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.