to the last one. More “switch lunges” in the Capoeira track for example. However, I’m not sure the power tracks are as full on shoulder blasters but they come close.
Here’s what I remember:
Hip rolls and endless roundhouse kicks in a lower body warm up set to a version of Katy Perry’s Roar.
A decent cover of Michael Jackson’s Black and White provides an intense first combat track.
In track 3 we see a return of a song last seen in release 29 – Fly Away. Prepare for an onslaught of never-ending hooks.
A new move in t he Muay Tai called, “The Superman Punch”, challenges your co-ordination. This might take some getting use to. The rest of the MT track could reduce you to a breathless sweaty heap.
Dan says that the Abs track is the hardest they’ve ever done. Not sure that’s true but it does hurt.
Last seen in release 20 – we cooldown to Now We Are Free – that moody song from Gladiator.
So first impressions suggest an equally tough work out carrying on the tradition set by the previous quarter. Lacks originality though and feels a little samey but will undoubtedly get results.
Let the learning begin.
Now it’s your turn:
Are you a Body Combat instructor? What do you think of Les Mills Body Combat release 60? Please leave a comment or a link to your own thoughts.
In less than a month we’ll see Les Mills Body Combat release 60. Do you want to know which tracks we’ll be burning calories too and sculpting our bodies?
If you don’t want spoilers look away now. Other wise scroll down past the picture.
Dan Cohen and Rachael Newsham – Body Combat Programme Directors.
There are a couple of tracks we have seen before. Fly Away appeared in release 29 way back. And Now We Are Free was also the cooldown in release 20. I usually get grumpy when Les Mills reuse music. But on this occasion I’ll let them off “Now We Are Free” as I trained on BC20 and loved it then and I love it now.
Now it’s your turn: If you want more spoilers you can click on the links above to see the music on Amazon. They might not be exactly the same mixes because Les Mills often edit the tracks. But it will give you a good feel for what’s on its way. If there’s no link it’s because the track is a Les Mills cover version.
