Ok. I can fill in the blanks now as I've just had a 45 minute class, so I've tried the two combo tracks as well.
Biceps/Triceps: Starts with standing overhead triceps extensions with a heavy plate. Then biceps curls (no preacher curls!) slow, 2:2, 3:1, singles and 12 fast mid range pulses to finish, then triceps pushups (triple pulses, then some singles with triple mountain climbers), the biceps section repeats and then the triceps pushups section repeats.
Lunges/shoulders: I remember joking around BP111 and the few releases afterwards that the lunge track was borrowing much too heavily from Bodystep. This one takes it further. Starting with two small/medium plates on the bench (drop it down first), squats with a front raise first and then step back lunges off the bench, then some with a side raise, then some with a side rotator raise (potato raise). That's the easy bit. Now switch to a medium/heavy plate in one hand, starting a stride length back from the bench. For each leg forward stepping lunges onto the bench, and simultaneous 90º forward raise of the plate, tap foot and then back. Gradually add in a knee raise whilst up on the bench and then a shoulder press as well. It doesn't sound as complicated as the combined lunge/arnold press in BP104, but it's definitely going to challenge a lot of participants.
I'm told the instructor's notes do make a point of saying that the forward stepping lunges (long ago removed from Bodypump choreo for safety reasons) are included now because stepping up onto the bench is safer (your knee is very unlikely to be way ahead of your ankle), however I'm sure some less coordinated people will be doing these tracks without the bench (especially if you're holding a plate as you can't see your feet), so I hope instructors are watching out for participants.
I remember nothing much about the music from these two other tracks. However I do know now that track 2 (squats) "Big City Life" is the same track used in #Bodycombat 95 track 5b (the standing section after the pushups).
Thanks for the update!! I'm glad they are using slower exercises. It gives people a chance to work on technique and maybe go up on weights of are regulars.
If people are looking for speed, I think Grit strenght has you covered there, so I'm happy to see BP going back to the basics. That shoulder track seems hard though!
And no idea about the music. Haven't really payed any attention to the titles in like.... ever
I've spoken to loads of instructors and participants, and nobody likes the fast stuff as you have to compromise your form and reduce weight to keep up (If you watch the videos, you'll see most of the guys that used to present using 35kg+ bars for squats now all tend to use only 30kg or even 20kg). I fell like it started a while ago and has been getting gradually worse since BP109. BP109 was the first to start introducing stuff from Grit - high pulls in the back track, triceps ply pushups and fast squat/plate presses in the combo tracks. I think there was a deliberate attempt to raise heart rates to stop people from dropping out of Pump because their smart watch said they hadn't burned very many calories (which is dumb for way too many reasons). They kept adding more Grit stuff like mountain climbers and I joked with a few instructors that it wouldn't be long before they added burpees (at which most of them said they'd quit being Bodypump instructors). Then the squats got faster and more extreme starting with 111 (fast singles with triple extensions and plate presses), got ridiculous with BP114 (Pin the Grenade nearly broke me when I tried with my normal squat weight). It's silly as in a live class most people just can't keep up.
Frankly most people would do better to just concentrate on form and get their weights right, and that's just harder when you're feeling rushed.
Personally I don't like Grit. Every time I've tried it, it has made me want to throw up. Sprint, on the other hand, is amazing. I did Sprint 19 this morning.
And the music... Maybe I'm just old. The 80 and 90 releases all had songs I either already had in my music library, or had heard before. It meant I knew when the beat was going to drop, and the music would help me push through. The music is why I fell in love with Les Mills in the first place. I tried RPM (despite having severe doubts about how a stationary bike workout could be interesting), and immediately loved the way the music and the choreography worked together. A lot of the music they use now is just meh and completely forgettable.
Thanks for the history lesson! It's genuinely interesting to read the perspective from someone who's been doing it from the early days. I started in 2014 and already then the music was something very foreign to what I listen, so for me the music was always just a beat.
