pump rod Description of the group fitness program body pump. Body Pump at home

Article on the topic: “body pump (body pump) what is it, les mills classes, training, video lessons, reviews” from professionals.

Body Pump is an intense barbell workout developed by Les Mills group of renowned fitness trainers. Its main difference from traditional strength training is the high tempo and large number of repetitions of the exercises. A fat-burning workout will not only help you lose weight, but also make your body toned.

The Body Pump program is based on a low-impact load that will allow you to strengthen the muscles of the entire body. Classes are held to energetic music, exercises are performed at a fast pace, and the barbell becomes your main sports attribute. Together with her, you consistently work through all the problem areas for an hour: arms (biceps, triceps, shoulders), chest, back, legs, buttocks and abs. Body Pump gives a stunning effect, and thousands of followers of the program are clear proof of this.

Benefits of Body Pump Training

Body Pump is An ideal combination of strength and aerobic exercise. Exercises with light weights, but performed at a fast pace, contribute not only to weight loss, but also to the creation of a sculpted body.

Every 3 months Les Mills create new Body Pump releases to further improve your body. As soon as your muscles begin to adapt to the load, a sharp change in exercise occurs, which provokes them to work intensively. Quite recently released 93rd edition of the program, which undoubtedly speaks of its popularity.

You work every muscle, every part of the body. It has long been proven that it is useless to do exercises only on the problem area; you need to use all the muscles. This increases the effectiveness of training and helps burn more calories.

You don't have to worry that lifting weights will make you look bulky. It will not happen! To gain muscle mass you need much heavier weights and a small number of repetitions.

You can independently adjust the load by changing the weight of the barbell. Thus, the intensity of your training will increase along with the development of your body.

Body Pump is a universal workout. They can exercise with a barbell both men and women.

Disadvantages of Body Pump Training

Program not suitable for absolute beginners. No, of course, you can take minimal weights and train with them, but the effectiveness of such exercises will be very low. If you're just starting out on your fitness journey, try alternative programs.

Power training - very dangerous. Incorrect technique when performing exercises with a barbell can lead to pain in the knees, back, and lower back.

If you plan to do Body Pump at home, then you will need to purchase additional equipment.

Body Pump at home

Over the past few years, Les Mills workouts have gained incredible popularity, which is why many fitness clubs offer Body Pump as a group class. However, you can do this program at home. What is needed for this:

Barbell: bar + set of plates
Comfortable sneakers (this is a must, otherwise there is a risk of injury!)
Step platform

Les Mills have developed a special adapted version of Body Pump for doing at home: Pump Workout. You can start practicing it.

5 important tips for those who want to start training with Body Pump

Before doing the Body Pump workout, read the recommendations, which will help you quickly achieve a positive result.

During your first lessons, take light weights and try to avoid overload.

For exercises on the shoulders, arms and chest, you can take 1.25-2.5 kg plates on each side. For the legs, back and buttocks, the barbell should be heavier: from 3.75 kg per side. Depending on your skill level, the numbers may vary.

Listen carefully to all instructions from the trainer. Do not rush or make sudden movements, try to strictly follow the technique. Remember that proper execution of exercises will not only help avoid injury, but also guarantee the effectiveness of the workout.

Watch the weight of the bar: it should not be too heavy for you, but it should not be too light. In the first case, you will not be able to follow the technique of performing the exercises, in the second, you will not give the necessary load to your body.

Body Pump workouts should be regular. If you exercise only once a week or take long breaks, then you can forget about losing weight quickly. The ideal frequency is 3-4 times a week.

For greater effectiveness, try other Les Mills programs, such as Body Combat or Body Balance.

Body Pump is a group strength training program with mini-barbells from the New Zealand fitness monopolist Les Mills. Trainings are presented in most clubs of the FizKult and World Class networks, and other network and independent clubs. In fact, this lesson is very popular. So much so that it even became the object of research by independent scientists. Sports physiologists from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) studied the effectiveness of this training. Their findings are extremely interesting.

