Les Mills BODYATTACK release 89 review

Every three months, Les Mills International debuts new “releases” for each of its group fitness programs, and it’s finally time to talk about the latest Les Mills BODYATTACK release number 89. I’ve taught this release quite a few times over the past month, and it’s certainly a good one in my book.

Les Mills BODYATTACK release 89 revie

Why do I do these group fitness reviews every quarter on A Lady Goes West? Because people care. Les Mills, based in New Zealand, is a huge international community of more than 100,000 instructors and even more participants, enjoying 18 programs like BODYPUMP, CXWORX and more. We (the tribe of Les Mills fanatics) get a kick out of seeing the new moves and music and sweating together. We’re all just doing our part to help promote a fitter planet, in different time zones and in different languages, and we love to talk about it.

A little bit of background on BODYATTACK as a program

First, here are a few things you may want to know about BODYATTACK:

  • It’s a one-hour choreographed sports-cardio class set to awesome music
  • It’s much more athletic than aerobic and has been heading in that direction for the past year or so — the program is constantly evolving
  • No matter your fitness level, you can do BODYATTACK, because there are tons of options and modifications applicable to almost every move in class
  • It’s only available in gyms that pay for a license from the Les Mills company and cannot be done at home or by video (unless you’re a certified instructor who receives the educational videos for learning)
  • I teach BODYATTACK about three times-a-week in gyms around the San Francisco Bay Area and have been certified in the program for almost two years
  • People become obsessed with Les Mills BODYATTACK and there’s a reason why — the energy, the music and the workout high you get from it can be addicting 

For the nitty-gritty on BODYATTACK, head on over to my post on BODYATTACK tips for first-timers, or check this out straight from the folks at Les Mills:

BODYATTACK is a high-energy fitness class with moves that cater for total beginners to total addicts. We combine athletic movements like running, lunging and jumping with strength exercises such as push-ups and squats. A LES MILLS instructor will pump out energizing tunes and lead you through the workout – challenging your limits in a good way, burning up to 730 calories* and leaving you with a sense of achievement. 

BODYATTACK 89 class review

Overall, my thoughts on BODYATTACK 89:

  • Great music, with a variety of genres represented … there are some new and popular songs, as well as more obscure songs, so it’s sure to please a wide-range of people.
  • Moves quick … the recoveries are short, so both instructors and participants need to take the breaks, so you can go hard when the time comes.
  • Is much more athletic … there are less and less aerobic moments in BODYATTACK, which means the sports-feel is ever-present. Enjoy those sporty moments, and have a little fun in the aerobic moments. 
  • Makes you work hard … BODYATTACK should never feel easy, and this release provides a few new challenges designed to make you work for your fitness and become a better athlete.
  • Is a winner … perhaps one of my favorite releases, and I didn’t dislike a single track.

And now for a track-by-track breakdown, with links to some of the music. (However, not all are exact versions of the songs used in the release.)

