Les Mills or Figure 8

[Gwenhwyfar]

I'm currently still paying my gym subscription because I'm still being paid and they provide access to Les Mills online, although annoyingly you have to give your card details so there's always the possibility of forgetting to cancel and ending up paying at some point. I like Body Attack, but don't know about their other stuff.

On the other hand, I've heard good things about Figure 8. What do people think of it? I'm not sure hip gyrations and the like are good for me - zumba makes me sick for example. Any advice welcome.

I am loving Les Mills on demand. I think I paid £29 for 3 months and this comes with a 2 week free trial so you can cancel if you don't like it. I love the GRIT classes but don't have home weights (tried to buy them online but can't get them anywhere) so I just do the plyo or cardio grit classes. Body combat and body attack are great for an all round workout. We've also invested in a spin bike which comes next week so I'll do the spin classes too. I managed to get a cheap step from Amazon just before lockdown so I've been doing the step classes too.
What I'm finding I'm loving most of all is the yoga/Thai chi/body balance section of classes. It's really helping me relax during lockdown.
So I do a cardio class in the morning then a relaxing class at night to help me unwind.
You do need basic equipment like an exercise mat but you need that for any online exercise I would imagine.

I spend so long improvising that a Pump workout lasts much longer than it should sometimes!

But with the Grit you're not down on the floor for long--quick burpies, press ups, etc. My wrists get sore if I don't have something to cushion them, though.

I managed to get some pump weights just as lockdown began but there are none to be found anywhere for love or money now! I think everyone had the same idea. I don't have a step so I just lie on the floor for chest (tbh you're not supposed to bring your elbows down lower than the step so the floor stops them for you) and for bench pushups I just place my palms on the largest weight plates.

Or save money and just use for example, Sydney Cummings or Tracey Steen workouts on YouTube!

This is so helpful thank you all very much. A couple of questions, what format are the online classes in i.e is it via an app, a website or youtube?

Also as a beginner, what order would you put the classes in in terms of difficulty? I don’t want anything that’s so hard it will put me off.

@Littlemiss74 it's the Les Mills On Demand app. I really like it and the quality of the videos is much better than on YouTube where it's often hard to hear what the instructor is saying. If you're using it for the first time there's a section called Getting Started which goes through all the programmes and the basic moves.

It's definitely worth it, even more so if you get the 60 day free trial as you don't have anything to lose!

I want to do this

If you really want to do pump, you can buy weighted bars on Ebay much cheaper than a bar bell. I have a 5kg one and it is heavy enough for now. I might get another heavier one as time goes on.

I dobt use any equipment at all for body attack, body combat or grit cardio.

I'm doing Les Mills, I really like the classes. I do body balance, combat and pump at my gym, so I enjoy the familiarity and I love the background tracks. I wish I had some weights for body pump though.

I open Les Mills on my laptop and use an HDMI to connect it to my TV, so I have it on a large screen.

Ok so could I put it on the tv screen from the app on my phone to make it bigger? Yes I do have 60 day free trial so am definitely going to do this, just need to decide which to start with.

Yes, if you have chromecast or an iPhone and an Apple TV then you can cast it.

Great I’m going to try this

If you do combat, the first class, a lot of the instructions will probably go over your head but I promise you'll pick it up super quick so don't let that put you off.

Good luck! I'm sure you will like it!

Which would you say is the easiest class to start with? I do have some dumbells but they will need dusting off 😄

If you've got an Amazon fire stick, you can download the app and view it on a TV.

I watch from the App on the fire stick.

I would say in terms if intensity that body combat might be the least intense, grit being the most intense of the ones I have tried so far.

In terms of following then I think body attack is the easiest to follow.

Body combat can be a bit difficult to follow at first but you pick it up quicker than you think.

Pump isn't intense cardio wise but it hurts the next day.

I've had Les Mills since Feb, I couldn't get the gym in normal times due to a young child.

I love Sh'bam (dance), Bodystep, Body Balance (yoga) and Barre (Ballet). Recently tried Body Attack now my fitness is increasing too!

I'd highly recommend it, it's so much better than most fitness videos on You Tube.

I'd look at costs though, there are affiliate links floating around the internet so you may get it for £10 or under per month. Also cheaper for NHS/Emergency services too.

Yes, Bodybalance is great, trumpis. I've been doing it for five or six years and love it.

The only thing is it always makes me feel sleepy, which is lovely, but I have to have a reviving coffee after if it's during daytime.

I've just signed up for les mills via the link above. Thanks for that.

I've just done a 30 mins step class. Was good.

@LycraLovingLass Thanks for the tip about the weighted bars - id never heard of them and as others have said you can't get barbells for any less than about £500 atm!

I’ve never done Les Mills but I’ve been doing Figure 8 on and off for a year now and I love it. Rather than just buying the Figure 8 access I pay for full access to all the programmes and all the monthly challenges. I do it though the app on my phone and tablet and it can cast to the tv.

The Figure 8 is a full body dance work out based around the Figure 8 hip motion, the other programmes have different focuses for example there is one based around short intense 6 min workouts. The monthly challenges give you a diet plan, daily workout and daily coaching emails. They now do the regular challenge, JNL Fusion challenge and 6 min challenge.

There is a FB support group Body FX which is pretty motivating and if I’m not feeling like doing it watching others videos can change that. The app is called Body FX too and if you download the app there are some free videos to try such as the 10 min abs workout.

I’ve always had a weak core and back problems and figure 8 has really upped my core strength and sorted my back out. As it’s on an app I do it even when away from home. I’m currently aiming to do Joe Wicks PE at 9am to start the day, then a Body FX after I finish work and a 10 min abs before bed. I’ve only done all three once so far! But that’s the goal!