Return to Body Combat!!!!!! (continued)

Sitting here in the gym parking lot. It's been over 2.5 months since I've been at this class. Fearful? Just a bit.  Muscles feeling flabby, lungs, are you ready for this? Reaching down deep..deeper..for that fighter within. Hello? Anyone in there?  Ok no more procrastinating.. Open that car door, grab your mat, water bottle, here goes. Time to smash some opponents. (More later, if I survive this!)

 

And I survived!  just waiting for the headache to descend upon my skull now...that always happens after this class.  I drink tons of water, so it's not dehydration, i don't think, but just the constant intensity.  I can go to my boxing gym and I'm fine afterwards, but it's because they do interval training so the heart rate gets a break.  We'll do like 3 minutes of high-intensity boxing into the heavy bags, then a few minutes of strength training exercises, so the body keeps guessing and adapting to the changes, but at least the heart rate can recover in-between.  But not in Body Combat at my regular gym.  and it just keeps getting harder, with each new release of choreography.  Instructor Rob explains the change over the months & years, as eliminating more of the "pulse" counts and inserting more and more punches.  For example, while previous tracks might include sets of "jab-cross-jab, then pulse, pulse" where you just rock in place for a couple counts, now it's more straight-up jab-cross-jab, round-house kick, repeat, repeat, repeat. no rest for the weary.  i guess i'm just getting old.  oh well.  Took my pain reliever BEFORE going to the class, like my doctor suggested, so hoping for the best here.

So today i was happy to hear some of these old tracks in the mix, more time to recover, for someone who hasn't been in class for awhile.  Starting out with some familiar Pit Bull, this song i remember from my very first class. 

My favorite karate track to Pink's "Your Hand" song, got me singing along, as usual.  karate chops, back snap kick, and the squats with the hand blocks, where you do a side elbow jab, then a sideways push of the wrist, so it's to the throat, then the chin. take that!!

A strictly boxing track, set to a dance remix of Police's Every Breath You Take, with a new combo that feels strange: it's an upper cut-cross jab.   i'm so used to doing an upper combined with an alternate hook, that this feels weird.  i keep getting mixed up.  but it's a good thing. you gotta fool your enemy.  make them keep guessing what you're gonna do, can't let them predict your next move.  takes mental flexibility, confuse that muscle memory, keep it open to new moves.  liking it. 

Then another favorite oldie, that fun track of constant kicks to Alesha Dixon's "Drummer Boy":

she goes something like: "hoooooo----- i think i need a better drumm--mmer!!!" (band responds: "Say What???!!") she says, "I THINK I NEED A BETTER DRUM-MMER!!!"  During which time we are all balancing on one leg, other leg extended in a forever side-kick pose...then the beat drops and it's non-stop side kicks, front and back kicks for the whole song.  Good for the Boot-AY!!!

  

here's a pretty cool video of a class doing this kick track: (select, copy, paste in new tab?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WaBbYZWV-U

 <iframe width="

640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_WaBbYZWV-U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

anyhoo....

Move along to the muay thai track, set to the song Phat Bass by Aquagen vs. Warp Brothers (??). 

Here's the song, to set you in the mood for some killer ascending and descending elbow strikes, knee strikes and various other Muay Thai moves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIrUWqLiJVo

A couple notes from Robb: if you look like you're fixing your hair on the ascending elbow strikes, you're doing it wrong.  Gotta twist the body, lift the opposite heel, and pull the energy from the ground.  "Power comes from the Earth" says guru Robb.   hmm, sounds a bit New Agey, i'm thinking, yet dismiss it as just a good metaphor for balancing your physical energy with the solid ground beneath you, a kind of leveraging.  If i get too spiritual thinking about it, i might think about summoning evil fighting demons from the earth or from myself, don't wanna go there. keep it light.

not that this song is light, no, it's a pretty good thrashing fast track, great for this Muay Thai work-out.

Finished the class on our mats, doing push-ups, planks, and komodo dragons.

For a little sneak peek at the new BC63 release, here's a blog post by an instructor who was there at the reveal, when they filmed the work-out for the DVD's they sell. It's mostly a bunch of vague hype, no song titles mentioned, just keeping us guessing and piquing our interest in what's to come. sounds very intense. I'm sure we'll get it live from Robb sometime in the new year. 

http://nzglen.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/bodycombat-63-filming/

Hope you enjoyed it. Till next time, keep your guard up, your fighter in control.

As for me, time for a nap!

  

 

Boxing

This is actually from a couple weeks ago. just documenting my progress in my little world of fitness. 

Body Pump & Body Flow

Sooooo...finally made it to the gym today, yay!!! 

(had to lock my daughter in the house with plenty of schoolwork to do and yummies to eat first, and try not to worry about her, even though we live less than a mile from the gym!)