Body Pump as an experimental object

Distrustful scientists gathered a group of 19 women. The conditions for participation in the experiment were:

physical health and the absence of contraindications to strength training with light and medium weights;
sedentary lifestyle and lack of sports achievements in the past;
at least a six-month period of abstinence from fitness before the start of the experiment

The presence/absence of excess weight was not a criterion for the study. And the question itself, whether Body Pump burns fat, was not raised. The young ladies did not change their diet if it was the same “everything in a row” as before the start of classes.

The condition was regular, 2 times a week, attendance at 2 group Body Pump lessons per week. The experiment lasted 12 weeks.

At the beginning and end, scientists measured:

number of squats with a barbell on the shoulders, 4 repetitions (strength mode);
aerobic endurance, simply testing the subjects' ability to walk on a treadmill while keeping their heart rate in the aerobic zone for a certain amount of time;
abdominal muscle strength - subjects performed hanging leg raises
weight, body fat thickness

The results were something like this:

the strength indicators of the subjects increased by 33%;
the rest, including weight and body fat thickness, remained unchanged

It would seem that you should train and be happy, but no. The results of the study directly contradict the information we are given on the official Body Pump website. The participants in the experiment did not lose weight!

Is Body Pump suitable for those losing weight?

When training using the Body Pump system, perform:

mini-barbell bench presses on the steppe;
deadlift on straight legs and barbell rows to the stomach;
press press;
squats and lunges;
bringing the legs to the stomach while lying down and other abdominal exercises;
isolating barbell lifts and barbell presses for biceps and triceps

The weights are taken to be light by gym standards. And by the standards of completely detrained citizens, they are heavy. On average, girls squat 20 kg, bench press 12 kg, and perform biceps curls with 7.5 kg. The authors of the program rely on a multi-repetition mode. In an hour-long session, trainees perform up to 800 barbell lifts in various ways. This indicates a medium-high intensity workout. The authors of the program claim that the calorie consumption for such a workout is more than significant - from 600 to 1000 kcal. It would seem that you can lose weight without any problems.

Why haven't the Brazilians lost weight? The whole “trick” lies in a simple fact - they did not change their diet, and in fact ate at random. How does it “hit” for a person who has taken up high-intensity exercise for the first time in his life? That's right, a lot and plentifully. This type of training significantly increases the appetite of people who are not accustomed to monitoring the composition of their food. Roughly speaking, those who can follow a diet with such activities and not overeat:

“eats” 2 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight at least;
eats protein with every meal;
eats almost no or limits classic sources of sugar;
very moderate in consumption of fruits, does not eat kilograms of them;
basically, he eats according to the scheme “a few spoons of boiled grain, something protein, a portion of vegetables with olive oil”;
doesn’t see any special drama in this style of eating; he can eat candy or cookies from time to time, but without “taking out” the entire sweets section in the supermarket.

With the typical eating style of “a cup of coffee here, a piece of candy there and a bucket of food indiscriminately at night,” strength exercises will not contribute to weight loss, no matter how intensely you do them.

So Pump is very suitable for those losing weight, but before buying a subscription, it’s still worthwhile to “cleanse” your diet as much as possible and create a light deficit, literally 200-400 kcal/day.

Body Pump and Aerobic Endurance

I remember my friends from the gym and I went to the presentation of this program at a very glamorous local club. The biggest problem for everyone was:

do not shock the instructor until your jaw drops by squatting below parallel;
do not throw a projectile out of old habit of strength, feeling a burning sensation in the muscles

The second point, namely overcoming oneself, working through a burning sensation and fatigue, according to the authors of the program, helps to increase aerobic endurance, among other things. Research has proven that it doesn't really help. The aerobic performance of the Brazilians remained the same as where they were at the beginning. And “overcoming yourself and working through the burning sensation” is nothing more than a way to gain a good training volume.

So if you want to not only lose weight, but also improve your endurance with Pump, your path leads to other group aerobic classes. The most “working” schemes here are the following:

you go to Pump, and then do “steady” cardio for 20-30 minutes on a treadmill or elliptical trainer. You can also “saddle” a stepper, but this is if you, in principle, can stomp on it with a good amplitude for 20-30 minutes;
you train with mini-barbells 2 times a week, and 2 times go to any aerobic class that has sufficient intensity and you personally like;
you run in the air a couple of times a week, swim in a pool or pond, or train on a bike. Plus 2 Pump classes per week

If the goal is not “to lose weight”, but “to improve muscle endurance for running, cycling or swimming,” it makes sense to do the opposite - an hour of targeted training before pumping, 3-4 times a week.

