r/lesmills

I've been a member of my gym here in Tokyo and an avid Les mills participant for over ten years now - Attack, Jam and Grit as my main loves, with a few Combat and Pump classes sprinkled in. Attended the Live event in Tokyo last year and it was amazing!

However...I'm now 4 months pregnant, very happy news of course, but Japanese gyms err on the side of caution and my chain won't allow pregnant women to use the facilities at all. I had a pretty easy first trimester, so I've been attending most of my classes as usual (aside from Grit) with lower intensity, but as I approach week 15 I know I can't really hide it for much longer so I'm going to quit :(

I do have an online account, so I was wondering if anyone had release recommendations that lend themselves well to pregnancy modifications? I've tried a couple of the pregnancy releases themselves and liked them, but I'd like to keep doing some of the regular programmes as much as possible. Thank you for your help!

I've been going to body pump classes for many years. Recent chest routines have had rounds of chest press followed by very short set of pushups. I think it's bad design for a routine to have to quickly put your barbell on the floor, rush around behind your bench to be told there's just 8 pushups. And then rush back around to grab your bar and resume chest presses. I get that it's designed to keep intensity, high HR etc., but I'd rather have the time necessary to do maybe 2 sets of 8 pushups, without the "Quick Transition!" rushing around.

A question for Body Pump instructors who are also now teaching HEAVY: was it easy to learn the new format and do you enjoy teaching HEAVY? I love teaching Pump but not sure I have the bandwidth to add HEAVY to my lexicon. Just curious about others’ experiences. TIA!

I think I have this right...... When doing a clean and press, it starts out as a high pull, then twist the wrists and press up.

I do tend to SLIGHTLY to a reverse curl (if I'm not paying attention to form) on the way up.

Another participant in class said I could injure myself. It certainly doesn't seem like that would happen.

Your thoughts?

I’m a former cardio junkie finally realizing how important strength training is in my 40’s. I’ve been taking quite a few Body Pump classes lately because I dislike lifting on my own (at least in this beginner phase), and find that I cannot lift very heavy at all. I’m splitting between 2lb., 5lb., and 8lb. weights for most of the exercises. I’ve got 10 lbs. on the squat track with the bar. Granted, I have some autoimmune challenges that do affect connective tissue and muscles, I feel like these lighter weights are really hard! I mean, the Body Pump tracks are like 4-8 minutes long with very few pauses/breaks, and SO MANY REPS. Who can lift heavy for that long? Is this really considered good strength training? Or is it better to lift heavier weights with fewer reps and not take these classes? All I hear these days is that women need to be lifting heavy. That’s impossible to do for 6 minutes straight, and sometimes the single reps are so fast due to the pace of the music. I definitely think I can tone up and get stronger with Body Pump, but I’m wondering if long-term this type of strength training isn’t ideal. Thoughts?

I just did BPH 2 on the app and really enjoyed it, I think! In my view the music was massively better than no1. the structure was pretty much the same.

I really noticed that there was a lot less time between sets and between the two exercises in each set. I had to pause/ rewind A LOT to get the recovery and weight-changing time I needed. The cool down stretch was also really rushed. I can’t imagine how it would feel trying to keep up in a live class? It took me 1 hour 14 minutes to do the class!

I also found the 4+8 reps in the upper body track quite confusing. In future I’ll do it as 4+4 because 8 of anything is quite enough 😬

I did enjoy some of the teaching cues that were new to me. And a great presenting team too.

Anyone else tried it?

Anyone bought LM weights to body pump at home?

Recently got back in to body pump (yay!) but in a few months I’ll be moving house and therefore gym. A new gym does the classes but doesn’t have the BP bell bar (clip on) and gets hooked up quite a lot. So I was wondering if it might be worth buying some of the LM clip on weights to do at home? Has anyone done this and can tell me their experience? Seems expensive!
Thanks x

I’m I the only one who’s getting super bored with new releases of BJ both musically and choreography wise.

I would say the last enjoyable was 110 (the last one before dropping the crazy names of blocks and that strange reverse teaching that I don’t know anyone doing).

I think they made the choreo “more repetitive (doing majority of moves to left and right) and less crazy” because of that “facing the mirrors” change ?

Also idk if there is new contracting/licensing music issues but having one block mostly full of LM original songs is super boring, same as having the final song of each block which in past was such a blast (Miracle, Shivers, Silence …)
Also that weird obsession of doubling the same song twice in one block is weird as well (114/111 both using Fred again… yeah maybe the licensing of his song was super expensive so use it twice 🤣)

Any TAP/Insider who can tell me more ?
I have insider info about BA and BB (both really listening their feedback and doing major changes for example in BA) but no information/no source about BJ.

Thanks fellow addicts 😏

I’m trying to create a body pump playlist to teach at my local gym. I want to focus it around 1980s music. Does anybody have a pre-determined tracklist where each song for each focus is from the 80s or at least late 70s or early 90s? There are a bunch of tracks I can use, but there are some like warm-ups that I can’t seem to find a good one for. I tried ChatGPT and it kept giving me random 80s songs for warmups and shoulders as well as core. Makes me think there is not much out there.

Hi all!

I recently joined a gym that offers most LM classes, including Bodypump & Bodypump Heavy. I’ve been doing a mix of these classes, including Pilates & Bodycombat for the past few months but I wanted to focus on the BP classes based on my fitness goals.

My goal with working out isn’t necessarily to become a bodybuilder but I would ideally like to build some more muscle and look (and feel) more fit. Would it make sense to focus on BP Heavy and do those classes 2x a week (to start) or would it make more sense to do one BP and one BP Heavy class per week? The heavier weights in BP Heavy would obviously help more with that goal but I’ve also noticed that in regular BP the exercises have a larger emphasis on smaller muscle groups (such as triceps in the new release).