So here we go, Body Pump.

                                   
                           Warm-up weight...then add more plates for squats, subtract for chest,
                                        add for biceps....

                               my favorite track: Livin on a Prayer for biceps...sang it all the way!!
                                     

  (hi there!!)

ugh. push-ups.

                                                  ...time to work those triceps...

                                                 ...then lunges to Elle Goulding's Let it Burn (i think it's called..)
                                           i'm feeling her song: "..and we're gonna let it BURN, BURN,                                                                             BURN..."
                                           

                                            Best part: stretching it out in the next class of Body Flow:
                                        combo of tai chi, yoga & pilates. you know, flowy stuff, downward
                                           dog, sun salutations, balance poses, oodles of planks and hovers..and                                             finally...peaceful meditation.  ahhhhhh...
                                                     

                   

                                              then time to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!!!

                                           
                                                         chug-a-lug!!!

                                                           
                                                         hope to be back soon!

Body Combat 61

Hola amigos!! 

The following is a great review of the latest release of Body Combat, my very favoritest class at my gym, though the class is taught world-wide by professionally trained Les Mills instructors.  I am so sorry that I have not yet experienced this release, as taking on homeschooling recently has thrown my schedule upside down and I'm still trying to figure out how to fit in my roundhouse kicks, jabs and muay thai moves while still educating my daughter at home.  Until I figure that out, here's a virtual description of the class, from the instructor whose blog can be found at:

http://grandnat.co.uk/beautiful-monster-review-of-les-mills-body-combat-release-61/

(Enjoy!!)

Here's another cracking combat class with an emphasis on explosive speed.

I didn't connect with Body Combat release 61 at the quarterly workshop as much as I have with others.

I struggled to learn it and felt nervous as launches approached.

Why did I worry? I shouldn't have.

First teach went perfectly. Hot. Relentless. Sweaty. Aching legs. Burning shoulders. Exhausted smiles.

Body Combat release 61 is tough and participant feedback consistently positive.

Let's look at each track in this martial arts monster (Click the links for the commercially available version of the song on Amazon).

Front Kick

Upper body warmup – Wrecking Ball (MaLu Project Remix Edit) - Pop Pistols

Lower body warmup – Beautiful Monster (Damn-R Remix) - Mick Lion

Weighing in at over 8 minutes the upper and lower body warm-ups are a challenge in themselves. We try punches, upper cuts and hooks before dropping into the legs for"shoot lunges". Roundhouse kicks follow, then a barrage of endless back kicks and an arsenal of Muay Thai knees.

This shows how the programme has evolved over the years. Early warm-up tracks were just that. An easy way into the class before the work started properly in track 2. Now the warm ups are immediately intense. We're straight into the hard work.

And two uplifting techno tracks as well. Body Combat release 61 is a beautiful monster.

Balancing Front Kicks

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Combat 1 – Shot Me Down ft. Skylar Grey - Up Despair

Track 2 is a surprise. Rather than the usual rock music, roundhouse kicks and strikes we face a slower leg conditioning experience. And it hurts.

Watch the DVD and think, "That looks easy and short."

Try it and you'll say, "Ouch I'm glad it's a short track."

From the balancing front kicks, to the "toe tap" squats, to the knees and side kicks a fire ignites in your supporting leg until the muscles scream for a rest by the end. Awesome leg conditioning.

Fast travelling jabs

Power training 1 – Every Breath You Take - Praying Hunk

Every kick you take. Every fist you make. Every slip you fake. A techno update of an ancient song by The Police. We experience the theme of Body Combat release 61 here. Explosive speed. I love the fast travelling jabs and upper cuts section and the one simple combo that bookends it. Go hard here and you get breathless fast.

Combat 2 – So What! (M Edit) – Independence Days

"So What" first appeared in release 27 as a Muay Thai track (the first to feature theStreet Brawl Downward Punch in fact). Almost the same mix it's therefore familiar but different. Building up to the jump kick raises our heart rates. The sharp, powerful karate punches continue the explosive speed theme. More jump kicks at the end of each section bring us close to fatigue.

Great lyrics to hook into as well. "You know karate and kick me in the eye!"

Power training 2 – Stairway To Heaven (Original Mix) - Modulate & Petruccio

Not an update of Led Zepplin's classic, "Stairway to Heaven" feels like we're climbing to another exhausting peak. After two long rounds of upper cuts and the hook cross hook combo we finish with a flurry of jabs that feel they should belong in the last power track and not at the halfway point of the class.

Esquiva

Combat 3 – Get Low - Dillon Francis & DJ Snake

Breathless again and we transition into another leg conditioning track. Yes more tough leg action this time based on capoeira moves. Switch lunges, esquiva and those agonising low "shoot lunges". You need to grit your teeth during this one. And like track 2 aren't we relieved its short?

