Les Mills Body Pump Review: Pump ON = Fat OFF

  • Workout: Body Pump, Les Mills
  • Duration: 1 hour
  • Calories Burned: 350-550
  • Focus: Total body muscle strengthening and toning
  • What is Body Pump?: A total body weight lifting class using a bar with weighted plates on each side.  There are about 8-10 music tracks and each one has a choreographed weight lifting routine to work a specific muscle group (i.e. legs, chest, back, biceps, triceps, etc.).  You can also buy the DVDs and equipment to do the class at home.
Brit gettin’ her “PUMP” on April 9, 2012

Commentary:  I try to go to Body Pump at least once a week and when I do, I always feel tight and toned.  The music is okay, def not amazing, but the workout is sick –  it’ll get you right.  I like this class because it’s an efficient TOTAL body strength workout. I appreciate that I don’t have go searching for a weight lifting routine for each body part, I can get it all at once – 1 hour and done.  Also, you do a ton of reps for each muscle group so bulking up is not an issue.  Instead, your muscles gain endurance and you even get a good sweat!

The Facts: Building lean muscle mass is not only great for your overall health and  fitness, it’s also a great way to speed up your metabolism aka BURN FAT!  Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the rate that your body burns calories while at rest.  RMR is directly related to your ratio of lean body mass.  This means, the more lean body mass you build, the more calories and fat you burn while at rest.  So get your PUMP ON and get the FAT OFF 🙂

Resistance training has been perhaps the most under emphasized component of the comprehensive weight loss program.  – Paula Besson MEd

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Sexy Arms Circuit (without bulk)

  • Name: Sexy Arms Circuit by Brit
  • Focus: Upper body muscle endurance and toning
  • Duration: 15-20 minutes
  • Calories burned: 50 – 150
  • Commentary:  Given my extensive experience evaluating celebrities walk the red carpet in sleeveless dresses, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are 3 keys to sexy toned arms:
  1. Reduce Body FAT – The reality is, the only way to look lean and sculpted is to get rid of excess body fat.  You know what that means – eat LESS and move MORE!  You can’t show off your sexy arms if excess fat is covering them.
  2. Sculpt Shoulders – The shoulders are the first part of the arms that people usually notice so it’s key to do several exercises that target the front, side and rear shoulder muscles.
  3. Tighten  Triceps – The back of your arms are the areas that tend to look the flabbiest.  So, always make sure that your arm workouts make your triceps feel strong and tight!

Below is my complete “Sexy Arms Circuit.”  I made this workout to tone my arms WITHOUT bulking them up.  You need to use light weights during the workout  (1-2 pounds in each hand) – soup cans are great for this 😉

Make sure to stand up with your back straight, feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent.  Do each exercise in the order below WITHOUT resting between exercises.  Repeat the entire circuit 3X, take a about 1-2 minutes of rest in between each circuit.  ENJOY and get ready to rock your sleeveless sundress!

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