I’d ideally like to continue going to Pilates 1-2x a week as well but I don’t wanna strain myself as a beginner to the gym.

Thanks all! Just wanted to get some more opinions on this topic and learn more from seasoned LM program takers. (I am a man if it matters)

Hi everyone, long them lurker, first time poster.

I was so happy to finally receive my passing assessment results today! I cannot believe I am officially certified! The process was so incredibly stressful to film a (near) perfect video, but I'm glad my perseverance paid off!

As I only have one release's choreo under my belt, I will be relying on that for my first few classes. I will be teaching 2 classes a week. How do you balance learning new releases to keep your class fresh for your members? How often are you switching things up? Any tips on memorizing new choreo? I've been told the first release is the hardest, so I truly hope it gets a little easier from here on out!

Also, any tips on creating/ writing scripting would be so appreciated! Do you follow a template? I feel like my brain sometimes blanks out in the middle of sets and I don't know how to fill the silence.

Apologies if this is an inevitably repeat question and post but I'd love to hear any and all advice from experienced instructors for a newbie!

I am so excited to finally join the Les Mills community!

Hi guys - anyone can tell me the name of this one? It starts with descending elbow then ascending elbow which you repeat. Then 8 left knees, 8 right knees. Then repeat. I recall next is 2 horizontal elbows and 2 back knees but not 100% sure. Then knees again, repeat x4. Finally, running man!!! Thanks🙏

Need help finding a tricep track. I’ll be honest, I think the release is an older one, but it’s got some tricep pushups followed by a plank walk, into more tricep pushups. I think there are also overhead extensions but there is definitely a round of skull crushers. The song has like a strong bases.

I'm looking for some advice on whether I should get trained in BodyJam or not.

First, a little background: I am a licensed Zumba instructor and have been teaching for 7 years now. I am very passionate about Zumba. I love to dance and instruct. I also pick up choreography really quickly.

I used to teach at a gym near me but had to step away about 5 years ago after having my son. Now that he is older and preparing to go into full-time Kindergarten, I have contemplated going back to teach at that gym since I will have more time in my day. I have been in contact with the manager about possibly getting me back on the schedule to teach Zumba but there isn't a spot available currently. No big deal. I figured I would just wait until there is a schedule change and hope to find a spot later.

Just the other day, however, she reached out to me and asked if I had ever heard of BodyJam. I hadn't, but I looked up some videos and was very interested! I even tried one of the 20 min videos on YouTube and it was a blast!! But I have never had any experience teaching a Les Mills format. The only experience I have had as a participant is a few BodyPump and BodyFlow classes in the past.

Les Mills is a very big thing at this particular gym. They do big events every quarter for launches. If we bring BodyJam to the gym, she said she is going to promote like crazy and make it BIG! I told her I was worried about paying for training and then not being able to find a spot on the schedule to teach, and she told me not to worry about it, that she would make it work. So it seems like BodyJam might be my best bet when it comes to getting my foot back in the door there.

Here are my concerns: I'm worried about spending all this time and energy into getting trained and then finding out I don't love it as much as I thought. What I like about Zumba is the fact that I don't have to cue verbally and that I have more freedom when it comes to my playlist and choreography. I like how easy Zumba is to follow because most of the choreography is repeated sets of 4, and I have worked really hard over the years on the way I cue so that participants can easily follow me.

Any BodyJam instructors out there that can give me a little more insight on the format? Do you get burned out teaching the same set over and over again? How easy/hard is it to memorize all the choreography? Do you find that participants enjoy it? Is it pretty easy for people to get the hang of? Have you had success in classes? What makes them successful?

If I'm going to do this, I want it to be worth it and I want to enjoy doing it. Thanks everyone!!

I would like to start a discussion and invite other instructors and participants to chime in with their experiences about taking over an established class vs starting a new one. And would love some POV of the participants too! I mainly wonder, if my experiences listed below are common, or rather uncommon.

So, my experience with taking over BA is as follows:
I became a BODYATTACK instructor in early 2025, and had a weekly switch with another colleague. One week was theirs, one was mine, and every now and then, or during events, we would team teach. But after a few months, they kinda stopped, and since then, for about half a year, I have been the sole BA instructor in our area (no pressure). I noticed the group thinning a bit. Some were there just for the other instructor, or some didn't like me, maybe some stopped showing up to the gym all together, all valid reasons. Sicne then though, I did manage to get some new regulars, which is amazing!

Also in early 2025, I got a CORE license, and started a new class.
This one, being mine from the start, felt much better. I had a much better overview of who the regulars are, and why they keep coming back. This is my favorite class so far 🙂

Recently, I took over another CORE class, to mixed results.
This one was thankfully a bit more transparent to the participants, because one week, the instructor announced "You're with this guy as of next week because (reasons)". Now I immideately noticed that a couple of regulars completely stopped (I used to be a participant prior to doing the class, so I roughly knew the roster). But let's say about two thirds stayed, which made me happy.

I am about to take over another CORE class, in a different gym this time, and i'm kinda terrified. Mainly because I basically don't know anyone there, it is a smaller gym, and I fear that no one shows up.

And lastly, I plan on starting another BA calss in that other gym, and on one hand, I am excited, because the gym has a lot of people of my age, who might get excited about it, and also I love BA very dearly. However, I am scared that the room size might be too small, and that their poor audio will not go well with the loud BA music, plus the lack of a mic.

TL;DR:
- What do you guys think of taking over others classes, compared to starting new ones?
- 4 of my experiences.