Superman Punch

Muay Thai – Ready To Rock – Airbourne

Before our legs can recover the Muay Thai track hits us like a runaway locomotive. I'm not usually a fan of heavy rock Muay Thai tracks but "Are You Ready" hits the spot for me. A couple of fast combinations, relentless knee strikes and a breathless finale with double knees and an optional leap to the ceiling jump knee guarantee to take you to your cardio peak.

After the guitar solo and before the last chorus we revisit the "Superman Punch". Controlled and powerful we do the punch using explosive speed. It's still taking time to perfect the footwork that accompanies this punch but al least we get to work up through the levels here.

Power training 3 – Like a Rainbow (Sy & Unknow Remix) - Recon & Demand

A  finale that feels like there's no end in sight. Your shoulders and upper arms will burn after only a few minutes of this hard-core upper body blaster.

It's like the "Groundhog Day" of power tracks. Just when you think it might be over, we start the entire sequence again. And again. And again.

A great work out if a little too long and repetitive. It needs good coaching and motivation to get people all the way to the end.

Jaguar

Conditioning – Watch Out For This (Bumaye) - Since Ten

In my opinion this could be the strangest conditioning track in Body Combat history. Some say that "animal forms" are the future of training. The "Jaguar" moves certainly isolate the core in a way most people haven't experienced before. It just takes ages to master it and I've found many frustrated people deciding they'll stick to a hover instead.

I actually think the problem isn't mastering the move. It just doesn't work on most studio gym mats (in fact a Yoga mat might work better but most venues don't have these in their main studios). The standard gym mat is too small to do the move properly and most people do not want to be "matless" and work on the wooden floor.

Sadly therefore this track has the most votes for an early mix out.

Cool down – Heart of a Warrior - Dizzee Rascal

A catchy chorus and stretches we desperately need (including the Downward Facing Dog) brings this beautiful monster of a class to a swift end. As Body Combat release 61 is so long, at venues that don't have a 5 minute gap between classes I have to cut the cooldown short. After that everyone staggers out of the room, T-Shirts dripping wet with sweat, exhausted smiles on their faces.

Now it's your turn:

Do you agree with my review of Les Mills Body Combat release 61? What do you think of the Jaguar moves? Please leave a comment below or post a link to your own review.

3 Muay Thai Sweeps to Take Someone Down in the Clinch

got this in my inbox today.  would love to try it out, but a. i need a willing and able opponent and b. my back is still in too much pain, no "violent twisting of the hips" for this fighter chick. nuh-uh. not today.  enjoy the demo!

muscle memory

 i finally made it back to body combat class today.  yay!  it had been a few weeks since i'd been there, as my schedule had been bumped all over the place and completely discombobulated by the addition of homeschooling my middle school daughter to what was starting to become a slightly more independent lifestyle.  with both kids in school, it was nice to go to the gym as much as i wanted, get my errands done alone, and yes, have plenty of alone time, that much-cherished necessity of a thoughtful introvert like myself.  oh well.  i'm learning to roll with the punches, and literally, that means rolling through the rest of the week as best as i  can, with the constant companionship of my sweet girl at home, but yet still finding a few slices of time here and there for myself, for those PUNCHES, like in this class of kickboxing and other great martial arts moves choreographed to music for a very intense and satisfying work-out that has become my addiction. (a healthy one, at least!)

 i took these photos as sneakily as i could during class today.  this first one, though blurry, catches a glimpse of Robb, the instructor, in his usual black and red outfit, at the very front of the room, if you're able to zoom in.

a good mix of oldies today. one of my favorites, a remix of zombie by the cranberries.  what i love best about this track is the tiger claw.  here's an instructional clip from youtube that explains it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKN-Ub_XaJ0  (ignore the cheesy music at the beginning)

  


i'm loving this tiger claw move, happy that i've been growing my fingernails out lately, so i can really imagine the trails of blood i'm leaving on my opponent's face.   the pattern so far is claw, claw, and 2 knee strikes.  then, to make it even more fun, Robb tacks on a couple jump-kicks to the sequence: HOO-AHH!!  fun, fun, fun.



on one of my water breaks... (i easily guzzle over 16 oz. of water in this class..) i notice the class is starting the next song, one of my favorite oldies, the muay thai smasher-thrasher to the song speed by teenage riot.  brawler punches, elbow strikes, oh my.

