What do you think of the new release of Les Mills Body Balance?
If you’re an instructor you’re probably already teaching it. If you are a participant you’ve probably already done it.
Which means I’m late with my first impressions post. Although my full review will follow shortly, here for completeness were my impressions of the new class I experienced at the Quarterly Workshop.
An energetic Tai Chi set to Fat Boy Slim’s Praise You feels like a full aerobic workout. A shock to the system. Only settling into a true Tai Chi flow in the last section the track is a tough one.
By contrast the Sun Salutations is mellow to the point of slumber. Were the first two tracks meant to be such polar opposites?
Standing Strength presents two warrior pose sequences bookended by three-legged dogs set to a piece of music repeated twice.
Balances are tough. Moving from half-moon pose to aeroplane to twisted half-moon pose brings on serious wobbles. A short but interesting sequence.
After some tough Core Abs tracks in recent releases, at the Quarterly Workshop I felt this was an easier set of exercises. Having since practiced and then taught the sequence it’s deceptive. Short and tough. Without proper form though participants might feel this one in their legs. We need to focus coaching on the lower back and core.
A double Twist Track with revolved triangle pose which is always a challenge.
Forward Bends is a long mellow track with plenty of time to explore deep stretches.
Good to hear Stanton Lanier back in the relaxation. Though the “plink plink” of his piano is perhaps to similar to the forward bends music and doesn’t offer enough of a contrast.
Les Mills gave us a bonus Balance track this time around with the infamous bird in a basket pose. It’s optional. Those instructors teaching less advanced participants may never even use the bonus track. It’s a good idea to keep it separate in my opinion.
But in a release I would describe as plain and unremarkable it’s ironic that the attention grabbing track is the one that most people won’t see.
Now it’s your turn:
What do you think of Les Mills Body Balance release 69? Please share your thoughts. Why not click one of the social media share buttons below?
My digital music and video downloads appeared two weeks before the workshop. I resisted even a sneaky peek not wanting to ruin the surprise. I gave in though. I looked. And I shouldn’t have.
What I saw didn’t engage me. Endless drills of kicks and punches. One track was running on the spot for 5 minutes. Press ups in the middle of another track with no time to grab a mat.
After over 10 years as an instructor I should know better. Wait for the workshop and experience the release raw, live and delivered by an enthusiastic trainer.
Once there, he sold me on the new workout. Had me gasping for air and exhausted. Savage delayed onset muscle soreness burned by gluteals, hamstrings and quads the next day.
I’m sold on it but I suspect participants will consider this a Marmite release.
Those looking for a gut wrenching, breathless cardio burning blitz will love Body Combat release 64.
Those who love the cheese of “Hairspray”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and ancient sound effects tracks of old will take some convincing. A tough sell lies ahead I think.
Here’s a few impressions after the Quarterly Workshop.
No shuffling forwards or laterally again. We do the release on the spot.
No roundhouse kicks perhaps for the first time in Body Combat history.
Half of the Lower Body Warm Up is exactly the same as half of Combat 2.
We have press ups again in Track 4. Conditioning moves at this point in the class are here to stay. Many people fed back last time that there was no time to fetch mats and towels. The trainer at the Quarterly Workshop promised Les Mills will build in enough time in future releases.
Track 5 is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) pure and simple. Designed as the highlight of the class again this will be a Marmite track. Can’t argue this one will produce results though.
Capoeira leg burning returns in Track 6.
The finale is the only genuine sing along song of the release and it rocks.
I’ve almost finished learning the choreography and polishing my presentation. I can’t wait to hit the clubs with this one and see what my participants think.
Now it’s Your Turn:
What do you think of Les Mills Body Combat release 64? Do you love it? Is it to much of a departure from the format? Please leave a comment or a link to your own thoughts. Why not share your thoughts on Twitter?
“From today, we are launching Les Mills On Demand – our online subscription service that will give users access to Les Mills workouts anytime, anywhere. It’s something we believe is going to help more people than ever fall in love with fitness.”
