The Framing Heart Study is a cardiovascular study based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The study began in 1948 with 5,209 adult subjects from Framingham, and is now on its third generation of participants.

The New England Journal of Medicine have recently published an article based on results of this study, which says that:

A person's chances of becoming obese increased by 57% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6 to 123) if he or she had a friend who became obese in a given interval.

It also mentions the influence of siblings and spouses on your chances of becoming obese. For more analysis, read this article.

The back track is my favourite track, but it can get a bit repetitive – deadrow, deadlift, clean & press, repeat. How to spice it up a little? Here’s what I do for variety…

Idea #1: Musical variation.
E-type are good, but not so good that I want to hear them every class! For a change of scenery there’s a Bon Jovi back track in BP32 – “Keep the Faith”.

Idea #2: Exercise variation.
BP50 and BP51 both have the 4x consecutive clean and press, and some of the older releases like BP29 and BP30 have deadlifts between the clean and press instead of deadrows. They feel weird, and no matter how much you cue it, there’s always someone who goes the dead row through sheer force of habit.

Idea #3: The Grand Finale
This one involves adding extra weights in the last break, I like to go an extra 50% or maybe 75% if not teaching. There are two variations here, finishing big with deadrow triples and sevens as in BP51 – “Fly On The Wings Of Love”, or finishing with the big 6x clean and press as in BP61 – “Miracle”. Both of them hit you hard, and it’s a good way to get a feel for heavier weights that you can’t manage for the whole track.

Idea #4: Progressive loading
Same idea as #3 except I add weights to the bar in every break. Again, BP61 – “Miracle” is the ideal track for this, as it has three evenly spaced breaks. I add 25% to the bar in each break, so in my case, starting with 10kg, then 12.5, then 15, then 17.5. I haven’t done this when teaching – it takes all my focus just to get it done!

Idea #5: Team teaching
I saw this done at the quarterly in Melbourne for the release of BP61. There were three bars laid out - a “light” one, a “middle” one and a “heavy” one. (the pump version of goldilocks and the three bears). There were also three instructors and in each of the three breaks, the instructors swapped bars, each moving to the next heaviest bar, and the instructor with the heavy bar moving to the lightest one. Watch out if you start with the heaviest one because you get it again at the last change.

Got any other ideas for keeping things interesting in the back track?

Everyone is motivated by something to get in shape. Ours just happens to be fear.

We don't want to look like this. What motivates you?

If you keep tabs on our blog, you probably know we switch out our songs every week to keep things interesting - and to keep me from getting lazy. Every now and again we add a little theme to our playlist. This week, it's one-word song titles. Before music aficiondos flame us we'll own up to it straightaway - yeah, we fudged a little on the shoulder song by removing The from the title. Turns out we just did the only other shoulder song we have handy with a one-word title (Freestyler)!

This is a followup to the first article.

Instructor profiles – what do they mean?

Short answer… not much! Long answer, read on…

When I started thinking about how instructors differ from each other, I made a list of all the differences that I have noticed. It boiled down to this:

· How does the instructor communicate with the class?
· How does the instructor entertain the class?
· How does the instructor motivate the class?
· How does the instructor inspire the class?

For each of these, I can think of two completely opposite styles. Individual instructors may be at either end of that range, or somewhere in between.

I gave each style a label. Note that there is no judgement intended here, they just represent different ways to achieve the same thing – a great class.

Communication Style:

"The German Engineer" – This instructor is the serious, thinking one. Gives lots of technique cues. The class is science.

"The Water Diviner" – This instructor is the intuitive, feeling one. Gives lots of feeling cues and imagery. The class is art.

Entertainment Style:

"The Quiet Achiever" – This instructor is the quieter, thought provoking one. Gives each individual his or her own class. Is the host of the party. You get a great class, but can't put your finger on why…

"The Energiser Bunny" – This instructor is like the rabbit on the advertisement for batteries… never runs out of energy! Moving, singing… you know the story. Joins in the party. You get a great class because of the energy in the room.

Motivation Style:

"The Mother Figure" – This instructor is the nurturing, caring one. Uses gentle encouragement. Baby steps. Tells you to take a break when it gets too much.

"The Drill Sergeant" – This instructor is the brutal, demanding shouter. Tells you to keep going no matter what. Wants you to do all the hardest options. Wants you to be the best you can be by attempting the impossible. "Do or do not – there is no try".