(this clip is slightly hilarious, these chicks look mad!!! oh and the crazy blonde in the middle..i think she's my spirit animal!!!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuhbXWYfYg8

 (yes, that is our class to the left, doing the brawler thang...)

the work-out today is a familiar one, i've heard these songs before, and even though i am unable to consciously, mentally recall what move comes next, i am grateful for this funny thing called muscle memory that suddenly kicks in right when i need it:  for example, we're doing this long sequence of jab-cross-jab and then Robb stops us and says, "now watch what comes next...", signalling that he's about to change it up with a new pattern.  my brain had no clue what was coming, but then my body starts doing an upper cut, hook, side kick sequence right in sync with the instructor.  it's amazing how we're wired like that.  reminds me of something i learned from martha graham, one of the great modern dance pioneers who revolutionized the technique and thinking behind movement, not only as a performing art, but as therapy and a window into our human individuality.  i studied her technique and writings while in college. i remember reading how her father, a doctor, once caught little martha in a lie, and upon observing the difference in her body language when telling a lie as opposed to the truth, he remarked, "martha, the body never lies."  so true.  (even ask shakira) when your body knows something, whether it be a move in choreography that has been practiced so much it still returns, even after years of dormancy, or a physical response to a person or a thought, it cannot lose that response. it is involuntary, a reflex you don't think about, it just happens. that body language.  or that feeling of repulsion from something that just doesn't "feel" right. you get a vibe, a gut feeling about something that makes your insides crawl for some reason you can't explain. stimulus and response.  like when you meet someone and you have a gut feeling they aren't someone you can totally connect with, there's an unexplainable missing link.  your mind is confused, because on a logical level everything would seem to line up.  and if you struggle with a sense of disconnectedness between your rational thoughts, emotions and gut feelings like i do, you may find yourself ignoring your gut feelings and doing what "looks" right, especially if it wins the approval of others, seems to meet an important need in your life, and feels like it's an easy option, all laid out on a silver platter.  a no-brainer.  a good deal.  that's why i love dance so much.  when i'm dancing, i am thinking, feeling, emoting, all at the same time. interwoven.  if a gut feeling comes upon me while dancing, i can't ignore it, it's part of the whole equation. all parts of me recognize it and process it correctly.  guess i just need to dance my way through life. helps me make decisions better. might get some strange looks when i'm boogie-ing down the trails of life, but oh well.

i'll be back next week, wearing my boogie shoes again.

g'night!!!

coming soon: Body Combat 61

(oops, i don't know what happened, seems the material i copy-pasted didn't want to go there, wouldn't publish for the masses. (ha) it was shy. oh well. you'll just have to wait until i try this track for myself, then i'll report on the pain firsthand.)

The following is a blog post from someone higher up on the hierarchy of Les Mills Body Combat instructors...  This guy reviewed the new release before most of the world ever got a chance to jab, kick, knee-strike and superman punch it out for themselves.  Makes me want to get back into my own Body Combat class which I've taken a break from lately, due to other life issues, but I'm itching to get back in there.  Here's just a taste of what I may find awaiting me. (ouch)

(here's the actual link to his website, where you can find this post as well as his others:  http://grandnat.co.uk/first-thoughts-les-mills-body-combat-release-61-after-edinburgh-quarterly/

First thoughts on Les Mills Body Combat release 61 after Edinburgh Quarterly

22 September, 2014Fitness and Yogabody combat, exercise, fitness, fitness class, fitness classes, fitness magazine, fitness professional, les mills, martial arts

Another blistering martial arts workout descends onEdinburgh after a very short summer.

It only seems a few weeks ago I was raving about the 15th Anniversary Body Combat release. And now here’s another one.

But is it a worthy follow-up to the intensity of that last one?

In a packed out studio, instructors from across Scotland sweated, grunted, groaned and shouted their way through the masterclass and education. Our trainer was new to me and I didn’t really click with him. Masterclass delivery wasn’t up to the usual high standard and in my opinion the education session was patronising. I’m sure his style of delivery will mature as we all continue on our “Les Mills Journey”.

So here are my thoughts on the tracks.

• A couple of upbeat warm up tracks take our heart rates up high immediately. TheMuay Tai knees section felt particularly intense for a warm up.
• We fact two lower tempo leg conditioning tracks and again feel the burn of the “Switch Lunge”
• The song “So What” from track 4 was originally in Body Combat release 27. In the notes programme directors Dan and Rachael acknowledge that “you might remember this music from way back”. I do remember it from way back and I remember paying for it. Whilst it’s a great piece of music I’m left a little grumpy at having to pay for it again. It’s not even a different mix.
• More “Superman Punches” in another long heavy rock Muay Thai from Airbourne.
• Track 8 is different from the usual format and all the better for it. A relentless mix of different punches which genuinely blasts the shoulders.
• There are Jaguar’s (the animal not the car) in what is perhaps the weirdest ever conditioning track.

Les Mills Body Combat release 61 will exhaust you. Take plenty of water to the launch classes and for goodness sake don’t forget to breathe