They don’t give much away do they? Obviously there’s more capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) with all those esquiva lunges.
I can’t wait for the quarterly training day and then getting stuck into learning this new class.
Now it’s your turn: What do you think about this preview video for Les Mills Body Combat release 58? What would you like to see in this class? More karate? More kick boxing? Please post a comment and share your thoughts.
I’m going to admit that I’ve taken a while to get into Body Combat release 57. Perhaps it’s because the Quarterly Workshops booked up quickly and I didn’t get to see a national trainer deliver the master class this time round. It made me realise that Instructors certainly benefit from seeing the “live” presentation rather than relying only on the DVD.
Body Combat release 57 is definitely a “grower” though and having been teaching release 57 for two weeks now I am finally finding its strengths. However I still do have a few issues which I’ll get to as we go through each track.
Upper Body Warm Up Karate Strikes
Upper Body Warm Up (Troublemaker): I can’t complain about this uplifting warm up with its pounding bass beat. We are moving straight away and as the drums kick in our work out starts with strong karate moves, before we move on to more traditional boxing punches. I love the line in the song, “She’s a trouble trouble maker, that’s her middle name.” And the ladies seem to like being picked out as the culprit.
Lower Body Warm Up (Dead or a Live): A very long Kata and stretch eases us into this up-tempo cover version of Bon Jovi’s classic 1980s hit – thankfully no one in my classes has the appropriate 1980s bouffant hair to go with it. The jumping jacks between each verse and chorus certainly warm us up fast and continues the trend from the upper body warm up. The three knees and front kick combination is different to what we usually see in a warm up track. I like the powerful back kick finish.
Evasive Side Kick (Look how high Dan has jumped).
Combat 1 (Let’s Go): Here is my first problem with this release. Don’t get me wrong I have no problem with caporeira in Body Combat, and the ginga lunges, evasive side kicks and the very interesting new “thunder kick”, certainly punish your legs. But it is so slow. After a fast and up lifting warm up Let’s Go seems to wither away. I guess the programme directors decided to make this a track two whilst our participants legs are not yet fatigued. I would have preferred this track later in the class, perhaps track six, because I feel it kills the energy that the warm up successfully created.
Power 1 (I’m Alive): It’s a relief to get back to a pounding beat and another uplifting dance song. Simple boxing moves repeated often enough to test shoulder endurance make this a tough work out. I might have preferred a little lateral movement to add a little variety but it does its job as a heart rate increasing power blast.
Combat 2 (The Phoenix): On first listen this song by Fall Out Boy seems like a strange choice for a combat track. But the two powerful combinations are complex enough to test out mental co-ordination as well as our physical precision. I particularly like the karate strikes followed by the side kick and roundhouse knees. You genuinely feel as if you are fighting multiple enemies. During the instrumental break in the song we revisit an old combination of double knees and side kicks before returning to the first big combo for a blasting finale. This is the stand out track of the release for me because it has so much going on yet it is achievable and strong.
Side Kick
Power 2 (Roll over Beethoven): This is a Marmite track. Participants seem to either love it or hate it. I love it because it is fun and there is enough movement to max-out your heart rate if you push yourself hard enough. The running and speed ball section recalls a similar song from Body Combat release 39 (Johnny Be Goode) which is another personal favourite of mine. The last section of jabs and jumping jacks is gruelling. I just think that you’re going to have to get used to Marmite everyone!
Combat 3 (This is Love): More karate punches, back kicks and knees in a combination that we repeat many times. Repetition does allow technique success but some people have said that they find this track too repetitive. When you think though that real martial artists practice combinations hundreds of times, that we repeat this one for 20 reps, it hardy seems to be a problem. I think the music’s synth melody is very catchy and I find myself whistling it during the day. So it is memorable. And I think that this is the first time in the history of Body Combat that we have had roundhouse kicks in track 6.