Well, for the rest, Pump remains one of the “basic” programs in fitness. At the very least, there you will learn to squat, lunge, press and deadlift, and when you come to the gym, when the natural opportunity to progress has exhausted itself, you will understand what needs to be done there.

Elena Selivanova

Among all types of strength training, the Body Pump training system has been one of the most popular in the world for more than a quarter of a century. The main feature of this sports trend is the use of a light barbell in all exercises, and the main goal is not only the active burning of fat, but also the formation of a beautiful body with sculpted muscles. Moreover, when answering the question of what a body pump is, you should definitely add two facts: any workout is accompanied by modern, incendiary music, and the pace of movements (even with a weighting agent in the form of a barbell) is very fast.

Body pump exercises are so well chosen that the effect of just two or three months of training is literally stunning. In this case, all muscles are worked sequentially - starting with the triceps and biceps, then moving to the shoulder, chest and back areas, then moving down to the abs and buttocks and ending with strengthening the groups of muscle fibers on the thighs and calves.

History of the formation and development of Body Pump

To understand the Body Pump system - what it is, how it came about and why it has gained such incredible popularity, you need to go back to 1988. Contrary to popular belief that the Body Pump workout is of Australian origin, its founder was 4-time Olympic winner New Zealander Les Mills. While not yet having its modern name, Mills' fitness system was practiced in the gyms he owned in the town of Oakland, where the athlete was from. But most of all, his son, Philip, a lover of surfing and noisy discos, liked his father’s ideas. In the summer of 1990, the young guy independently modified the complex somewhat, noticeably speeding up the pace of the exercises and, at the same time, “tying” it to music.

This is how his own group program appeared in fitness called Body Pump - so unusual and revolutionary in its implementation methods that just 5 years later it managed to conquer Australia. And only from there, after another two years, the company Les Mills International, familiar to everyone today, broke into the global fitness industry, spreading Body Pump and its numerous variations to all continents.

Today, group training using this system is conducted weekly in 16 thousand gyms in 77 countries, and the number of participants is approaching 7 million. Philip has won a huge number of awards in the fitness field, and his father is the honorary president of the company.

Advantages of the Body Pump strength complex

What can be attributed to the undoubted advantages of the popular trend?

First of all, Body Pump ideally combines aerobic and strength training components. This is achieved by combining a high tempo of exercises and moderate weight of the barbells, and the result is the loss of extra pounds and the formation of a beautiful muscle relief.
Body Pump is able to find an individual approach to people with very different physiological constitutions and physical fitness. Thanks to the stable release of new versions of the system 4 times a year (now their number is approaching a hundred), any training involves a constant transition to the next load levels as soon as the previous one is mastered.
Body Pump is designed to work not with problem areas, but with all muscle groups as a whole. Only in this case can we talk about the effectiveness of the classes - which, in fact, was known in the East even during the emergence of ancient gymnastic systems and martial arts.
An important point (especially for women) is the fact that even the most intense exercise will not lead to excessive muscle growth. This requires completely different power loads - both in terms of the weight used and the duration of fixation of the weight.
At the same time, adjustment of the weight of the barbells, starting from a certain period, can be done without direct instructions from the instructor - the body itself will tell you what load becomes comfortable for it.
The Body Pump system is universal, which means it is completely suitable for both men and women.

What is important to remember?

However, a barbell is a barbell – and “dancing” with it can be dangerous. In this regard, it is necessary to always keep at least two things in mind:

for beginners with completely undeveloped muscles, it is better to replace the program (at least at first) with something alternative and less powerful;
the risk of injury from training (with a complete lack of technical knowledge) can also be very high, and lead not only to painful sensations, but also to ruptures and sprains of ligaments.

Body Pump for home workouts

Obviously, to practice Body Pump at home you will need to purchase certain equipment and, of course, appropriate shoes. The minimum set will look like this:

barbell (it is necessary to select weights for its bar taking into account your physical characteristics);
sneakers (only good quality and well-known manufacturer);
step platform (its presence is not required, but is recommended by experts).

