PUMP it up

Yesterday I sucked it up and faced one of my biggest gym fears.

Body Pump.

This class has always intimidated the hell out of me, I think it's because of all the equipment, having to change the weights throughout, and the fact that I have skinny, overcooked noodle arms that don't lend themselves well to weight training.

Originally I was going to be going with a friend who goes to my gym, but she kept making excuses not to go, and I wasn't about to use HER excuses as mine. There was no reason I couldn't go by myself. So that's exactly what I did.

While preparing to go I googled a lot to find out what to expect from my first class, but couldn't find anything overly helpful, so I thought I would do exactly that in this blog for other first timers (I might also do some about other classes that I've attended).

Firstly, what is pump? (According to the LES MILLS website...)

BODYPUMP™ is the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for – and fast! Like all the LES MILLS™ programs, a new BODYPUMP™ class is released every three months with new music and choreography.

If you've ever looked in on one of these classes you will know that they are pretty intense. It is, from what I've heard, the most popular LES MILLS class worldwide, and at my gym at least, they classes are often packed.

Keeping this in mind I decided to go to my first class on a Thursday at 2pm because it seemed like a time that would be less busy, and it's easier to learn without a huge crowd, and easier to ask the instructor questions.

When I got to the gym the first thing I did was go straight up to the instructor and said 'Hi, I'm new to this class so what do I need to know?' I've NEVER been good at talking to people I don't know unless it's absolutely crucial so even doing this was pretty hard for me, but I'm glad I did, she was lovely and straight away told me to grab a step (the same step you need for Step class) and 2 risers, as well as a mat, and then she showed me all the weights.

For my first class she only gave me 4 discs, all 1kg.

So in the end all the equipment I grabbed was

1 x step
4 x risers
1 x bar
2 x clips (I don't know their real name but those things that stop the weights falling off the bar!)
1 x mat
4 x 1kg discs

Then she gave me the following advice:

1kg for warm-up
2kg for legs, chest and back
1kg for biceps, triceps and shoulders
NO WEIGHT OR BAR for squats and lunges

Basically she wanted me to concentrate on technique before worrying about loading up weights, but even with a very small amount of weight I am still feeling the DOMS the next day, so there is no doubt it worked.

Since she knew I was new, I'm pretty sure she talked a lot more about technique than she usually would have, which is why it is pretty important to tell an instructor that you are new. If they don't know, they sometimes assume you have heard the technique spiels a lot of times, but if you don't do it right you could really hurt yourself.

I'm pretty sure my technique was terrible but I tried my hardest to take in her advice, and plan to keep using the light weights for another couple of classes and really get the technique down before I load up.

Once I knew my way around the equipment, the class was really fun and flew by. I'm really glad I did it, and especially glad I faced my fears.

The best bit is, next time I go, I won't be the new one anymore. You only have to be new once!