  1. Warm-up. “Keep it Alive (Mr. G! Remix Edit)” by Brooklyn Bounce & Giorno. This upbeat song is a great welcome to the workout. We do a lot of running on-the-spot and bouncing side-to-side to get the body ready to move in different planes of motion. There are step touches, step curls, side lunges, as well as a short bit of work in plank on the ground. I found this warm-up moderately easy to learn and very easy to teach. The floor-work is quite brief in this one, and because I’ve actually enjoyed having a few mountain-climbers or push-ups in the warm-up, I’d love to see that come back in the next release. The biggest challenge in this track is getting participants to keep their hips square to the front during the athletic bounces. Thumbs up!
  2. Mixed Impact. “New Thang by Red Parade Well I just love this song. At five full minutes, this is actually on the longer-side for track twos, and the moves are faster. There are some gallops, step curls, runs on-the-spot and a brand new side-step run. I love the direction-changing aspect of this new side-step run move. This track has a bit more of an athletic feel than other Mixed Impact tracks, and it certainly sets the tone for a good workout. As an instructor not on a stage at some of my gyms, it can be challenging to do the side-step run full-out on the way forward and run past my participants, but I make it work. The music is good, but at times it seems like the moves aren’t perfectly suited to it. Thumbs up!
  3. Aerobics. “Bang Bang by J Rae & Fringe” Aerobic tracks are always fun for me to teach. This one is super happy, and the popular song with the “bang bang” lyrics is good to hook into. In this track, we do a lot of square running, shuffles, single knees and jump jacks. In the third set, some more challenging double-knee cross-behinds make an appearance, which always take a bit more time for participants to get. This track certainly keeps us guessing with all of the square-run direction changes. Overall, it’s a fun one, and does just as it is supposed to do — get the heart-rate up. Thumbs up!
  4. Plyometrics. “Blade Theme (Bodybangers Mix Edit) by Bryce” I think this is the perfect track four. There are three sets, which are almost identical, except the last set has an added challenge. When we ask participants to work at their all-out effort, it’s best to give them simple moves that they can execute and improve each round. There are skaters with a hold, single skaters, bottom-half squat jumps and bottom-half squat jumps to burpees. Personally, I find the difficulty of this track is just perfection. People of all fitness levels can go as hard as they want. In just five minutes, this one does it. The music is different and certainly drives the moves. Major thumbs up!
  5. Athletic Strength. Freaks by Timmy Trumpet feat. Savage Okay, let’s get it out of the way and say that yes, this track features plyometric clapping push-ups, and they are killer. At six-and-a-half minutes, this upper- and lower-body conditioning track is no joke. There are reverse lunge pulses, single lunges, tricep push-ups, bottom-half chest push-ups and finally an optional plyometric push-up with a clap in-between. There are three rounds, which are quite similar. I found the counting of the initial reverse lunge/knee-lift combination a bit strange to introduce, but it goes well with the music. The hardest part about this release is the plyo push-up, and making sure members (as well as you) brace the core before pushing off the ground and clapping. I found that many participants left out the option, and those who did, mostly did it on their knees. Tough track. Cool song. Thumbs up.
  6. Running. “Surrender by The Passionate Man Here’s another one that I just love. While in previous releases, I’ve felt like the running song was a “throwaway,” this particular running track is “cruisy” with a purpose. Both track five and track seven are pretty challenging, so we need the reprieve of a laid-back running track. In just four-and-a-half minutes, participants run around in a circle, do easy forward squat jumps and run-forward-and-back with a big clap. There are three sets, which are fairly similar and easy to coach and memorize. I think this track six is a home-run when you look at the release as a whole. Good song too. Major thumbs up!
  7. Agility. “Hardcore Salsa 2K14 (Hardstyle Edit) by DJ Mikesh This is my favorite track seven ever. I usually don’t like track seven, but I can’t get enough of this one. I find it quite challenging too. As an instructor, you have to get your previews done properly to guide participants to the next thing. There are two halves, and the moves include squat pulses, bounces, and a brand new decoy-switch move, which is like a fast snowboard jump, turning the body about 180 degrees very quickly. This decoy switch is super difficult, as are the eight forward-back sprints with ladder-runs tacked on at the end — and the speed-work seems like it is going to go on forever. As a note: It’s tough to get members to see that the decoy-switch is different from a shuffle, and there isn’t a low-option demoed on the video or notes, but I’ve been adding one in. I just can’t get enough of this track. Major thumbs up!
  8. Intervals. Stay (Radio Edit) by Jens O This is a wonderful song, and goes so well with the moves for this standard track eight. We do some run/side flick combinations, run/kick combinations, kicks on-the-spot and kicks moving forward. Each set is a little bit different, and each builds perfectly with the tempo and tone of the music. While this is not a hard interval track, it’s just right as it sets us up for a big track nine. I love the fitness magic portion, in which we get to ask participants to raise their arms up with the lyrics during a break between sets. Thumbs up.
  9. Power. Viva La Hardcore (Radio Edit) by Section 1” I guess I could say I’m not a huge fan of this track. For some reason, it seems a little spastic to me. There is a three front-jump, one tuck-jump combination that we do while turning, which is very quick, and while I like this move, I prefer to have a safe and front-facing take-off for tucks just to ensure safety. This track is four sets and five-and-a-half minutes, with little-to-no recovery between the first three sets, so it packs a punch. My favorite part is the final set when we break the class up into two groups to finish with short bursts of work doing moves repeated from earlier in the track, which sort of redeems the track. Overall, not my favorite, but the song is cool with it’s bagpipe flare. Neutral thumb.
  10. Core Conditioning. Celebrate by Dense Missile” Five minutes to work the core, which is plenty after coming off of a tough track nine. This song is very good, and there are a range of plank, hover and crunch moves to keep us guessing. I love the addition of the single-leg glute bridge pulse, and am so happy to see more bridges and posterior work added into the core track. I definitely feel the burn in this one, especially in those top-half 30 pulse crunches. Thumbs up.
  11. Cool-down. Colours by Titanium This is such a pleasing and uplifting song, and is the perfect end to a tough workout. I love when we add in the adductor stretch, which we get to do in this track, as well as the standard hip flexor, hamstring and quad stretches. It’s short, at under four minutes, but does a decent job of hitting the major muscles for a cool-down. Thumbs up.