For home exercises, the current Body Pump was personally adapted by Les Mills, Philip's father. Having received a separate name Pump Workout, the system included 8 groups of exercises:

Visually studying the order of performing the exercises (as well as finding out the weights of the barbells recommended for each of them) is not difficult at all - the corresponding videos are freely available, and their English-language versions are equipped with Russian subtitles.

To avoid injury and achieve the most effective results, we suggest:

Avoid excessive effort and stress at the initial stage of training.
When developing the muscles of the upper half of the body (chest, arms, shoulder girdle), limit yourself to a barbell with weights from 1 to 2.5 kg. For the more powerful and deeper muscles of the lower half (back, buttocks, thighs, calves), it makes sense to increase the weight by about one and a half times (from 1.5 to 3.75 kg). At high levels of training, these figures can increase even more.
In no case should you rush to move to the next level, make unnecessarily sudden movements and pay inattention to the words of the coach.
The total weight of the barbells should not be too light or too large (in the 1st case, efficiency will decrease, in the 2nd, it will not be possible to maintain proper technique).
Without regular training (optimally, every other day), the effectiveness of training is reduced to almost zero. You won’t be able to lose weight quickly or build sculpted muscles this way.

Body Pump group lesson is an invention of the New Zealand fitness corporation Les Mills. The point is that this is a certified lesson and no instructor can insert any of his own elements into it. This is a plus, because practitioners all over the world receive the same lesson with mini-barbells. Somewhere in Vladivostok or even in Kerch, one thing awaits you: exercises for large muscle groups, a qualified instructor, working out the whole body in just one hour. Who will benefit from this lesson?

Who and what is Body Pump for?

Body Pump workouts are designed for people of all fitness levels. You can come to them either simply “from home”, without any fitness experience, or from any other group or individual classes. If you can do squats, lunges, push-ups, and barbell presses, this is for you. Those with such “popular” musculoskeletal diseases as hernias and protrusions can, in theory, be trained. At the very least, the instructions for trainers allow such people to be allowed to participate in classes, provided that they do not use barbells of maximum weight (and this is impossible, since equipment is usually used weighing up to 20-30 kg), and first study the technique in detail. Those working with an exacerbation of the inflammatory process in the problem area are not allowed. In addition, those with severe scoliosis should not exercise and therefore any exercises with apparatus on the shoulders are prohibited.

You should not do Body Pump until a cold or exacerbation of any chronic disease has passed. It is worth holding off on training even if you simply feel unwell, feel unwell, or are on the first day of menstruation. The workout does not involve jumping, but can cause an increase in blood pressure due to the inclusion of large muscle groups.

Sometimes they say that you can’t squat with a mini barbell if you have varicose veins. But here, too, everything is very relative, many people exercise with the permission of a doctor, it all depends on the severity and progress of the disease. In principle, in the standard Body Pump plan there are only a couple of exercises on the legs; it is almost impossible to get an overload.

The lesson is not suitable only for those who:

has severe motor pattern disturbances. Try to squat deeply without weight, so that your pelvis drops below your knees. If you fail, there is a violation. By attending group training of any format, you will only aggravate this violation. A fast pace of squats greatly contributes to the development of “chronic under-squatting”; this method of squats is quite dangerous for the knees and cannot be considered technically correct. The same applies to people who seem to be unable to “re-push up” over their shoulders, that is, they do not bend their elbows to the full amplitude for push-ups. And the same applies to everyone who cannot bend forward with a straight back and slightly bent knees. If you have such problems with movements, you should work with a trainer individually for at least a couple of months and do some training exercises. They are selected individually, but they will protect you from injury for life;
cannot perform strength training due to health reasons. We are talking about exacerbation of hypertension and inflammatory processes in joints and tissues.

Will a body pump help you lose weight?

Such exercises are very helpful in losing weight. You will perform strength endurance exercises. They make creating a calorie deficit much easier than just doing weightless workouts at home or training on cardio equipment. After a Body Pump workout, the muscles become denser, the number of cells increases, and active protein synthesis occurs. This is an energy-intensive process, and we burn calories not only when we squat or do lunges and deadlifts, but also when we simply relax at home after exercise.

