I'm part of a group on Facebook that is taking on a Les Mills PUMP Challenge over the next 90 days. It's been funny to see peoples' reactions as they receive their programs. It's quite a large box, because the base kit comes with a barbell with two 5lb weights and two 10lb weights to use on it. The larger kits come with a step and additional dvds. There are around 350 people in the group and everyone, without hesitation, is PUMPED to do this workout. Many of them have done it in gyms so they know how well it works.
Mine arrived yesterday and I immediately pulled it all out in the entryway and assembled it. Then I had to wait for my Bestie to get to my house so we could do our workout. We started off with Fire30 (Turbofire) to get warmed up (it's not a warm up - you burn probably 400-500 calories in 30 minutes) and then we did Pump Challenge, which is a 20 minute workout. I didn't have any weights on the bar because I wanted to focus on form to start. Bestie used free weights, which for the most part seemed to work for her.
I have never done a workout like this before and I loved it! First of all - there are five trainers on the dvd and they take turns with different segments, so you aren't watching the same person through the whole thing (and since it is only 20 minutes that makes it go even faster). Second - two of the trainers have accents and it's always cool to listen to accents. Third - holy cow. In this workout alone we probably did around 400 different squats - some fast, some slowed down to 2/2 or 3/1 or even 4/4. It is a very controlled workout - completely different from anything that requires knowing a routine. My dear friend Des would love it. And the program is meant to be done 3-4x a week with 45 minutes of walking on the other days. There are a couple of core programs (which Des would love as well and she reads this blog so basically I am telling her that she would love it a million times) that balance out all of the upper and lower body work.
Did my heartrate go up? Yes! Would it go up more with added weights? Absolutely! I don't think that this program should replace cardio, but I am curious to see how it is going to mix with our Turbo workouts. Here is our program for next week. Our goal is to workout between 50-60 minutes daily. The numbers represent how long the workout is.
Tomorrow Bestie and I are taking before pictures, weighing in, and doing all of the measurements. We will measure every 30 days and weigh in weekly. We are tracking our food on www.sparkpeople.com as much as possible just to stay within an accurate range. My goal is to not eat out at all during the first 30 days. I am incorporating my 1 1/2 quarts of green smoothie throughout the morning and am staying vegetarian/vegan. I've also invited some women in my neighborhood to create a small health & fitness group to support each other through education, inspiration, and accountability. My hope is that we all bring our knowledge to the table to help each other make 2012 the healthiest year possible.
I recently read this article about Fitness trends for 2012. I love that they included fitness over 65, because I think that trainers would do well to create programs that the Baby Boomers can do easily. I believe that Les Mills PUMP is actually something my mom could do and it would really increase her strength. I also loved that fitness is moving to small group trainings. I think having smaller groups of 6-10 people working out together is much less intimidating and provides an atmosphere of support. The more passionate I get about health and fitness, the more my mind is coming up with ideas that I want to implement.
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