Wow, I guess I went through that without giving any thumbs down, so as you can see, I’m a big fan of BODYATTACK 89.

For instructors …

This one is pretty to easy to learn with a lot of repetition. But it’s tough, so be sure to show options early and remind participants about those options. I’d also recommend reading the “Track Focus” for each track and ensuring that you’re hitting what is suggested and not saying too much. For more tips, check out: Top 10 ways to grow your group fitness classes.

For participants …

BODYATTACK continues to change, and as a participant, you should continue to push yourself. I love it when I see people who normally don’t jump attempt a jump. And if you’re on-the-fence about the high options, go for them for the first or second set only. With this release, it’s important to focus on chest up, shoulders back and breathing. If you can get all that, you’ll be able to follow along with BODYATTACK 89. Enjoy it! For more tips, check out: How to get better results from group fitness classes.

Read more Les Mills-related posts

If you want to hear some more talk about Les Mills, check out the following:

I hope you have an awesome day, my friends! I’ll see you back here tomorrow for “Friday Favorites.

Questions of the day 

Have you tried BODYATTACK 89? What are your thoughts?

What has been the best workout you’ve done lately?

Do you prefer aerobics, sports or strength work in a class?

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41 Comments

  1. I LOVE Bodyattack 89 – my favourite is the Power track – Viva la Hardcore. It reminds me of the Crazy kids track from a few releases ago. I love adding a bit of drama to the ‘raising the hands’ bit! Roll on my class this Saturday morning!!

    1. Hi Karen! Oh I am always a fan of fitness magic, and the raising of the hands in Viva La Hardcore — it’s just not my favorite track nine ever. Crazy Kids was a good one! What release did you train on? I trained on 82.

  2. BodyAttack 89 is tough! My fav is the Aerobic track – I love teaching it. But after each class, I’m done! Great review and I agree…the tuck jump into high knee in the Power track seems a little unsafe, so I try to be careful when doing it.

    1. Hi Bea! Okay, so glad you hear you agree with me on that combo. If I don’t feel safe, I’m sure the members are questioning it as well. It’s tough to show the option in that one too, but I try to get it out once in the first round. Happy attacking to you! By the way, what release did you train on? I trained on 82!

      1. I trained on 87, so this is the second release I’ve learned since being trained (I’m getting my library up). I trained on Bodypump 61 which was 8 years ago! Can’t wait to be a BA seasoned instructor!

        1. Hi Bea! I totally did something similar. I trained on 69 for BP, 8 for CX and then 82 for BA! Yay for Les Mills! I was teaching PUMP as my only program for so long, it’s nice to have branched out!

  3. I absolutely love workouts like these because of the variety. You almost never get bored. I would much rather do a workout like this than go on a 20 mile bike ride, although the bike ride does have amazing scenery. 🙂

    1. Hi Emily! I’m all about the variety too. In fact, group fitness is what got me started into the fitness world, because it was the only way I would be entertained enough to lift weights (BODYPUMP) or do big jumps (BODYATTACK). Love these classes so much!

  4. I haven’t taken a Bodyattack class in forever, but this really makes me want to get back into it! Sounds like a really fun release. Thanks for posting Ashley!

  5. I just got the opportunity to go to a Les Mills event in Chicago at the end of the month! I’m going to try my best and make it happen because I LOVE Les Mills classes (especialy BODYPUMP)… and Chicago. <3 I'd love to get certified to teach them in the future. Who knows what the future will bring… great review!

