New Les Mills thread.

[Pebbledashery]

Here we go. X

I have the Les Mills bar and weights but only because that's all I could get my hands on at the beginning of lockdown 1. The positives are that they are quick to get the weights on and off the bar and the individual weights are good to hold in the hand as dumbells, but they are v expensive. I got mine 2nd hand (still expensive, think I paid about £250) through the Les Mills site, they have a used section but I'm not sure how often they come up.
I've used cheaper sets at a council gym I used to go to - do the same job at less than half the price and what I would have bought if they'd been in stock.
Have you tried body combat? Great fun - takes a few goes before you start getting the moves and they have some 'base' classes to help you learn.
Body attack is high energy - 80's aerobics on steroids
Core is good, I bought a cheap smartband on Amazon but I think you can do most of it without.
Lots of people love Sh'bam but the few times I've tried it I've been all over the place and felt like a right wally!

Hi @PalacePaper!

I don't have a Les Mills smart bar - they are hella expensive (new) , and while they have nice features (fast weight changes, able to use the weight plates as dumbbells) I'm not sure they are worth the money. Some chinese manufacturer is making Les Mills knock offs now, I've seen them on amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Dumbbell-Fitness-Strength-Training/dp/B096TZ7VXJ?tag=mumsnetforu03-21 I have no idea if they are any good

These get good reviews/word of mouth mirafit.co.uk/mirafit-20kg-studio-pump-set.html . There is a similar set by a company called Jordan as well.

My favourite sessions are Body Attack (cheesy donk donk music and aerobics), Body Combat (boxercise/martial arts) and Barre. I do Core because it's good for me not because I enjoy it. Errr.. and there's the GRIT family of torture, but I haven't done one of them for 6 months so you can tell how much I enjoy them.

I use the Les mills equipment at the gym and it is very good - bar is light, plates are easy to change and double as hand weights.

I did core 41 this morning. Liked it

Thanks everyone. Those weights look good @kittykarate (and much cheaper!) A secondhand bargain would be great @nbee84, sounds like I might be waiting a while for them to come up though.

I did Tone 6 today, I enjoyed it and it burned a lot of calories for 30 minutes. Might try core tomorrow

Ah I've missed these threads!

Re: Body Pump. I got a Jordan bar at the New Year and it's been great. I'm using it fully loaded in squat tracks now, and could go heavier if I had the right plates. Was a bargain too at £130, totally recommend it.

I did the new Attack yesterday - I wasn't as keen on the plyometric track compared to 110, so I did 110 today which I quite enjoy. There's no sweat like the Body Attack sweat!

How's everyone getting on? Been quiet on here recently 😊

Tried out the new Grot Strength 35 this morning and really liked it. Nothing too complicated which makes it "easier" to push to the max as you aren't so focussed on working out what you're meant to be doing!

Really trying to stay motivated at the moment as I have the faint hope that I will be able to go to Spain for a holiday in August - booked ages and ages ago as we were hoping for normality by now!! I've just squeezed into my healthy weight range in the last couple of weeks and I'm feeling great thanks to LMOD, so hoping to be able to rock some swimwear...

Hello! I'm still plodding on, doing Optimal Mix + 2 days Body Balance. My hip flexor still has dodgy days but I can walk 6-7 miles now as long as the terrain isn't too severe. So all on the mend I hope.

I found a new to me Body Balance (BB80 )this morning, it had a really strange Tai Chi warmout where you pushed the box, and then turned sideways, and then pushed the box to the front, so you were effectively working in a |__| shape.

I'd been doing a lot of overtime so now trying to get back to 5 classes per week (only half hours!). Body Pump yesterday and Body Combat today can certainly feel my legs tonight!

Hello, hope it's ok to join!

Have had Les Mills for a while but had to stop for a good six months as I have had a hip injury (not caused by exercising!). Just restarting now but feeling quite unmotivated as out of the habit.

My favourite is The Trip as there's a lot of standing climbing in it which is excellent for strengthening my glutes and hamstrings as antagonists to my hip and quad issues. Am also doing Sh'bam once a week or so with DD, which is fun but I'm very uncoordinated.

@kittykarate I'll have to try that! I thought I didn't like the tai chi warm ups but now I've got a bit more used to them I'm finding I miss them in the later workouts.

Hi @Matilda2013! I can't do Sh'Bam at all 😂 my arms and legs are all over the place - I do find it quite fun but I can't count it as a workout because I spend so much time staring flummoxed at the screen!