You need to train to lose weight no more than 3 times a week. We alternate training with any aerobic exercise, if we are not a beginner, or with just regular active recreation (everyday activity plus a half-hour walk), if a body pump is the first training experience in our life. As your weight loss progresses, you can add 20 minutes of interval cardio on a treadmill or stepper after training with mini-barbells.

How to eat to lose weight? You shouldn't go hungry. Diets with large calorie deficits and significant imbalances in protein and fat are quite harmful for anyone trying to lose weight through strength-endurance training. They can cause a “collapse” of the immune system, hair loss and other health problems.

You should try to eat at least 1.5 g of protein and 1 g of fat per 1 kg of body weight. You should eat as much carbohydrates as would be adequate for your physical activity levels. The more walking, running, and other movement you do in your life, the less likely it is that you will have to sit on 2-3 grams of carbohydrates per kilo to lose weight.

Is it possible to gain muscle mass with a Body Pump?

There is a very well-known study, the results of which prove that muscle mass can be increased by training in the strength endurance mode too. In it, respondents followed the Body Pump plan for 12 weeks, 3 times a week without skipping, and ate nutritious foods without a calorie deficit. Over time, the experiment participants gained 800 g of pure muscle mass. Unfortunately, it does not indicate what gender the respondents were. But it’s a fact that you can maintain fitness or even acquire new muscles in group classes.

Another question is if, for example, you have certain muscle groups that “lag behind” in development. Some girls are forced to perform 3-4 auxiliary exercises on the buttocks in order to change their shape and “lift” them visually. If you know for sure that some muscles are lagging behind, it is worth introducing additional strength training. This approach also makes sense. For example, first we go to a group lesson and work out the whole body, and then we go to the gym for 20 minutes. There we perform a small complex on lagging muscles, trying to work in isolating exercises, and not in the base. We do an “extra” lesson in the gym no more than a couple of times a week, so as not to overwork. On a “free day” - only Body Pump.

Is it worth combining training with other lessons and how?

For a person who just wants to look good and feel normal, a body pump may be the only lesson in a fitness club. 3 hours a week is enough to lose weight, get a beautiful, toned figure and get rid of the consequences of physical inactivity.

Having purchased a subscription to almost any fitness club, you will find a pump in its schedule. Because pump training is both an aerobic and strength exercise. Largely due to this, this direction is considered attractive for beginner athletes. Pump aerobics takes place at a fast pace accompanied by energetic music, thereby luring more and more new visitors to its classes.

Pump features

Pump or from the English Body pump is very popular and promoted in fitness clubs. As a rule, pumping is a group activity, but its peculiarity is that it is attended not only by females, but also by males. And, as you know, the main audience for group classes in fitness clubs are women.

But what is a pump? A pump is an intense workout with a mini-barbell aimed at major muscle groups. And, in addition to the fact that the workout itself is very fat-burning, it also involves choosing the working weight yourself. Therefore, you have the opportunity not only to get rid of excess subcutaneous fat, but also, at the desired weight, on the contrary, to increase muscle mass.

Benefits of the pump

The pump has various benefits, perhaps it is because of this that the workout has gained so much fame in the world of fitness.

Combines two loads simultaneously
Constantly updating the training program
The workout includes working all muscle groups
The workout is perfect for beginners
Number of repetitions of exercises

The pump repertoire is changed almost every three months by the developers of the method, thanks to this there is no monotony in it. You can also independently adjust the weight of the mini-barbell, this makes it possible for beginners to attend classes, however, if you take a barbell that is too light, the effectiveness of the training will be significantly less. Well, the main thing is that the workout uses all the muscles of your body, and the body receives both aerobic and strength training. And due to repeated repetitions of each exercise, the muscles are worked more thoroughly.

How does the training go?

The pump, like any other workout, begins with a warm-up. The lesson itself lasts 1 hour or 45 minutes, depending on the level of training. During the class, you work the muscles of your back, arms, legs and chest using exercises such as:

Chest press
Squats
Lunges
Bicep curls
Triceps Curls
Standing Mini Barbell Press

A certain time and 2-3 exercises are allotted for each muscle system, so the lesson turns out to be very productive. Well, at the end of the aerobics pump, calm music is turned on, the lights are turned off and simple exercises are performed at a low tempo for relaxation. This allows you to relieve tension from your body and not feel too tired.

