BodyCombat may be my undying workout love and gateway to fitness, running may currently be my most effective calorie-burner, and BodyPump may be the best "toner," but few people know that none of these got me hooked on working out and getting fit. The honor of my first workout love would have to go to BodyJam.
What's BodyJam? BodyJam is a dance-based cardio workout that makes use of a hodgepodge of various dance moves, adapting moves from all genres from Latin to Jazz, Hiphop to Disco. It's probably the Les Mills program with the most updated music, as it often utilizes the latest chart-topping hits. Recent BodyJam releases have a more or less standardized format, starting off with a slow warmup and stretch, then proceeds to building up two long sequences with a recovery track in between and a cooldown track at the end. The second sequence usually ends with a breakout dance.
But BodyJam hasn't always followed this format. Once upon a time, BodyJam was structured much like all the other Les Mills programs -- nine single standing tracks, and usually, with the exception of the warmup and cooldown tracks, all tracks offered a challenge to participants' cardio/fitness levels assuming they exhibited proper form and enthusiasm.
Music from one of my favorite BodyJam tracks ever, "Feel the Need" by Weird Science, from BodyJam release 25.
Given the "single-standing tracks" format, it was easy to tolerate boring tracks since they came only occasionally, and anyway tracks were usually less than ten minutes long. On the part of instructors, it was easy to pick out the best tracks -- or perhaps the most "hyper" tracks -- if they wished to give their students the ultimate workout. It also didn't hurt that members of my home club then, Fitness First ABS-CBN, were so into dancing and that their passion for swinging their hips and clapping to the beat was infectious. Most instructors made use of more recent releases that used the newer "two long blocks" format, but my favorite instructors then, Laqui, Rio, and Kenneth, all shared my passion for what was eventually dubbed as "old school jam."
Let's baila, baila, baila! Baila Casanova by Paulina Rubio from BodyJam release 29.
Gradually, more and more new instuctors came into the group exercise world and they were allowed to make use of the more recent releases when teaching. I, on the other hand, became more and more fond of BodyCombat, since I found that it achieved results much faster even if punching my way through the whole class was torture, as it rendered me out of breath and caused my muscles to ache.
Finally, Les Mills issued a memo to all its instructors. It was said that Les Mills wanted to "standardize" BodyJam's format, but there were rumors that circulated saying Les Mills encountered copyright problems since the BodyJam choreographers of old school jam had joined a new company. Either way, they prohobited them from the use of "old school jam" tracks, first during regular classes, and eventually, during special events as well. At the same time, the Les Mills programs such as BodyAttack and BodyStep were introduced in the country. Slowly I fell out of my love for BodyJam, first lessening the number of classes I attended per week, and eventually, removing BodyJam from my workout routine altogether. But BodyJam, specifically old school jam, will always be special to my gym ratty self, since I probably wouldn't be this enthusiastic to get fit if it hadn't encouraged me to do so in the first place.
What's BodyJam? BodyJam is a dance-based cardio workout that makes use of a hodgepodge of various dance moves, adapting moves from all genres from Latin to Jazz, Hiphop to Disco. It's probably the Les Mills program with the most updated music, as it often utilizes the latest chart-topping hits. Recent BodyJam releases have a more or less standardized format, starting off with a slow warmup and stretch, then proceeds to building up two long sequences with a recovery track in between and a cooldown track at the end. The second sequence usually ends with a breakout dance.
But BodyJam hasn't always followed this format. Once upon a time, BodyJam was structured much like all the other Les Mills programs -- nine single standing tracks, and usually, with the exception of the warmup and cooldown tracks, all tracks offered a challenge to participants' cardio/fitness levels assuming they exhibited proper form and enthusiasm.
Music from one of my favorite BodyJam tracks ever, "Feel the Need" by Weird Science, from BodyJam release 25.
Given the "single-standing tracks" format, it was easy to tolerate boring tracks since they came only occasionally, and anyway tracks were usually less than ten minutes long. On the part of instructors, it was easy to pick out the best tracks -- or perhaps the most "hyper" tracks -- if they wished to give their students the ultimate workout. It also didn't hurt that members of my home club then, Fitness First ABS-CBN, were so into dancing and that their passion for swinging their hips and clapping to the beat was infectious. Most instructors made use of more recent releases that used the newer "two long blocks" format, but my favorite instructors then, Laqui, Rio, and Kenneth, all shared my passion for what was eventually dubbed as "old school jam."
Let's baila, baila, baila! Baila Casanova by Paulina Rubio from BodyJam release 29.
Gradually, more and more new instuctors came into the group exercise world and they were allowed to make use of the more recent releases when teaching. I, on the other hand, became more and more fond of BodyCombat, since I found that it achieved results much faster even if punching my way through the whole class was torture, as it rendered me out of breath and caused my muscles to ache.
Finally, Les Mills issued a memo to all its instructors. It was said that Les Mills wanted to "standardize" BodyJam's format, but there were rumors that circulated saying Les Mills encountered copyright problems since the BodyJam choreographers of old school jam had joined a new company. Either way, they prohobited them from the use of "old school jam" tracks, first during regular classes, and eventually, during special events as well. At the same time, the Les Mills programs such as BodyAttack and BodyStep were introduced in the country. Slowly I fell out of my love for BodyJam, first lessening the number of classes I attended per week, and eventually, removing BodyJam from my workout routine altogether. But BodyJam, specifically old school jam, will always be special to my gym ratty self, since I probably wouldn't be this enthusiastic to get fit if it hadn't encouraged me to do so in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment