After the excesses of Hogmanay, fitness classes will soon be packed with people trying to work off “holiday bloat”.
What better way to get started than to see the New Year in with the latest Les Mills releases.
Are you ready for Les Mills Body Balance release 67? I’ve been learning the moves and listening to the music for a few weeks now. Here are my first impressions.
Tai Chi Warm Up
Diana Mills, one of the programme choreographers, was pregnant during the shoot. You can be sure that this release is perfect for expectant mothers. Plenty of options. Though I did cringe slightly when I saw Diana deep in Swan Pose with her heel pressing deeply into her tummy.
“Back to basics” is the theme of this release. Perfect for a New Year with many first timers coming to class.
Our warm up consists of a lovely simple Tai Chi sequence and a traditional sun salutation flow. No complexity allows you to master the basic moves quickly.
We hear two completely different songs for the Standing Strength routine. A departure from the usual, “play the song twice, once on the right and once on the left”. You’ll see a new version of Warrior 2 pose here. The Joyous Warrior. And although they don’t mention it by name that looks like a Humble Warrior to me.
At 8 minutes, the hips track delivers intensity. Glorious stretches and we spend a long time in Swan Pose. The song is a lovely one but becomes weird during those swan poses. What do you think of that long Outro?
At only 2 minutes 30 odd seconds it’s the shortest Core Abs track ever. And it’s not a trick like last time. There’s no second, longer one to surprise you.
Looks like another solid class. Can’t say I’ve been blown away by it and I’m struggling to decide what’s the stand out moment. Probably the hips track.
Now it’s your turn:
Did you go to the Quarterly Workshops? What do you think of Les Mills Body Balance release 67? Are you a participant? Have you been to the new class? Please leave a comment below or a link to your review.
Christmas is almost here. In my Body Combat classes I’m dusting down old classic favourites and we’re having great fun as everyone winds down for the holidays.
But Les Mills Body Combat release 62 is out, and I’ve started learning it for a January launch. It’s certainly going to kick-start 2015 with a bang.
Check out those Side Kicks.
Here are my first impressions.
If you enjoyed the last few releases, you’d love this. It’s similar in feel and intensity.
The Upper Body Warm up demos the basic punches in simple fashion. It may be the first ever Upper Body Warm Up not to feature shuffling in any direction at all.
Track 3 is shorter than normal but packs power. You’ll be sweating like a tap by now.
I can’t believe how many kicks and knee strikes there are in Track 4. Cool Kata at the start too.
More Capoeira in Track 6 and that means more muscle burning leg conditioning. Like the “slow motion front kick”.
I love the music for the Muay Thai. It’s almost upbeat progressive rock.
An abs only conditioning is going to hurt.
Look out for Les Mills Body Combat release 62 coming to a club near you in the New Year. Until then, as programme directors Dan and Rach always say, “Keep it real and stay with the fight.”
Now it’s your turn:
Did you go to the Quarterly Workshops? What do you think of Les Mills Body Combat release 62? Please leave a comment below or a link to your review.
Weighing in at over 8 minutes the upper and lower body warm-ups are a challenge in themselves. We try punches, upper cuts and hooks before dropping into the legs for “shoot lunges”. Roundhouse kicks follow, then a barrage of endless back kicks and an arsenal of Muay Thai knees.
This shows how the programme has evolved over the years. Early warm-up tracks were just that. An easy way into the class before the work started properly in track 2. Now the warm ups are immediately intense. We’re straight into the hard work.
And two uplifting techno tracks as well. Body Combat release 61 is a beautiful monster.
Track 2 is a surprise. Rather than the usual rock music, roundhouse kicks and strikes we face a slower leg conditioning experience. And it hurts.
Watch the DVD and think, “That looks easy and short.”
Try it and you’ll say, “Ouch I’m glad it’s a short track.”
From the balancing front kicks, to the “toe tap” squats, to the knees and side kicks a fire ignites in your supporting leg until the muscles scream for a rest by the end. Awesome leg conditioning.