Muay Thai (Stand Up For Rock and Roll): I’m a big rock fan. I grew up with heavy metal and American oriented glam rock. If I heard this song on the radio I’d probably start to head bang. But I don’t think that it is a very good song for a Muay Thai. Yes it’s fast and furious. Yes those endless downward punches lift the heart rate. Yes I finish the track completely breathless. But there’s something about this music and the moves that makes it feel dull for me. After many releases with heavy rock song Muay Thai tracks I’d like to see a return to a techno beat style next time.
Power 3 (Feel Alive): Almost the same words as track three but obviously not the same song, this is a great techno crowd pleaser which finishes the main cardio block with a flourish. I like the middle section where we travel and jab and then drop for 8 upper cuts. And the last outro with the “false ending” that catches people out week in week out is motivational and strong. By now your shoulders and arms are shredded.
Hover with knee to elbow
Conditioning (I Love It): This song is only 2 minutes and 35 seconds long. But we manage to pack in a stack of press ups (“There are only ever 4 full press ups,” says programme director Dan.), crunches, hovers and “komodo dragon” oblique abdominal crunches. It’s so short and tough I feel like doing it twice.
Cool down (My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Them Up): We finish with another solid Fall Out Boy song with a safe set of stretches.
I don’t think Body Combat release 57 is as strong as some of the older classes. Track two seems out-of-place and the Muay Thai is dull. But apart from that it is unquestionably a tough class. Despite a few moans about repetition, red sweaty faces after class show the truth.
Now it’s your turn: What do you think of my Review of Body Combat release 57? If you are an instructor what do you think of the slower track 2? If you are a participant do you think that the work out is tough enough. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Or post a link to your own review.
When Daniel Craig burst on to the big screen in James Bond 23, many critics heralded Skyfall as the best Bond in ages. Interesting then that Jackie Mills chose to include the theme song from that film as one of the tracks in Body Balance release 62, because this is the best Body Balance class in ages.
And that’s saying something because the releases have all been sensational for a good few years now.
Let’s face it. Body Balance is not an easy class. It’s challenging and promotes strength flexibility and calmness at the same time. But there have been occasions recently when some moves, in my opinion, crossed the line about what was achievable by most participants. The recent “bird in a basket pose” is a good example. It was more like a “bird sitting on the floor looking frustrated” pose.
Body Balance release 62 is certainly tough, but there is nothing in it that is unachievable, which is why it is a winner. Add to that a cracking choice of tunes and you might just have the perfect release here.
So let’s have a look at tracks.
Tai Chi Warm Up
Tai Chi Warm Up (Figure 8): We are on the move straight away to this energetic Ellie Goulding song. Unlike most Tai Chi warm ups, the choreographers have added multi-directional footwork as well as the usual arm circles. It’s easy to learn and expressive. Get low, bend your knees and you will become warm very quickly. I can’t remember another opener like this so it feels fresh and new. What a great start.
Sun Salutations (Fields of Gold): A gorgeous Sting song, and a lovely flowing sequence of yoga poses matched to breath. The three-legged dogs pre-empt the last track later in the release. With the extra movement in the Tai Chi combined with the sun salutation sequence here you are hot and ready for the hard work that follows.
Standing Strength – Sun Warrior Pose
Standing Strength (Impossible): At the Quarterly Workshop, our trainer expressed her view that this standing strength was easier that ones we had done in the past. At just under 5 minutes it is certainly shorter but I think it still offers a challenge because your legs work all the time. And I love the powerful transition from Warrior 1 to Warrior 3 in the second half.
Standing Modified Half Lotus Pose
Balance (Skyfall): This isn’t the Adele original but it’s an perfect cover. Here we have an example of a great powerful and melodic song (with the familiar subtle James Bond theme woven into the verses) matched effortlessly with amazing balance poses. Everything flows together perfectly. It feels epic, cinematic and dramatic. I like the standing modified half lotus pose and the Eagle Pose with side bend; two powerful moves we haven’t seen before. You might get way with a corny, “I’ve been expecting you, Meester Bond” line in this track, but I wasn’t expecting a balance track of this stature.
