Pump It Up

I've been needing to spice up my workout routine, so I decided to take a new class at the gym. Body Pump by Les Mills.

The gym website describes the class as: the original barbell class that strengthens and tones your entire body.

So I joined my friends Ann and Rebecca at their regular Saturday morning class at our gym. Ann set up my platform with a mat and a barbell and varying weights. I showed up and stretched out and was ready to go.

This wasn't my first time at a Body Pump class, I did it a few years ago at my old gym. But the majority of my workout has been cardio and pilates, no strength training so I was a little daunted at the idea of lifting.

Class started with some loud pop-like music and some squats and dead lifts to warm up the body. But the end of the warm up I was already sweaty, so I knew class would be a doozy.

The joy behind the hour long body pump class is that you really do work every muscle group during the class.

We started with squats while holding the weighted barbell. I could feel it using muscles I don't workout while running. By the end of the squat session my legs were shaking.

A session of chest and back exercises... then to arms, biceps and shoulders.

All things I never work out at all. So I stuck with the five pound weights and went for it balls to the wall.

I did stop to ask the teacher if there was a break, at the prompting of Ann... that's when the instructor told me there wasn't, and if you weren't struggling at the end of class we weren't really working.

I'm still having trouble lifting things. But hopefully it will give my arms some definition other than flab.

Then it was back to legs with lunges... now my bum knee can't take lunges too much, so I did an amended version of them and still felt the burn.

We finished up with abs, crunches and obliques... and a couple of pilates exercises I was already familiar with... I guess when something works for your abs different workout techniques.

At the end of class I was sweaty and some of my muscles were shaky... but I felt like I got a good workout in... it's definitely something I'll do again... and hopefully I'll be less sore next time.

Although I do feel more accomplished when I'm sore after a workout. I laugh a little and thing "Take that lazy muscles." But again, I'm pretty strange.