>>> Updated 6/5/05:
>>> We now have BodyPump 54 in our hot little hands!
>>> Click Here to read our full review...

Some BodyPump 54 pre-release promo material I recently located. Enjoy...

"This new release is different but still stays true to the BODYPUMP® successful programme. The latest class brings a fresh new feel to the proven Les Mills formula for getting bodies into shape in record time. Great new sounds inspire great commitment to the workout, with new choreography issuing challenges - and rewards- for participants at every level of fitness. Program Director Mike McSweeney gets the new class off to a cracking start with a fast-paced warm-up. Safri Duo's bongo drums impart a real sense of urgency to the opening track. Then it's time for the thighs to feel the burn as participants work with the familiar rhythm of Run To You and take the squats deeper and wider. Slinkee Minx empowers some hard-out chest work with Summer Rain - there's no escape from the bottom half moves. An awesome back track follows, fuelling strength in the rows and lifts and huge power in the two clean and press phases. Triceps are also in line for a challenge, helped along by the uplifting sounds of Gwen Stefani's What you Waiting For? The clock's 'tick tock' is a reminder that time is running out to get busy. Christina Auilera's powerful vocals help everyone nail the bicep track with her hit song Car Wash from the Shark Tale movie. Next up are lunges, with some great shoulder work to follow - watch out for the double dose of push-ups and an awesome overhead section at the end. Fatboy Slim slows down the tempo for the core work with Steve Miller's cruisy classic The Joker and Mike winds up the class with Sting's super-cool A Thousand Years."

Should be in our hands late May or early June, and we'll launch mid-July (yeah we'd do it sooner but the club controls the schedule). Rock On!

We have this little thing we do every now and again called "Form Friday" - While Tami teaches, I go around the room and help folks with their form. Then, while I'm teaching, Tami does the same. The way we see it, everyone who participates in a BodyPump class is there to achieve certain personal goals. Some want to lose weight, others want to gain strength or tone up, and some just want to feel better. The important thing to realize is that everyone has a reason for coming to class, and striving for excellent form is the best way we know to help achieve those goals.

Everyone knows that the plastic BodyPump weights are pretty light compared with what you find in the typical weight room. The gains you achieve in a BodyPump class clearly come from something other than slinging around heavy weights - and that something is called form. When you nail the form, you'll isolate the muscles that need to be targeted by each routine. That's where the results are - and how goals get achieved.

We find that many folks have too much weight on their bar to execute every repetition of every track with proper form. If you've been participating in BodyPump for awhile now and haven't seen the results you expected, we'd like to suggest that you give form a second thought. Consider dropping your weights a bit, and really focus on making your execution match that of the instructor(s). And don't forget to use the mirrors around the exercise room - they're there to help you see the way you actually execute each motion!

Well, it's out, and we think 53 plays really well on the floor. We got lots of positive feedback about the music and the routine, so it's definitely a good one. Some surprises: The chest track turned out to be much more challenging than we originally thought. The biceps and abs tracks - while certainly challenging - weren't quite as difficult as they first seemed. The warm-up was a bit more intense than those past, especially with singles in the overhead press and curls sets. This is definitely one of our favorite overall releases, both from a musical and a workout perspective.

Instructors: Make sure you watch the video for the abs track - don't just use the notes - the staggered ("1-2-3-hold") counts are more obvious on the video than in the notes. And the timing of the fast "half singles" set on the biceps track is hard to coorelate with the music - but it's a very cool set, even if your timing isn't perfect.

I wonder what BodyPump classes in other parts of the world think about Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)"...