There’s more. A year ago Les Mills launched “Virtual Classes” in fitness clubs. Clients work out to a huge screen showing a Masterclass Video rather than being motivated and coached by a live instructor.
Les Mills have good business reasons for doing this. On Demand let’s them target the demographic of people looking for a fitness experience without the daunting prospect of visiting a gym. Virtual lets club put on classes during quiet periods when it’s not economical to pay an instructor.
The news of One Demand and Virtual has polarised opinion among instructors.
At one end we see comments like:
“Virtual classes .. taking away all the hard work, endless hours learning choreography and dedication us instructors put into our classes. I’m so sorry LMUK but I can’t help but feel we’re being belittled by this latest endeavour.”
And at the other:
“I don’t think some of you are fully looking at this with open eyes. Virtual Classes are a great way for some members of clubs to get access to our awesome programs at times they would never see them. Our brand moto is One Tribe Fitter Planet be Brave. Our aim has also always been to get the planet healthier. We can’t do that if we are only targeting people who go to the gym already.”
It’s an interesting debate and I can see why it’s caused controversy. Les Mills need to learn from this and scenario plan for their announcements and take care of any concerns in advance. Otherwise they’ll experience the fall out they have seen here next time.
In reality, Virtual and On Demand will have little or no effect on the Live Class Instructor. They target a different demographic and will create through traffic back into clubs.
But I think we are also in danger of swallowing too much Les Mills Koolaid here and believing the PR.
“One Tribe Fitter Planet Be Brave” are marketing slogans. The Les Mills equivalent of “For Mash Get Smash”. It’s a laudable mission but be under no illusion, Les Mills designed Virtual and On Demand to generate more profit.
They are a commercial organisation and profit is their primary reason for existence – if they were a non-profit, a charity or instructors owned the company in some sort of mutual arrangement, I’d have more sympathy for the hype.
On Demand is all about making more money out of Les Mills’s investment in cover music and using their back catalogue of videos. Virtual is all about squeezing money out of clubs by playing the “off-peak card”. Instructors just need to hope that some bean counter somewhere doesn’t decide to switch to Virtual classes all the time.
I’m not criticising Les Mills for doing this – it’s an amazing business model. But Les Mills has form for launching new initiatives with ablaze of hype without scenario planning potential fallout. They should have anticipated the reaction to On Demand by some instructors who don’t think it is “exciting news”. Taking care of the unhappy segment is a key marketing principle. Les Mills needs to learn from this.
Virtual and On Demand let keep Les Mills in control of the cash flow.
What we haven’t seen from Les Mills is individual instructor licences (instead of venue licences) which would let instructors take the programs out into community venues like church halls or community centres. Under the current venue licence structure individual instructors can’t make it work because the venue licenses are too expensive and the instructor needs to be able to teach in several venues.
Those instructors getting upset about Virtual and On Demand should be more vocal about the individual licences issue. The one route which would allow the instructor to make more money and not continue to be paid peanuts by clubs.
They won’t do that because they would not have access to the full revenue stream. And in fairness they haven’t built direct to consumer brands in the same way as Beach Body have with Insanity and PiYo.
If Les Mills was truly dedicated to Fitter Planet then the community route to the mass market is the obvious one to go for. But that would mean lining the pockets of the best entrepreneurial instructors out there – and we all know that lining instructors pockets is not something the Les Mills model is about.
Now it’s your turn:
What do you think of Les Mill Virtual and On Demand? Please leave a comment below or share a link to your own blog.
Like an edition of the long running hit single compilation albums, NOW, Les Mills has packed Body Balance release 68 with current chart smashes.
Top artists like Maroon 5, Sia, Ella Henderson and Beyoncé go with our Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi moves. In the past Body Balance has showcased lesser known bands like Conjure One, Delerium and Sleepthief. Perhaps this is the most “hit” oriented playlist we’ve ever had.
