Quarterly workshop rocks New Jersey, draws more than 300 instructors

FLEMINGTON, N.J. — A look to the Manhattan skyline during an early-morning, St. Patrick’s Day drive across the Willamsburg Bridge said it all on Sunday.

The Empire State Building was lit up in dark green colors. A welcome sign as group fitness instructors from the East Coast flocked to New Jersey to celebrate new releases and friendships as some celebrated their heritage.

While there was no green beer in the house, there were plenty of shamrocks, beads, plyometric squats, pushpus and burpees to go around.

Over 300 instructors from Maine to Maryland gathered in central Jersey on Sunday for a St. Paddy’s Day filled with fitness magic, sweat and education as Les Mills East Coast hosted a spectacular quarterly workshop. And to say it went off would be an understatement.

Instructors arrived at the club as early as 6 o’clock in the morning, clamoring for those front benchtops in the BodyPump master class, the new clothing range up for grabs in the accompanying clothing store, and of course, a chance to mingle with old friends.

Of course, with every quarterly comes horror stories, including one from my instructor friends from Pennsylvania, who had to deal with some car trouble en route to the workshop. Heck, the presenters even had some technical difficulties during the BodyPump master class, as we accidentally did the second set of the squat track first due to a music glitch. Thankfully, both sets are the same!! Sheldon’s microphone even cut out briefly during the chest track, but we all pushed through!

The workshop included all of Les Mills’ fine group fitness programs, starting off with BodyPump at 8 a.m., and by the time the BodyFlow masterclass wrapped up the day, it was right around 6 p.m. The workshop gave us a chance to try the new releases we’re going to be showcasing to our members in the coming weeks, and a chance to mingle with old and new friends.

I even had the pleasure of running into a couple of friends from AIM II – Helena Mills from Delaware and Joe Reed from Pennsylvania – in addition to mingling with a few new ones I’ve met at past quarterlies and through writing this blog.

I didn’t stay for the whole workshop – after BodyPump, BodyStep, BodyAttack, BodyVive and CXWorx – it was time to head back to Brooklyn for St. Patrick’s Day festivities – but the fitness magic in the room was breathtaking. Track 7 in BodyPump was a HUGE highlight, as the track features plyometric squat jumps that drew nothing but positives from those in attendance.

Les Mills East Coast always does a fantastic job of putting these events on. It’s never an easy task when you have over 300 fitness fanatics in one space, but that’s the beauty of it. We may be from different states, different backgrounds, but we all have one common goal: Keeping the world fit.

All in all, it was a fantastic day and well worth driving nearly 500 miles from Maine to attend this workshop. If there’s one thing we all took away, it’s plenty of nuggets and magic to take back to our clubs for upcoming launches. Thank you, LMEC for another classy event! For those of you going to Vegas this weekend, have fun, and I wish I could be there!  Hope to see you all in Orlando this summer!

Courtesy of Les Mills East Coast

Instructors execute overhead presses during the BodyPump Masterclass at the Les Mills East Coast quarterly workshop in Flemington, N.J., Sunday morning

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.