Inspiration Style:

"The Girl Next Door" – This instructor is the one that makes people think "I could be like that". Approachable. Can do big weights, but might choose not to. Inspires people with their "journey" and with what they say, and their example.

"The Goddess" – This instructor is the one with the "unattainable" body, makes people think "I would like to be like that". Intimidating. Physique is the sort you see in magazines. Does big weights. Inspires people with their "look" and presence, and their example.

So there you have it. My generalised take on different types of instructors.

If you get "extreme" or "classic" on the quiz then you got most answers toward one style or the other. If you have "tendencies" then you got a few more answers toward one style than the other. Finally, if you get a hybrid (like German-Diviner), then you got a very even set of answers. Notice that the quiz is very much tongue-in-cheek :)

Something I noticed is that it said more about the type of instructor I'd like to be, rather than the type of instructor I probably am.

Did it surprise you with it's accuracy, or was it a load of rubbish? Let us know in the comments.

Hi there, my name is Tim, also a BodyPump Instructor.

Tami and Craig have expanded their blog and included me as a guest writer – at grave risk to their reputation! So thanks guys, I hope I can keep up the high standard.

For my first post here, let's have a little fun with a thought I had back in May when I took in Tami and Craig's class. I kind of pigeon-holed them as "certain types of instructors", Tami seemed to me to be "The Enforcer" while Craig was "The Entertainer".

It got me thinking – why did I come up with those "instructor types"? What other types of instructors are there? I am sure we can all think of a few.

So I have made a little quiz that gives you your very own "instructor profile".

If you wish, take the quiz and then post your "instructor profile" in a comment here.

Next time I post I will explain what it all means. Of course it really doesn't mean much at all, and is just a bit of fun.

And just for the record, "the computer" thinks that I'm…

a German-Diviner,
a Classic Energiser Bunny,
an Extreme Drill Sergeant and
a Girl Next Door with Goddess Tendencies!

I’ve decided to let Craig have a break from posting so he can get some work done. Besides, I’ve had something on my mind that is worth mentioning. I think.

It has become increasingly interesting at the variety of exercise clothing participants wear to class. For the most part, they are dressed comfortable, in easy to move in outfits. Some have outfits that match – right down to the shoes, and some could care less how ‘in style’ they are – they just came to get a great workout. Then there are the ‘others’. You know who you are – the ones in the low cut tops, the shorts with the really wide legs, the shorts with no legs at all, you get the picture. For us, it makes it difficult when we are watching for form because we don’t want to appear like we are staring at something we shouldn’t! Does anyone else have this problem?

There has also been the rare occasion where someone has forgotten his or her shoes. I had one lady work out in her hiking boots! Craig has had to work out in his socks before. He would have had to work out barefoot but I went to the local drugstore and bought him socks! He has also forgotten his shorts and had to workout in his jeans. Not very comfortable.

Personally, I am one of those who likes to look somewhat put together. (I confess – I have Nikes that match my outfits…) My biggest issue is finding clothes to wear. Right now I teach 6 classes per week – that will increase to 11 in a couple of weeks so I need plenty of outfits! Being one of those who are vertically challenged, it makes it especially hard to buy pants that don’t need to be hemmed. I love Capri’s’, but on me they always come down to my ankles making me look like someone chopped off my legs. Tops are another issue. I’m short waisted so most tops on me are too long – leaving a wad of material at my middle. And then, exercise clothing is soooo expensive! And unfortunately, if you buy cheap stuff, it doesn’t last. Thank goodness I don’t have a problem with shoes….

It is great to see Body Pump clothing getting away from so much red and black. Don’t get me wrong – I DO like it, but it is nice to have some variety. However, I can’t afford to keep up with all the BP latest fashions.

Men don’t seem to have the same problems women do. When Craig went shopping for his BP attire, he got everything he needed at one store. I on the other hand have to go from store to store – and when you live in a small town with not a lot of stores, your choices are even smaller. Most everything looks all the same – black or navy pants, solid or print tank style top. I have seen some great websites offering cool clothes – but I generally like to try things on before I buy.

So, I guess for now I will continue to wear my same outfits. (Maybe a new pair of sneakers would brighten up an old outfit) Or maybe I’ll call Stacey and Clinton from TLC’s “What Not To Wear”!