F.I.T. Member Reviews Body Pump

Candid review from a F.I.T. member who tried our new Body Pump this Friday at noon. 

I Didn’t Plan to Try Body Pump

I went to the gym like I normally do, hoping to have a good workout but without specific plans. First I spent a few minutes on the elliptical, then started working legs. The Body Pump instructor walked by and said they were about to start a class. She invited me to join. I thought why not?

Gathering Equipment

The instructor introduced herself as Natalie, and then she helped me gather weights. She loaded my warm-up weight on the bar for me and helped me choose a spot in the room. I also needed a bench and a mat. She said I could get heavier weights if I wanted them, but that she normally recommended people go light at first to focus on form. I grabbed two extra 10 pound plates just in case, because I’m pretty strong.

As far as the actual equipment goes, I liked what was available. I took strength training classes at another gym years ago and I remember it being much harder to get the clips on and off to change weight. The ones at F.I.T. are much easier to change, so you don’t have that feeling of frustration when you’re trying to quickly get ready for the next exercise.

The Workout

We started with a warm-up that lasted for a song, then moved into squats. Natalie demonstrated the moves we were about to do before we started each exercise and talked us through as the class progressed.

Pretty much every exercise was on a count of four or eight. For example, she would tell us to squat slowly to the count of four so that knees were close to 90 degrees at the end, then stand up just as slowly to the count of four. Or we might squat to the count of three and pop up quickly for one. It takes your mind off the fact your muscles are burning.

The music was energetic and Natalie encouraged us the whole way. Each time we started a new exercise she helped us decide about how much weight we wanted to put on our bar. She also helped us evaluate whether the weight was about right or if we needed to go heavier or lighter next time.

My upper body is much weaker than my lower body, but still I was surprised by the intensity of the biceps and triceps tracks. I used eight pound dumbbells for the biceps track, and I almost couldn’t make it to the end. My triceps were screaming from the repetitions with just a 10 pound plate.

The Next Day

This morning I my shoulders, arms and legs are sore, but just to the point I feel like I got a really good workout. I can see how it would really tone the whole body to go regularly. I’m curious to try Body Combat next week, and I’m thankful Natalie invited me to try Body Pump yesterday.

Missy Ticer has been a F.I.T. member for more than two years. She lives in Tyler and writes for Content by Missy.