BodyPump release 100!

The health, fitness and wellness industries have been well known for using phases, fads and gimmicks to encourage people to try and buy products and services.

If you spin back through the last few decades, apparatus like the Body by Jake, classes like Jazzercise and equipment endorsements from celebrities like Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley promised the world but didn’t really deliver much, other than add more stuff for under the bed or out the front on hard rubbish day.

Then there is BodyPump!

BodyPump is a barbell exercise class taught in a group format to energetic music. The class lasts for an hour and delivers an effective full-body workout, including a motivating warm-up and relaxing stretch and cool down at the end. There are also 30 and 45-minute express classes available, which suit thecorporate working community very well.

BodyPump originated in New Zealand and was developed by Les Mills International. The first classes were taught in the Les Mills gyms in Auckland in the early 1990s spearheaded by an inspirational leader and ironman Mike McSweeney. BodyPump landed in Australia in 1996 and has been a huge hit ever since.

Bodypump is now taught in over 100 countries around the world in close to 20,000 facilities. So, if you are a traveller, you are never too far from a BodyPump class.

The most exciting news about BodyPump is that the 100th release has just been filmed and will launch around the globe in early 2017. Every quarter, a new BodyPump class is released through the network of trainers, instructors and facilities and delivered to the members around the world.

BodyPump 100 will therefore mark 25 years of BodyPump, an amazing program that looks to last for another 25. Keep your eyes out for some special BodyPump 100 classes in Docklands in the near future.

Spring fitness in Docklands

Spring is such a fantastic time to get outside and exercise. We are all to a certain extent breaking out of the winter blues and launching forward into the latest phase of our health and wellness journey.

Here are some great ideas on how you can make your spring exercise and activity plans motivating, fun and memorable within Docklands:

Try a workout in the Temporary Activity Zone (outdoor gymnasium) in Victoria Harbour. Lendlease has constructed an amazing, world-class outdoor gymnasium space on Collins St. The activities and stations include a 130m running track and multiple cross-fit-type exercise stations on a rubberised low-impact surface. The location is just south of the ANZ building. Cost = $0, or hire a trainer to guide your sessions Cost approx. $50-$100.

Form or join a running or walking group and head off during your lunch break for a scenic tour of Docklands. Access to trails is fantastic and the quality and width of paths make this choice very attractive. Cost =$0.

Ride your bike to and from work. If you are a seasonal rider, it’s time to dust off the bike and get mobile on two wheels. Maybe get the guys from Good Cycles to check your bike over and ensure it’s safe and efficient to operate. Bike tune-ups are good value and will keep your bike in great working order.

Going to Good Cycles will also help support a great Docklands social enterprise.

Join a studio or a gym – there are plenty of choices to suit your needs, lots of great classes, equipment and they provide great all weather access to exercise.

Take a boot camp class on the Docklands Green space – many quality operators provide energetic and fun sessions in Docklands – just check on your providers insurance and qualifications!  

Seven great things about bodyweight training

Bodyweight training can be described as exercising without equipment or machines, instead using the mass or weight of the body to provide resistance. Here are seven great things about bodyweight training that should encourage you to get off the machines and use your body to its full potential.

Body weight training is suitable for all levels of fitness. It can be adapted to anyone’s level of fitness or goals. If you are just starting out, the intensity and repetitions maybe lower. As you increase your fitness levels, you might add speed, power, more repetitions or advanced movements to the activity. Take an exercise like the squat for example – a new exerciser might do 8-10 reps of a half squat and rest for 30 seconds, whereas a more advanced participant might squat deeper, do more squats, add a jump and have less rest – all resulting in higher intensity!  

The variation is endless. There are a couple of foundation exercises like the squat, lunge, crunch and push up. But, for each of those, there might be 10-20 variations. These variations provide a range of challenges and benefits to the exerciser.  

It’s portable. You don’t need any equipment for bodyweight training. All you need is your own body! Look for structures like benches, walls, trees, playgrounds, etc to help set up opportunities to train different muscle groups in different ways.

It’s functional. Functional training is training for the purpose of living. We can link exercises like the squat and lunge in training to life because we repeatedly perform these movements every day when we move, lift and carry things. Training functionally with life in mind, daily tasks can become easier, we can perform them better and we will reduce the likelihood of injury.

Improvement in cardio fitness, strength and flexibility. Your bodyweight training will, and can, cover all three of these key exercise components. Make sure you take time at the end of each workout to stretch.

You will get results. Many of the bodyweight exercises use compound movements. Compound exercises like a lunge, squat or push up include movements of more than one joint and involve many muscles and large movements. If you go to a gym, a good trainer would have you completing compound exercise as a preference.

It’s free! Once you know how to execute a few of the key exercises and movements, you are ready to go. You can work out anywhere at any time and there are no excuses not to train!