Pump classes on your own

If a pump is a group program, this does not mean that practicing pumps on your own is impossible. Of course, under the guidance of a trainer, this is much easier and safer, but you can achieve good results alone. For independent training, you only need equipment that can be found in the gym of any fitness club. Well, if you want to exercise at home, the equipment is sold in sports stores.

But in order to start training at home, it is better to take a couple of classes or study via video. The creators of this method, Les Mills, have recorded quite a lot of videos with pump training, thereby simplifying the task for fans of this sport.

Pump training is a modern trend in fitness that has gathered a considerable number of followers due to its effectiveness. By exercising regularly, you will increase your strength and endurance. Dancing with a mini barbell will not leave anyone without results.

One of the relatively recent, but already popular Moscow innovations in fitness is the Body Pump program (literally, “body pumping”). Combining aerobic and strength exercises, it brings you into excellent physical shape in the shortest possible way... We decided to find out what the essence of the mysterious body pump is and test it personally.

A quick result is what all life in a modern metropolis is aimed at: money in the morning, chairs in the evening. I want a great figure for my birthday... And even if it’s not in four days, but in a little over a month, I urgently need to start doing something right now! Therefore, the appearance of the new Body Pump program in my fitness club was very opportune. The abstract in the brochure carefully given to me by the trainer states that “the program is accessible to most people of any age, regardless of gender and different levels of physical fitness.” Tempting! But it's worth checking...

What is the essence of training

You place a step platform in front of you, put a mat and a towel on top. You take an elegant barbell and 4 “pancakes” of different loads, 2 pieces for each side, ranging from 2.5 to 5 kg each. This is a women's version; men have a heavier barbell. When choosing a load, body weight and degree of fitness are taken into account. The same exercises are suitable for both people leading a sedentary lifestyle (that is, me) and those who are passionate about sports. During classes, the load should be changed. If it suddenly becomes too easy, you can add a couple more “pancakes” to the barbell. The adjustment is very convenient. I put a minimum load just in case. Music - let's go! Squats, lunges...

The first minutes of the warm-up, admiring my reflection in the mirror, I think: “...I could take 5 kg,” then: “No, 2.5 is just right!” - and just mentally pray for a break, here it is - relax, take a sip of energy drink or water. By the way, drinking during classes is highly recommended.

The step platform in classes is used not for trampling, but for lying down. We sat down more evenly, bent our legs at the knees, placed them on the floor, and took the barbell to our chest; slow press up for a count of 1-2-3 - lowered quickly! The load is created by different paces of exercise. You don’t get confused, you don’t lose your rhythm, and that’s nice. The movements change frequently, but at the same time they are really so simple that it is not difficult to repeat them after the instructor, who keeps nodding approvingly to the beginners, encouraging them and strictly recommending not to shirk when I begin to think that I might be lazy and skip a couple of presses ...

What are the benefits of Body Pump

While doing push-ups (from my knees), I try to objectively weigh the facts. In principle, any sports activities tone the muscles, but the question is how quickly and with what effort. Body Pump develops and evenly strengthens all the muscles of the body without increasing their volume. The timing of contraction of different muscle groups is optimally selected for their maximum activation. Girls do not have to worry that their tender shoulders will turn into lumps, but the barbell will eliminate the excess “softness”. Men are not afraid to build muscles; they push themselves to the fullest. But you can’t become Schwarzeneggers here! But lean ancient Greek athletes can.

During training, natural physiological processes are activated: metabolism improves, metabolism accelerates. This makes it easier to get rid of accumulated calories and “burn” fat cells faster. Scientists say that hormonal status also improves and the immune system is strengthened. Bone tissue becomes denser, which prevents the development of osteoporosis. According to research, the program even reverses the aging process (this, of course, is hard to believe, but still).

Strong metamorphoses are promised after three months of training (subject to training twice a week), but within a month you can achieve visible results.

It also seems to me an undoubted advantage that the choreography and musical accompaniment change regularly so that the program does not get boring, but in general the structure of the lesson remains unchanged. Knowing in advance what awaits them, students give it their all throughout the entire lesson, leaving no energy “just in case,” and this further increases the effect of the training. If you miss a lesson, you don’t have to worry that in your absence the instructor gave a difficult exercise and now it will be difficult to catch up with the group. The pleasure lies not in learning new movements, but in overcoming oneself. When after a month you see real results - before you couldn’t lift a barbell with minimal weight, but now you cope with it jokingly - your self-esteem rises sharply.