Fast travelling jabs
Power training 1 – Every Breath You Take – Praying Hunk
Every kick you take. Every fist you make. Every slip you fake. A techno update of an ancient song by The Police. We experience the theme of Body Combat release 61 here. Explosive speed. I love the fast travelling jabs and upper cuts section and the one simple combo that bookends it. Go hard here and you get breathless fast.
Combat 2 – So What! (M Edit) – Independence Days
“So What” first appeared in release 27 as a Muay Thai track (the first to feature the Street Brawl Downward Punch in fact). Almost the same mix it’s therefore familiar but different. Building up to the jump kick raises our heart rates. The sharp, powerful karate punches continue the explosive speed theme. More jump kicks at the end of each section bring us close to fatigue.
Great lyrics to hook into as well. “You know karate and kick me in the eye!”
Not an update of Led Zepplin’s classic, “Stairway to Heaven” feels like we’re climbing to another exhausting peak. After two long rounds of upper cuts and the hook cross hook combo we finish with a flurry of jabs that feel they should belong in the last power track and not at the halfway point of the class.
Breathless again and we transition into another leg conditioning track. Yes more tough leg action this time based on capoeira moves. Switch lunges, esquiva and those agonising low “shoot lunges”. You need to grit your teeth during this one. And like track 2 aren’t we relieved its short?
Before our legs can recover the Muay Thai track hits us like a runaway locomotive. I’m not usually a fan of heavy rock Muay Thai tracks but “Are You Ready” hits the spot for me. A couple of fast combinations, relentless knee strikes and a breathless finale with double knees and an optional leap to the ceiling jump knee guarantee to take you to your cardio peak.
After the guitar solo and before the last chorus we revisit the “Superman Punch”. Controlled and powerful we do the punch using explosive speed. It’s still taking time to perfect the footwork that accompanies this punch but al least we get to work up through the levels here.
A finale that feels like there’s no end in sight. Your shoulders and upper arms will burn after only a few minutes of this hard-core upper body blaster.
It’s like the “Groundhog Day” of power tracks. Just when you think it might be over, we start the entire sequence again. And again. And again.
A great work out if a little too long and repetitive. It needs good coaching and motivation to get people all the way to the end.
Jaguar
Conditioning – Watch Out For This (Bumaye) – Since Ten
In my opinion this could be the strangest conditioning track in Body Combat history. Some say that “animal forms” are the future of training. The “Jaguar” moves certainly isolate the core in a way most people haven’t experienced before. It just takes ages to master it and I’ve found many frustrated people deciding they’ll stick to a hover instead.
I actually think the problem isn’t mastering the move. It just doesn’t work on most studio gym mats (in fact a Yoga mat might work better but most venues don’t have these in their main studios). The standard gym mat is too small to do the move properly and most people do not want to be “matless” and work on the wooden floor.
Sadly therefore this track has the most votes for an early mix out.
A catchy chorus and stretches we desperately need (including the Downward Facing Dog) brings this beautiful monster of a class to a swift end. As Body Combat release 61 is so long, at venues that don’t have a 5 minute gap between classes I have to cut the cooldown short. After that everyone staggers out of the room, T-Shirts dripping wet with sweat, exhausted smiles on their faces.
Now it’s your turn:
Do you agree with my review of Les Mills Body Combat release 61? What do you think of the Jaguar moves? Please leave a comment below or post a link to your own review.
That’s how people described the LAST Body Balance release. Is release number 66 in the same league?
In truth the new class treads a different path.
In the last class, from the start of the Standing Strength track until the end of the Core Back track, were 29 minutes of relentless strength and stretch work. Even the Balance track felt like a Standing Strength.
Les Mills Body Balance release 66 combines a great choice of music with equally challenging moves. But there are lighter moments. The Balance track floats and doesn’t sting. You have to dig deeper to find the intensity and for that reason some people might find this class easier than the last one.
Let’s have a look at the tracks (and you can click on the links to find the songs on Amazon).