So what about the work out and the moves that go with the music. Let’s have a look at the tracks (and you can click on the songs to see them on Amazon)
First time we’ve seen a double dose of Tai Chi and it’s glorious. Tessellate is a calm reflective song with gorgeous slow movements, swing and wrap arms and weight shifting to warm our legs. The more upbeat song by Maroon 5 introduces the Starburst move, a beautiful expressive sequence that makes people smile. We move quicker to the beat here complete our warm up.
Doctor Dave says on the instructors masterclass video that this Sun salutations is “deconstructed”. You’ll have heard this term on cookery shows like Masterchef. A deconstructed cheesecake for example doesn’t appear on a plate as a traditional slice. The biscuit base, cheese and topping appear in separate heaps.
It’s the same here. Rather than the usual flow of poses linked together that make up the traditional yoga Sun Salutations, they’ve presented the moves separately. We do each move on its own several times. For yoga purists this will appear clunky. It’s an interesting change though and allows us to explore the moves differently.
An interesting experiment but I do prefer the “proper” Sun Salutation. I guess that makes me a yoga purist then.
A couple of strong strength tracks with interesting flows between the warrior poses. I like the way we revisit some of the Tai Chi moves from the warm up at the end of Glow. It makes a release feel complete when themes and moves recur. We also see the Tiger Pose from the Sun Salutations later in the Core Back too. Excellent class design from Jackie and Diana here.
A catchy tune combined with deceptively tough balances. Staying on tip toes throughout Angel Pose and Diver’s pose presents a challenge of strength as well as balance. And Diver’s provides an intense stretch to your hamstrings.
Down on the floor for Hip Openers, we begin with Frog Pose. Always an intense stretch. From can take you right to the boundary between pleasure and pain. I like to take people right to the edge but hold short of crossing over.
After the super short Core Abs track in the last release I was expecting a longer abdominal workout this time round. Turns out it’s another short one however but tough especially the second round of endless Oblique Curls. Finger clicking adds fun but I have to admit to forgetting to offer this option. And I’m a fan of cheesy moves.
Keep your lower back pressing into the floor during all the moves with particular focus during the Pilates Seal Claps. Feel it in your abs not your legs.
Two Core Back tracks and the first offers a better workout. We combine Bridge Pose with Kneeling Side Hover crunches and Thread The Needle for an energetic sequence. When we finally get to the Bridge with Leg Raise Pose fatigue threatens to set in. I find few people take the option for the full back bend at this point.
In the second song we explore Single Leg Plank to Crocodile Pose. You expect to feel the effects in your arms but actually experience a burn in the glutes.
Once again Twists seem to turn people’s brains into much. All concept of right and left, front and back disappear. Instruct the, to twist to the front and they’ll twist to the back. Coach them to reach with the right arm and they’ll reach with the left. Perhaps it’s because we do the moves side on to the front of the room?
Another catchy song and a delicious combination of Twisted Down Dogs, Twisted Lunges and the last exquisite Twisted Pyramid Pose.
A mellow Forward Bends song with a jazz blues feel and the physical pace calms down in trying to lull and stretch us into the relaxation phase. We have plenty of time to explore deep stretches and experience the new Turtle Pose. A beautiful end to the physical work in this class.
After all that pop music Angels of Victory, a gentle instrumental with soothing piano and flute sounds, invites us to focus our attention on the breath and to relax and take stock after working so hard for the last 50 minutes.
One of the best Body Balance releases for a while, 68’s overdose on chart hits and challenging but achievable moves is a winner. Whilst the focus on hit songs is welcome I hope Jackie and Diana treat us to some more lesser known artists in future classes. Where, for example, is the next Conjure One?
Now it’s your turn:
Do you agree with my Review of Les Mills Body Balance release 68? Do you like the music list? Please leave a comment or post a link to your own review. If you enjoyed this article please share it with your friends.