Despite the apparent simplicity, completing tasks is not boring. Specially selected music (from classic hits to foreign rock and pop) enhances motivation. Each measure corresponds to a specific movement, and the exercise ends exactly with the last chord.

The most pleasant thing, of course, is in the end: at the end of the lesson - stretching. How good it is to stretch in different directions!

After training

I’ll say right away that I’m not a particularly athletic person, so immediately after training I barely crawled out of class, and the next day my biceps and triceps were actively rallying. I tried not to react to my body’s complaints, in the hope that my efforts were not in vain and that by my birthday I would still fit into my favorite dress...

" - body and "pumping" - pumping) is a rhythmic group training, the technique of which was developed and popularized by the New Zealand couple of track and field athletes: Philip and Jackie Mills. The Mills' idea was to take men away from the hardware of the gym and attract them to fitness, and to make women friends with the barbell.

Features of the Body Pump workout

The workout is designed to burn fat and pump up muscles and is a high-impact mixture of bodybuilding and aerobics. There is a clear “Body Pump” program and it, including music, is the same for all fitness centers certified to provide this training. The workout consists of 8 parts, each of which works with a specific muscle group. The activity begins with a warm-up warm-up and ends with a five-minute cool-down, and each part of the lesson is accompanied by “its own” track.

During the lesson, additional sports equipment is used: a barbell (the main equipment), dumbbells and a step platform. The distinctive feature of Body Pump is its low-impact load, high tempo and high-repetition training, which pumps all major muscle groups.

Barbell- this is the name of a special mini-barbell in a soft shell, developed and patented specifically for Body Pump classes.

Training duration is 59 minutes.

Who is the Body Pump workout suitable for?

Body Pump is a universal workout and is suitable for both men and women. However, she not suitable for absolute beginners. The high level of intensity of the lesson and the need for strict adherence to technique make this type of training difficult to perform and even dangerous for an unprepared person.

In addition, the presence of the following diseases is considered a clear contraindication::

phlebeurysm;
problems with the musculoskeletal system;
spinal injuries;
arterial hypertension and cardiovascular diseases;
postoperative period;
epilepsy.

If you have any significant health problems that are not included in the list above, you should definitely tell your fitness instructor about them and ask for advice on the advisability of doing Body Pump.

Body Pump: benefits

By regularly training with this program, you will be able to achieve:

Muscle tone. The pump is effective for correcting “problem” areas of the figure and even works on such “hard-to-reach” areas as the inner thighs.
Beautiful proportions of the whole body. Body Pump increases muscle volume, sculpts, and helps reduce the proportion of fatty tissue in the body.
Endurance, strength and balance. Training has a beneficial effect not only on appearance, but also on physical capabilities. Increases coordination of movements.
Regular fitness habits. Body Pump is a great discipline: you should never be late for class, because if you skip the warm-up, you risk starting the main part of the workout with “cold” muscles, which can lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of injury.
Increased self-esteem, as a consequence of all of the above.

What weight is best to train with?

The weight of the equipment varies from 2 to 20 kg; the trainee himself chooses the degree of load, thus adjusting the intensity of the training. As endurance and strength indicators develop, as a rule, the working weight of the projectile also increases. Standard working weights, by the standards of the gym, can be called light - squats are performed with a weight of 20 kg, bench presses with a weight of 12 kg, and biceps are trained with a weight of 7.5 kg. But a high-repetition regime with such weights can drive even a regular rocking chair into seven sweats.

What not to expect from training

Don't expect it to be easy. You shouldn’t expect the same effect as from bodybuilding. The pump grows muscles well and makes them sculpted, but it won’t turn them into bulkers - this requires more serious weights with a small number of repetitions and a high-protein diet.

Disadvantages of training

If a beginner, out of ignorance or out of curiosity, wanders into Body Pump, then he risks being disappointed either in himself or in strength training in general, developing serious muscle pain the next day after class, missing the next workout because of them, or even completely give up on fitness.