This beautiful Tai Chi sequence reminds me of some of the warm ups back in the 20s. That’s almost 10 years ago. Arm circles with gentle torso rotation and then adding in wide sweeping sun rise style arm patterns.
Large portions of the song have no beat in the music so you have to feel the moves much more. It can be quite tricky at first but once the moves sink in you can just go with the flow of the sounds.
A very different feel to this Sun Salutations track. Normally we progress through four, maybe six, rounds of the sequence. Here we spend time experiencing a few movements in the sequence on their own. Building up to the full routine after about two minutes.
I like the creative way the choreographers created a power sequence out of the plank, crocodile, upward dog and downward dog part of the salutation by cutting those moves from 8 beats to 4 beats of the music. Again tricky to master at first but variety and challenge once grasped.
Equally as tough as the Standing Strength from the last release, you really do have to “Hold On” to get to the end of this one. The moves flow together especially the quick switches from Extended Warrior pose to Sun Warrior pose.
By the time we shift into Floating Half Moon pose our supporting leg is crying out for respite. Having said that, whilst the notes say Floating Half Moon, the teachers on the instructor masterclass DVD look like they are closer to Warrior 3 pose towards the end.
Holding on for a few more seconds after the music fade on each side burns your glutes.
Quiet. Serene. Floaty. The song is gorgeous and the moves feel light. However find depth in each pose and you will challenge yourself. Don’t let this sequence feel like a rest after the fire of the standing strength track.
Eagle pose. Tree pose. And finally Flower pose (making its first appearance in Body Balance I think) create a smooth flow of moves.
Remember though that Flower pose is not Dancer’s pose despite the similarities. Flower pose moves on a horizontal plane and the more familiar Dancer’s pose works vertically.
Cow Face pose (and we see the half and full varieties here) isn’t the easiest of seated hip opening poses for blokes. Always intense, stretching and opening though which is what we want.
Short and sweet, by the time we move into full Cow Face pose I feel like I’ve tied myself into a knot and reinvented myself as a pretzel.
The first of two Core Abs tracks. For the first time teach here’s an opportunity to tease the class as it’s the shortest ever Core Abs track. Then surprise them with the second and much longer one.
I love the variation on the side plank here. Squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward slightly in this move and lift high and you will feel your abdominals catch fire. We’re not here for long but I’d like to see this move back for longer next time. In fact I’ve stolen it for my Power Yoga classes. Very challenging.
Relentless. Fitting the upbeat music perfectly we cross crawl, crunch and finally rest on the edge of our hip bones for leg extensions and scissors all of which fry the muscles in the side of our abdominals. You’ll hear more moans and groans from this routine than any in Body Balance release 66.
Another short and simple track which can seem easy unless you look for intensity in the moves. Intensity is there though. Dancing Horse (is that really a pose name or did Jackie Mills make that up?) works all the right muscles and Bow pose always provides a challenge.
I don’t think we are in that last hover for long enough though.
Possibly the longest Twists track in Body Balance history. Feeling more like three separate sequences, they could almost have chosen a different piece of music for each and not this extended, almost seven minute long Justin Timberlake epic.
Firstly we experience a tough standing twist routine with Twisted Intense Pose, Twisted Lunge and Revolved Triangle. When you rise after the “right” side feel how strained your right leg is.
Secondly we flow through a seated sequence which lowers the intensity a touch.
Finally we finish with supine twists setting us up for the finale.
A beautiful but short Hamstrings track with Happy Baby pose culminating in Bridge pose. Perhaps it feels two short? I’m inclined to extend some of the stretches and overflow into the lengthy relaxation.
Les Mills Body Balance release 66 would always struggle in the wake of the stunning number 65. Participants have found it “easier” until they discover its hidden intensities. If you view the class without the context of the release it follows then I think this is another great class with many positives and very few, if any negatives.
Now it’s your turn:
Do you agree with my review of Les Mills Body Balance release 66? Let me know your thoughts. Please leave a comment or post a link to your own review.
