If you’d told us 15 years ago that we’d be doing our Les Mills BodyPump Training we wouldn’t have believed you. 15 years ago we attended our first ever BodyPump class at our local gym with our Mumma bear.
When we found Les Mills classes, it was the first time we realised that exercise can be an act of joy, that you can exercise just for the pure fun of it. And YES you’ll feel the burn and get fit BUT you’ll also have fun. And ummm, who doesn’t want to have fun while getting fit?
Fast forward 15 years to NOW and our love of BodyPump has continued (not to mention all the other Les Mills programs like RPM, BodyBalance and BodyCombat!).
Every time we go back home to Canberra we attend a BodyPump class with Mum. It’s the best feeling to walk back into that gym, it always feels like home!
When we were asked to take part in Les Mills BodyPump Training we were like ohhh… that’s a bit scary. We’ve never taught a class like that. Will it be hard? Will we have to lift a lot of weights? It all sounds a bit out of comfort zone kinda thing. And as soon as we heard ‘comfort zone’ we knew this training was for us.
We’re BIG on stepping outside our comfort zones. We KNOW that in the discomfort of doing something you’ve never done before, MAGIC brews.
This act of stepping outside the comfort zone will bring nerves and obstacles but in the end, it always brings MAGIC.
The magic can look like many things. It can look like knowledge. Inspiration. Motivation. New ideas. Opportunities. Friends. Self-awareness. Seriously, so much magic.
The act of stepping outside your comfort zone is ridiculously important for life in general. It’s especially important if you’re the kind of person who wants to keep growing as a human (this might be you?).
You’re interested in self-improvement. You want to be a better version of yourself. Not to say that YOU right now ain’t amazing… oh trust us, YOU are amazing exactly as YOU are!
BUT how cool that we can always keep growing, keep learning, keep changing.
THIS is what stepping outside your comfort zone brings.
It brings change.
Albert Einstein said that…
“the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
How often have you wanted to make a change but then done nothing about it?
How often have you said “oh I really want to learn (insert whatever you want to learn)” but then taken absolutely no action toward it? Not even a simple google search?
How often have you said “I wish I could…” but then go back to scrolling Instagram?
*hands go up* umm GUILTY!
We’ve both done this on many occasions BUT we’ve also taken action and learnt the new stuff.
And when you do take the action, when you step outside the comfort zone, WOW life feels good.
THIS is what Les Mills BodyPump Training was for us.
It was something that we didn’t really know we wanted to do. There was an opportunity to learn and we decided to jump right in with both feet.
It’s a 3 day training with 2 days at the beginning, an 8-week self-paced block followed by the final day 3 certification. The first 2 days was last weekend for us so it is FRESH in our minds and woah, the 2 days blew our minds!
We still can’t believe how much we learned over 2 days. It was the first ever training we’ve done where we both felt fully engaged the ENTIRE time (ok… maybe 5 minutes before lunch we were thinking about the sushi we were going to eat) BUT we were so impressed with not only the content but the way the training was delivered. Which is a big deal if you’ve ever gone to a training event.
You do NOT want to be bored.
You do NOT want to be counting down the minutes.
You do NOT want to be doodling love hearts and flowers.
You want to WANT to be there… and BodyPump training was this for us (and we could tell it was this for every other person in the room!).
We had 5 major takeaways from the training but the overall feeling was ACCOMPLISHMENT. It was amazing to see how much we grew over a 48 hour period. From walking into the room having no idea how to teach a BodyPump class to walking out having taught an entire track.
PLUS there was this BodyPump Challenge which was literally insane.
We’ll be honest, as soon as our trainer (Adam Epskamp, we offically love him) told us there was a challenge, our brains straight away went into mode: how the hell can we get out of this?
The challenge involved RUNNING and we really don’t love running there was definitely complaints from us (oops)… do we really HAVE to run?
And then we just said stuff it, just freaking do it. And so we did it and we felt AMAZING. We felt like we had achieved so much just because we decided to take part. It didn’t matter how fast we were, how heavy we lifted… the accomplishment was in the DOING, it was the fact that we gave it our absolute best. This right here… is a life lesson.
We also chat about our Les Mills BodyPump Training experience on our podcast if you’d prefer to tune in rather than read… but let’s do it.
Takeaway 1: Step outside your comfort zone.
We never thought we’d do our BodyPump Training. Presenting was scary, learning the new things made our brains work but woah now we feel amazing. Outside comfort zone = growth. We feel like we learned so much about how to describe the movement of the body and how humans love to be motivated. This stuff was interesting not JUST for BodyPump Training. This stuff was interesting for LIFE in general.
Takeaway 2: Lightweights and high repetitions = body transformation (including body weight)
We knew this but we kind of forgot and now we’re beyond excited to remember it again. Plus lifting weights also helps to keep our bodies able as we age. THIS IS WHAT WE’RE ABOUT.
We don’t care if a particular exercise is going to get us a 6-pack. We care that the exercise is going to help us feel strong and fit NOW and as we age.
Lifting light weights will do this and actually make you live a more joy-filled life.
Take away 3: Our actions impact the world.
When we take positive action to become healthier and happier this inspires the person next to you. Then they inspire the next person. The ripple effect is real!
Les Mills’ overall mission is to inspire a fitter and healthier planet. We are SO FOR THIS! In fact, the more we heard about the Les Mills values, the more we fell in love with them. They’re all about family. They’re all about supporting one another and lifting each other up. Ahhh our kind of bliss talk.
Take away 4: There’s magic in formulas.
This might seem random but OH it is a life lesson. The training blew our minds. As we said there was so much achieved in just 2 days. Their formula of getting you trainer ready is bloody on point. If you’ve ever wanted to inspire people to become fitter and healthier… we can’t think of a better way to do it! Les Mills classes are all over the world. You’ll find them in over 100 countries and they’ve trained over 130000 instructors. So yeah… they’re pretty damn good at what they do.
Take away 5: Music motivates you.
Ahhh the best part about all Les Mills programs has gotta be the choreography to the beat of the music. Not only does it make every Les Mills class fun, it motivates you to push further than you think you can.
Music also has this nostalgia effect. It has the power to take you back to a moment in time. A feeling. A loved one. We STILL have these moments weekly, if not daily, when we hear a BodyPump song and just smile along with it (while also remembering the booty burn of all those squats (see takeaway 2… it’s GOOD FOR YOU!).
If you want to see how the entire 2 days went down you can WATCH OUR ENTIRE STORY HERE! It’s serious behind the scenes goodness.
As you can tell we loved every moment of our Les Mills BodyPump Training and we can’t wait to keep learning over the next 8 weeks! Keep an eye out on our social media because in 8 weeks time we’ll be taking part in DAY 3! The final day of certification where we’ll give you all our behind the scenes goodness! Yay!
If there’s something you’ve been wanting to learn, wanting to do, wanting to experience… take this as your sign, as your little push to BEGIN.
It could just be a simple google search BUT the art of taking ACTION creates MOTIVATION for your next step. It can begin right here and right now.
Thank YOU for inspiring us to grow, to learn and to share the journey with you. We love every moment.
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla
This blog post is in collaboration with Les Mills and Reebok. We only work with companies and brands we wholeheartedly believe in. If you have any questions, please get in touch.