Body Pump training video from the creators, Les Mills group of trainers:

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Pump aerobics

Pump aerobics is a mixture of bodybuilding and aerobics, which distinguishes it from other types of fitness, since in classes, which are conducted to catchy music, strength exercises are performed and barbells are used, and all this together with elements of regular aerobics. Another name for this type of exercise is body pump, Barbell Workout. Pump aerobics was developed by an athlete named Phillip Mills from New Zealand in the early 1990s. Initially, new training was carried out in gyms, but gradually they moved to ordinary sports clubs. Workouts have become very popular among women.

Pump is a strength lesson, the main goal of which is to work out the main muscle groups. Given the high level of intensity of exercise, this type of aerobics is recommended for trained people.

The main goal of Pump classes is to tone the muscles of the entire body. During the exercises, all kinds of weights are used, including dumbbells, as well as a barbell (the so-called special mini-barbell in a soft shell, the weight of which can vary from 2 to 20 kg). Step platforms can also be used during classes. The pump helps to correct the figure in problem areas and give additional relief to the muscles. This type of aerobics will be optimal for those who, due to various circumstances, cannot often go to the gym, but still want to stay in good shape. The pump helps develop endurance and strength, as well as form the correct body proportions. Pump aerobics burns fat well, trains your sense of balance and improves coordination.

Strength training has a beneficial effect not only on your physical capabilities, but also on the functioning of blood vessels and the heart, metabolism, bone density, muscles and tendons. There is no need to be afraid of pumping up muscles: having passed the 20-year mark, a person who does not play sports loses approximately 0.5 kg of muscle mass every two years. For this reason, the importance of strength exercises increases significantly: it is beneficial both for health and for the formation of a harmonious figure.

A distinctive feature of pump aerobics is its high intensity: all muscle groups are used in one lesson. Another definite plus is that you can attend classes with a partner: pump aerobics is suitable for both sexes.

At the beginning of the lesson there is a short warm-up. Under no circumstances should you be late, because the better you warm up your muscles, the greater the effect the training will give. After warming up, they move on to doing exercises - bending over, squats, presses. They are performed in several approaches, and in between, small stretches are performed to relieve tension from the muscles. At the end of the workout, according to tradition, there is a cool-down (the duration of which is 5 minutes) and muscle stretching. By stretching, lactic acid is removed from the muscles, the body relaxes, and pain is reduced. In pump aerobics classes, you will give your best without feeling exhausted.

The most important thing is the technique of doing the exercises. Follow the trainer’s advice to avoid mistakes, if possible, clearly repeat all his movements, while paying attention to the signals of your own body (ideally, you should feel how your muscles work). The lesson lasts one hour.

The structure of the workout may vary. You can start with a small weight, and then increase it with each approach, or go the other way - start with the maximum load and gradually reduce it. The training is accompanied by musical accompaniment, however, despite this, it does not contain dance elements and is performed in sets.

Don’t be afraid if at your first pump aerobics class you are given a barbell weighing 10 kilograms that you can’t even lift. At first you will only practice with an empty bar. After some time has passed and your muscles have become stronger, you will begin to add weights and increase the number of repetitions.

Anyone who has just recently been involved in fitness will under no circumstances go to Pump aerobics, or will miss the second workout, simply because he will not be able to exercise due to muscle pain.

Among the advantages of pump aerials are: reduction of body fat, ideal muscle condition, beautiful body and a huge surge of energy.

Who is not suitable for pump aerobics?:

for those new to fitness
suffering from varicose veins
for those who have problems with the musculoskeletal system and spine

When choosing clothes for pump aerobics, follow the same principle as when choosing clothes for regular aerobic activities: maximum comfort and beauty. Beautiful clothes are needed so that when you look at your reflection in the mirror, you are satisfied with yourself. You should not buy cheap shoes: sneakers should be special for fitness activities, which will help prevent ankle injuries.

The best option for training is a good fitness center, since the gym increases discipline, there is all the necessary equipment and a competent specialist who will select an individual load for you, will monitor you to ensure that you perform the exercises correctly, and give advice. All these are important conditions for achieving success.

Exercising at home will be more difficult, especially for beginners, since there is always a chance of getting a sprain, injury, or simply messing up, and the video instructor most likely will not be able to help you and give you the right advice.