Sorry that should have been @Dragonmead

I feel the same way about Sh'bam - I spend too much time figuring out where my limbs are meant to be to feel like it counts as a workout.

I did a very old Pump release yesterday - it's funny to see how the programme has evolved over the releases. The presenters are actually properly sweaty and you get time to change your weights in the video! I want to do cardio today but my downstairs neighbour is on back shift so he won't be going out for another few hours so more Pump for me today. I get a total mental block about anything jumpy/stompy when he's in.

Urgh! I got ambushed into a Grot today. My schedule in Optimal Mix said "Workout #LikeNina" so I wasn't expecting to open the video and be greeted by a normal Grit class.

I was off on holiday there so took a week off, got back to exercise yesterday and am really feeling it today. Did a 30 min combat followed by 30 min pump this morning, so fully expect to be immobile later 😫😂.

@kittykarate

Urgh! I got ambushed into a Grot today. My schedule in Optimal Mix said "Workout #LikeNina" so I wasn't expecting to open the video and be greeted by a normal Grit class.

How dare they!

Hope you had a lovely break @moiraswigs.

I had jab 2 today just in time for The Covid Apocalypse Freedom Day so have a bit of a sore arm - might do a bit of BodyBalance later as yoga really helped last time.

Oh and I tried the infamous BP 106 last night and I didn't actually find the lunge track that bad!! I have found some of the ones with the bench top much worse/

I did 106 yesterday too @rosettesforjill I started it holding a 5kg plate and had to drop to 2.5 halfway through. I think I wouldn't have if it wasn't my third day of BP in a row... I was totally useless in track 6 of BC 72 this morning with plyo lunges after that!

Rest day tomorrow I think. Maybe some Balance.

I had a really annoying workout this morning - decided to take my BA outside. My fitbit just refused to acknowledge any button presses to start recording the workout until about 10 minutes in. Part way through the press up track the tablet powered off. Insert involuntary 5 minutes of rest while I go back inside, hunt a charger and get enough juice into it will power back on. Then the tablet acts like a loon for a while as every time I lean over it, sweat drips onto the screen and it takes it as a button press.

Anyway, finished it in the end!

@kittykarate

I had a really annoying workout this morning - decided to take my BA outside. My fitbit just refused to acknowledge any button presses to start recording the workout until about 10 minutes in. Part way through the press up track the tablet powered off. Insert involuntary 5 minutes of rest while I go back inside, hunt a charger and get enough juice into it will power back on. Then the tablet acts like a loon for a while as every time I lean over it, sweat drips onto the screen and it takes it as a button press.

Anyway, finished it in the end!

Oh no! Glad you finished it in the end though.

Has everyone seen the new Game Changer challenge? Some of the days have 1.5 hours a day which I could never commit to so I'm a bit disappointed!

If I did 1.5 hours a day workout it would definitely be a Game Changer. Or more likely a Game Ender!

I think I always skipped Game Changer challenges and they were a bit too 'heavy' for me even in the previous incarnations.

Yeah I couldn't commit to the Game Changer. I actually find it a bit surprising that they've put it out considering the video that they posted last week with Diana and Jackie Mills talking about how women can optimise their training by being sympathetic to the hormonal fluctuations during our menstrual cycles - a set 6 week plan with that intensity of workout in it doesn't seem conducive to that.

I did BC69 this morning followed up by BP110 upper body short because it's been about a week since I last did weights. That took 1hr 15mins but it was my treat to myself after 3 days off the proper workouts where my activity yesterday was playing tennis with DH, going a wee walk and doing a bit of yoga stretching.

@kittykarate How frustrating for you - glad you got it finished! Yeah I looked at the new game changer, I completed the last one so was planning on doing it again. I have signed up for it, but will be a modified version definitely. Like this morning, I just did a full BP and I'll do some light yoga later. The day with the AM-PM workout is a bit much - I'd need 2 showers and then 2 lots of gym clothing washing. No chance!

Back on it after a hiatus.. Did body combat 67 this morning. The oldies are definitely the best :)

I've managed some good consistency recently - 3 x 30 minutes a week (BA or BC or Barre or Core) and 2 x 45 Body Balance. Plus whatever exercise I feel like on the weekend.

I think it's a shame the optimal mix program are so focused on 'newness' I'd love them to bring in some of the older ones.

So pleased to have found this thread! I love Les Mills classes, yet no one I know irl is the slightest bit interested!

Now the gyms have reopened and classes are back to full capacity, I'm doing a mix of Body Combat, Pump and Balance. I really want to try Sha'bam but I'm a bit worried I won't be able to do it as I lack co-ordination!