    1. Heather! Yes, ma’am. You’re talking about ONElive – I was also supposed to go, until we planned our Hawaii trip at that same time! But ONElive is the biggest event of the year, on a larger scale of the Super Q I went to — so it would be an awesome experience for you to try so many classes in one day. Go for it!! 🙂

  6. This sounds awesome! I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds like something I would want to teach! I’ve been 1:1 training and nutrition coaching for some time now, but I’m really excited to be starting down the path of group fitness certifications. I love 1:1 training, teaching small groups, but I REALLY like to do the hard work outs I put together with my class or a choreographed workout! I’ll definitely be reading through some of your posts to get geared up and ready, thanks for the information!

    1. Hi Kelli! Thanks so much for saying hi! While I enjoyed the technical side of personal training, I’m MUCH more into the group setting. The energy is unreal! Good luck with your certifications. You should look into Les Mills programs if there are any near you! Have a great evening!

  7. Hi Ashley, love your blog 🙂
    I am an attack instructor from Australia. I trained on 88 and i am working up to filming on 89. I love this release except for the clap push ups lol. My upper body strength has always been a weakness of mine that i am working on. Do you have any tips for getting through those push ups and for filming in general? Thanks 🙂

    1. Hi Hayley! Greetings! Thanks for saying hi!! So glad you’re part of the tribe. As far as filming ATTACK, the assessors of the videos know that it takes instructors about 90 days to get into “ATTACK” shape, so they will cut you some slack in the strength/power department. I would do all the plyo-push-ups on your knees, show the low option in the first and second set, and focus on keeping good form with your core braced and arms straight-ish as you land. Get your timing, initial cues, and technique down and don’t worry about jumping too high. That will come later. Also, as long as you nail the first set of each track, and the last, I’ve been told (shhhh!!) that sometimes assessors fast forward a bit if it looks like you’ve got each track down. Good luck!!!!

      1. Thanks you so much. I really appreciate your advice and will take it all on board 🙂 I will let you know how i go once i have filmed. Thanks again! 🙂

          1. Hi Ashley,
            Just wondering if i could ask you for some advice. Sometimes when i teach i get really nervous, especially when i teach with the boss front row and centred lol
            The feedback i got after teaching on the weekend was everything was great, my cues were great, choreography was perfect, coaching was great but i looked nervous and tense and i didn’t smile. I felt so nervous because i was teaching with the boss and i just want to do good. I am teaching with her again tomorrow night and she wants me to relax and smile. Do you have any advice for relaxing and smiling and just connecting with the class a bit more with the class. I really want to do well and improve from the last time i taught. Thanks so much for your help! 🙂

          2. Hi Hayley! It’s scary up there, I know it. So don’t feel bad about being nervous. The best thing you can do is be as prepared as possible with your music and choreography and scripting, so you know what you’re doing on autopilot and can let your personality shine on top of that. As far as personality and connecting, make sure you look people in the eye and smile throughout class, as well as scan around the room and make contact with each person at least once. Sometimes I like to look on the horizon and smile, making pretend eye connection as well. I would say you should also pick a couple of people who you know their names and call them out once or twice, with encouragement. I try to do that every single class. Mostly, just try to smile a lot and keep your eyes up. It’s fun to do BODYATTACK, so let your joy shine through! Hope this helps, lady! 🙂

  8. Hi Ashley, loved this review! I’ll be doing my instructor training with this release in 2 weeks (eep!!) and I found this, and your post about your own training, really helpful, thank you ??.

  9. As always, great review! I love getting into the details of the releases — makes them more manageable for some reason. I think they come out earlier in France than the US so I’m used to this release now. Doesn’t get any easier though!

  10. Thanks so much for your advice. Just reading it makes me feel at ease! I have saved what you wrote in my phone so i can re read it 🙂 On Wednesday night i am covering an attack class. This will be my first attack class all by myself! I think i will feel more relaxed not having the boss in the room lol.. Thanks again! 🙂

    1. You will do great, Hayley!! It’s WAY easier to not have the boss in the room … but at the same time, it’s good to perform under pressure when the boss is there, because it makes you a better instructor all around. Have fun with it! 🙂

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