Hip openers (Let it Be): This is an innocuous hip openers track sitting in between two bigger pieces of music. So take the pace down in this slow version of the Beatles hit and use your breath to melt deep into modified half lotus pose and swan pose. Simple exercises but still a great release for tight hip and thigh muscles.
Core abs (Little Talks): Oblique knee lifts, frog leg oblique reaches and crunches offer a hot workout for your core abs. There is very little time to think, the transitions are fast and the action never slows down. The quirky music, by Icelandic group Of Monsters and Men motivates you to stick with the gruelling pace as your abs begin to burn.
To do the oblique knee lifts you have to perch on one hip bone, keep your back straight and lift your legs up on the diagonal. We’ve seen this move a few times now in Body Balance and I am getting used to teaching it and the classes are getting used to the effort needed. You can feel it working though and the groans and mail sack thud of bodies collapsing to the floor at the end is evidence enough of achievement.
Core back (Love is all I got): In earlier back tracks we’ve seen full back bends, camel poses and bridges. Here we face a much simpler set of moves. Beginning with half bow pose moving on to full bow, a few planks and upward facing dogs and then some arm pull back shoulder raises and leg raises. It doesn’t sound anywhere near as tough as the bigger back bends from older releases.
But I can’t think of a back track before this where I have felt the effects of the exercises so quickly. In truth the last sequence of single/double arm pull backs with leg raises is a killer combination. It’s so deceptive and yet so effective.
Twists (Winter Song): After the frantic pace and hard work in the two core tracks it’s time to catch your breath. Winter Song is a lovely mellow piece of music and the moves are equally sublime. Rest in a supine twist, start to re-energise during the horse stance twist and be ready to be up on your toes for the last lunge twist sequence. I like the way we begin this track quietly and build back the intensity.
Revolved Triangle Pose
Forward bends/Hamstrings (Stay): After that temporary respite we face the last round of hard work. Powerful 3 legged down dogs, pyramid pose and twisted triangle finish the main work out with more intense, but definitely achievable, poses. A great song from Rhianna and an uplifting finale. Or so we think. Actually there is a little more to come.
Relaxation/Meditation (River of Love): As we settle down on to our mats the first three minutes of so of this relaxation phase forms an extension to the forward bends/hamstrings track. The music is still lively and we do a series of delightful stretches finishing in happy baby pose. Then the music almost retreats entirely giving us six or seven minutes of peace and calm before the more lively music from the start returns at the end to revive us. Perhaps this structure of music was a ploy by Jackie to get participants to stay for the relaxation. If so it didn’t work. There will always be those who make for the door as soon as “the quiet” music starts. Those that choose to stay though reap their reward through calmness and reflection.
Another fabulous Body Balance release. Like Skyfall it is stunning, epic and memorable. And an absolute joy to teach, a great class for new people to begin on, and a challenge for the more experienced.
Now it’s your turn: Do you agree with my review of Body Balance release 62? Are you an instructor? Please let me know what you think? If you are a participant let me know whether you like the simpler structure.
Better still,if you want to review Body Balance 62 for my Podcast – Group Fitness Over Coffee – please record a 2-3 minute audio and send it to me and I’ll include it in a future episode.
I’m nearly ready to launch two stunning fitness classes. Are YOU ready?
The new release of Body Balance is beautiful. A subtle flow of perfect yoga poses and gutsy core training moves merged as always with a soundtrack of amazing music.
Body Combat is another whirlwind of martial arts moves and calorie burning cardio mayhem. All I can say is, “Roll Over Beethoven.”
It’s taken Les Mills longer than usual to ship the music CDs and the DVD of the Masterclass – so I’m going to have to work hard to learn them and launch as soon as possible.
It’s worth the wait!
Now it’s your turn: Have you launched Body Combat 57 & Body Balance 62 yet? How has it gone down? What do you think stands out is each release. Leave a comment below and let me know.