And while I love doing Grit, I think trying to incorporate it to BP is a bad idea. Your story about them wanting to change things to meet the expectations of smartwatches is just...sad. I value Les Mills as a science-based fitness developer, and knowing they make decisions based on marketing is quite disappointing.
Anyway, good to know BP is back to the basics! I haven't done it in a while, but you've inspired me to give it a try again :-)
So I finally was able to get some extra discs to try Body Pump. I have a gym subscription but unfortunately they don't pay for the Les Mills license, so they have the cheap knockoff classes. I tried them once and it was bad... Luckily I have a subscription to Les Mills On Demand (nowadays Les Mills+). However, I was mostly using it for Grit and Core, because I didn't have enough discs to do Body Pump... until today!
Unfortunately, Les Mills on demand doesn't have BP 125 yet :( I guess the on-line classes take longer to upload the new releases. I ended up doing 124, and damn... I now understand what all that fuzz was about with the grit-like movements. The squat track had some ridiculously fast squats. I really had to push extra hard to stay on the beat. I actually liked the challenge, but I can definitely see why so many people disliked it. It really feels out of place.
Looking forward to trying #125! I hope the upload that release soon.
It'll be about 3 months. LM+ releases are one behind live classes (used to be two releases behind). The instructors pay a lot every quarter for their releases (and the gyms pay a lot for their licence) so they delay it.
I've done 125 for a couple of weeks now and it definitely feels a lot slower than most of the previous releases. Except for the combo in the back track.
I don't. I've tried just using regular gym equipment or free weights a couple of times and I just can't do it without getting bored out of my mind. I need the music and the choreo to keep my attention (or maybe to help me zone out).
I do a mix of Pump (3 times a week), Combat, RPM, Sprint and Balance. I need to try and fit Core in again somewhere.
I can definitely relate. I only do individual training with weights because I need to do specific excercises to keep my hernia at bay. While there's no choreo in crossfit, there's still the group component, and the competitive component really has my giving it my all. Still, I find Les Mills training far superior
Not an instructor, just a fanboi participant that's been doing LM classes and LM+ at home for 10 years, and pestering my instructors for extra information as well as watching as many public TAP team livestreams as I can.
AFAIK the way they do it now is that there's a back office team in charge of screening music, checking the licensing and creating lists of approved songs, the creative directors pick the music (enough songs for the release with appropriate BPM for each track, plus a couple of extras in case some don't work out), the program director works out the choreo for the tracks (and sometimes that means altering the song - you'll notice often that some sections are longer or repeated compared to the original), they trial it in live classes in New Zealand, then get the presenting team together for a few days, practice it and then film it for instructor training and later release to LM+.
I think in the old days it was much more ad hoc. I'm pretty sure Glen was picking the music himself for RPM and Bodypump, and worrying about clearing it for copyright licensing etc happened later (that's why a lot of the older releases are missing or incomplete on LM+). Now I think it's Diana and they have very different taste in music. There's also more marketing nonsense going on, I'm not sure what demographic they think they're aiming for (seems to be Gen Z/Millennial), but there are plenty of us Gen X and Boomers in the live classes I go to. I know I'm not alone in not recognising most of the songs any more.
To be honest it took me like 4 years of regularly doing Les Mills to realize the songs they were using were actual songs. I always thought they were using music designed specifically for the lessons, because the type of music I listen is so different. So I've never really payed much attention to the music they use. I just a beat to be able to move at the right tempo for a specific exercise.
They used to use a lot of tracks I already had in my collection by bands like Muse, Fall Out Boy, Five Finger Death Punch, The Killers, Panic! at the Disco, Three Days Grace, 30 Seconds to Mars alongside massive hits like Come With Me Now or Uptown Funk. There have been a handful of older Pendulum tracks used in recent release, but for most of it it takes me a couple of goes before I learn the song and can feel when the changes are coming.
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