BodyPump 82, a sneak preview

No two BodyPump releases are alike. There are certainly a few similarities between BodyPump 81, which we just released this spring, and BodyPump 82, fresh out of my mailbox and set to release within the next month. However, there are some differences as well. Here is a sneak preview of what should be a fantastic release.

Anybody can do BodyPump, from well-conditioned athletes to beginners. In this release, our goal is to make everyone feel welcome. While it certainly is a challenging release, it isn’t so tough where it won’t annihilate newcomers.

Squats: I wasn’t a huge fan of the squat track in 81, but I’m in love with this one. This track is all about endurance, with little to no recovery. We switch from normal set stance to wide stance twice, and we feature a ton of singles to spike the heart rate and a lot of slow work to tone the legs. There aren’t a whole lot of bottom halves in this one – only in the back end of the second and fourth sets – so challenge yourself and try to go a little bit heavier on this one. Remember, it’s the range that makes the change, so keep in mind, don’t cheat when you get tired. Keep that backside just above knee line!

Chest: You’ll certainly like how this one feels (no pun intended). We haven’t had push-ups in the chest track since BodyPump 75, so we’re going to punish the chest at the end of the track with a whopping 22 push-ups! Now before you get scared, it’s not that bad! We only have three sets on the bench, with no bottom halves, so again, this is a track to go a bit heavier on if you are up for the challenge. The first three sets feature a lot of singles and quick-slow tempos, pre-fatiguing the chest and sustaining pressure throughout the bar work. Then, we hit it hard with the pushups! We’ll have one set apiece with one hand on a plate, then transition to eight single pushups to finish you off. Bring it!

Back: We’ve been doing some challenging back tracks the last few releases, and this one is no different. There aren’t as many clean and press combinations, but we will pre-fatigue the upper body with multiple dead rows. When we do hit the clean and press, we do four in a row, go into four deadrows then bring that bar back up for four more clean and presses. No triple-wide rows in this track. Keep in mind that this is your big calorie burner, and technique is critical, especially in the clean and press. We want to make sure we’re using our legs to drive and push that bar to the sky, and keeping our bodies still as statues on those deadrows and deadlifts.

Triceps: This is a different tricep track, but I loved it the second I saw it on my instructor DVD last week. First and foremost, we don’t use our barbells for this one, so make sure it’s set off to the side and we have plenty of space. We start with dips, transition to overhead extensions, kickbacks, pushups, followed by more kickbacks and more pushups. The intensity doesn’t let up for 4 and a half minutes, so don’t be fooled by the cruisy vibe of the song. We typically finish the triceps off with overhead extensions, but this time we’re loading them up with a long burst of them. That last set of pushups will be a killer, but try to hang on!

Biceps: While Track 2 was all about endurance, this one is centered on brute strength. It’s not a long track – only 3 and a half minutes – but we have a LOT of slow tempos to load those guns. There are a ton of singles as well, so you’ll really feel the tension in this one. Again, for veterans, this is a good track to chuck on a little more weight, since it’s shorter and features more slow work.

Lunges:  We’re going to take a break from propulsion lunges for this release, but we’ve got another new move for you!! We do have some squats in this track, but there are pulse jump squats with arm propulsions, which I’ll get into in a sec. First and foremost, we pre-fatigue the legs with short sets of lunges on each leg, preceded by barbell squats, with at least your chest weight on the bar. For the body squat, you want to make sure your feet are wider than hips and sit your butt down and back like a regular squat, but as you explode up from the bottom, you want to use your arms and bring them up over your head as you hit the top of the move. It’s a tough move to explain, but it’s awesome! A little bit of strength and endurance training here to burn lots of calories and produce quick results.

Shoulders: Just when we thought we were done with push-ups, we have a few more (only 15) for you here! The shoulder tracks we’ve been doing lately have been brutal, so this is another one to increase the weight on, if you want to challenge yourself a bit. It’s a big superset of a track that starts with pushups, goes into rear deltoid raises, side raises and rotating pec dec’s and finishes with overhead presses. Very little recovery, but not a lot of presses at the end, so GO BIG!!!

Abs/Core: Short and simple core track here to finish off the workout, featuring crunches, oblique bicycle crunches and the mountain climber which we introduced in BodyPump 81. Good finish to the workout, as we’re working all parts of our core here.

There you have it, BodyPump 82. It’s a killer workout, but it’s for everyone!!! Hope you all enjoy. Happy Pumping, and hope Team USA is ready!

Ryan McLaughlin

About Ryan McLaughlin

BDN sports reporter Ryan McLaughlin grew up in Brewer and is a lifelong fan of the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins. In "The Boston Blitz" he'll be sharing his perspective with BDN readers about what's happening on the Boston professional sports scene.