BODYPUMP 89 launch, review and sushi

Good evening, friends.

Another weekend full of fitness for me is nearing its end. I’ll write a recap later this week of the personal trainer workshop and exam that kept me busy Saturday and Sunday, but for now let’s look at Friday’s events.

BODYPUMP 89 launch

On Friday evening, I debuted the latest BODYPUMP 89 release to my regular class at Marathon Plaza 24 Hour Fitness.

The group fitness room was decorated with animal print balloons, and the mirrors were covered with the themes for each day of the launch events. Friday’s theme was “red hot,” so of course, I had on some red. (If you take a close look at my outfit below, you’ll see some red-trim shorts worn over capris. Back in Orlando, I used to be able to wear those shorts alone. However, these days they fit more like underwear. And nobody wears short-shorts in the gym in San Francisco anyhow.)

The launch went great, and the members seemed to enjoy the workout. I nailed everything, which I’d like to attribute to plenty of preparation.

Here I am with a couple of my regulars after class.

Post-launch dinner date

After the launch, Dave and I walked to a nearby sushi joint called Izakaya Ninja, which we had never tried before. It was just a couple of blocks away from our apartment, and we were able to get a table in only five minutes. I went in my sweaties, of course, so Dave changed out of his work attire to match my level of dress.

Izakaya Ninja is a no-frills sushi place that even had pictures on the menu. I happen to love that, even if it isn’t exactly the sign of an authentic place.

I ordered hot sake, a seaweed salad, some salmon nigiri and a roll called the Dr. Q. Dave had a beer, miso soup, tuna nigiri and a spicy tuna roll. Here’s a look at some of the food.

Everything was delicious.

I always order a seaweed salad at sushi places, so I’ve got a baseline for comparison on that dish. Izakaya offered the best seaweed salad I’ve ever had.

However, I ended up having a stomach ache overnight, which leads me to believe perhaps I consumed some bad sushi? Although it was an unpleasant feeling that lasted through the morning before I went off for my training, it didn’t happen to Dave. Based on the good food and proximity to our place, I’d still probably consider returning to the same spot. Not to mention, our dinner was only $60, which is very hard to do in the City.

The rest of my weekend was spent immersing myself in all things fitness, kinesiology, nutrition, biomechanics, exercise science and personal training, and there’s more to come on that soon.

And back to BODYPUMP

For those of you that are familiar with BODYPUMP but haven’t had a chance to try the new release yet, there are a few things of note. And if you aren’t familiar with the class, might I direct you to this BODYPUMP 101 overview before you read on.

BODYPUMP 89 release review

Overall, the music for BODYPUMP 89 is really good. There are some new innovations, which change up the routine, yet it stays true to its mission to be challenging, powerful and fun. Here are a few things that stand out for each of the 10 tracks.

• WARM-UP – There is a new combo in the warm-up, featuring a double row and a slow deadlift, with only the up phase. You have four times to try it, and it goes well with the music once you get it. The song is welcoming and offers a good chance to reinforce the group feel, if you play off the lyrics of “Not Alone.”
• SQUATS – The squat track has three sets, with each set utilizing a different stance of mid, wide and wider for new muscle recruitment. There are hardly any words in the song, which has been the case with the last few releases. I’m not in love with the squat track, but it’s not bad.
• CHEST – I love the song for the chest track, Fall Out Boy’s “Where Did the Party Go” and it goes great with the exercises. This track has two sets of bar work and then two sets of A-presses. You can definitely go heavier on the bar portion than normal since it’s a short two sets.
• BACK – The big change of the release: There are no clean and presses in the back track. Instead, there are two sets of a new move, the plate front squats, designed to add a little high-intensity interval training. I think you can go heavier than normal with your bar for this one, because there is no overhead work. (The song is one that is used in a previous CXWORX release.)
• TRICEPS – You only need one large plate for this one. The song is great and there are two sets of tricep push-ups in the first two sets. I really like the quick transitions in this one, which have you doing the overhead extension on your knees. (A good cue here for instructors is to take the knees wide for stability.) There are also dips in the third set when the triceps are already fatigued, so this one is challenging.
• BICEPS – Once again, you can use two plates and then the bar for different sets. This one features a new open plate curl, which is a bit more challenging than the hammer curl or bicep plate curl of the past few releases. The final two sets with the bar feature a slightly awkward combination. I don’t think it fits with the music very well, but it is very effective in the muscles because it has two top halves, which really turns the heat on the upper arms.
• LUNGES – This track features the song of the release, Ellie Goulding’s “Burn.” I like this one a lot. There are a few new tempos introduced in this track, designed to get members to hold longer (isometric holds), while squatting and lunging with the bar. I used my chest weight and felt quite challenged during the long sets of four-bottom halves during the lunging portion.
• SHOULDERS – This one is challenging as well. There are two sets of 16 push-ups in the beginning, then two sets with the bar and a final set with the plates. It seems like the track could end after the fourth set, but no, it goes on for five full sets. As an instructor, there is some tricky timing in this one. As a member, it’s hard to get through with good form. No new moves, but a lot of work. This is one where I could see my members really struggling to finish.
• ABS/CORE – This is a simple core track, yet effective. There are crunches, leg extensions and a rotating hover at the finish. In the history of core tracks, it’s pretty short and easy.
• COOL-DOWN – This ones features another good song, Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive.” There is a little fitness magic moment as well, when you ask the members to take a very big breath in the lungs and then drop the chest toward the floor to go into a deeper glute stretch, which I enjoyed teaching to the class.

There you have it. BODYPUMP 89 is a fun release, full of good tunes and hard work.

I love teaching a new releases and will continue to teach this one for three weeks in all of my BODYPUMP classes so the members can get a chance to master the moves. After three weeks, I’ll begin incorporating older music again and likely switch to a release from a couple of years ago to change it up.

Although I’ve officially launched BODYPUMP, I still have to debut my other Les Mills group fitness programs including the newest BODYATTACK release this week and CXWORX next week, so I’m back to practicing several hours a day to learn the new choreography.

It’s always an interesting endeavor to do BODYATTACK full out in our tiny apartment by myself. Perhaps I’ll wear those red-trim shorts to do so. 🙂

Here’s to a great week!

Question of the day

Did you work out this weekend?