Sorry to leave you at a cliff hanger with the last post, I promise I’ll pick up right where I left off!
So after RPM, I had about an hour and 15 minutes of a break before Attack was due to start. I wandered down to the food court with my friend Maggie and got some veggie pasta salad and a chicken wrap to eat, realizing that I hadn’t eaten a darn thing all morning after 3 hours of crazy intense exercise.
As soon as I started eating, it was like my body started responding instantly. Everything perked up, the lactic acid in my legs started to subside, my upper body felt looser, everything just felt freakin’ phenomenal. I was reminded yet again how powerful of a tool proper nutrition is for endurance sports.
It’s really very simple. I eat well, I perform well. I don’t eat well, I don’t perform well. There is no gray area. So why can’t I get it into my thick head to put down the damn chocolate cookies and pick up the protein bars?? Seriously?? What the heck is the matter with me??
Anyways, as we went back up to the gym, I felt like a freakin’ powerhouse. I was ready to absolutely CRUSH Attack, and lucky for me, it was starting just after a quick education session for BodyPump.
I spent most of the education session drooling over the International Trainer from the USA Justin Sanchez. He’s dreamy.
Attack got under way, and I was reminded (for the 1000th time at least) how much I just adore this program. I’ve been to a lot of these workshops in the 6 years that I’ve taught for Les Mills, and it never ever fails. BodyAttack always brings the house down. There’s this raw, animalistic, totally insane energy that just takes over the master class when the Attackers hit the floor. I swear it’s like a drug, it just takes over. I can always tell that something really special is happening because when you look to the back of the room, there is always a huge crowd of people just watching the class. Members, National Trainers, other instructors, you name it.
But I may be a little biased.
Anyways, this release didn’t disappoint. I thought they did a really great job of dialing back the lead-up tracks, and then just smashing it for the big plyometric peak tracks. In one of the tracks there were 7 tuck-jumps in a row. Holy catfish.
Check out the pictures that my friend Kelly managed to get of Kathy on-stage!! She was INCREDIBLE and looked like one of the presenters herself up there!! Way to go girl!!
Towards the middle of Attack, I started getting acutely aware that as I was asking my body for more and more, it was responding so well. I’m not sure if it was the food or what, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so strong in a class. I finished after 60 minutes and about 1 million tuck jumps absolutely exhausted, but feeling like a million bucks.
I felt like an athlete.
Once Attack was done, and I had showered/changed clothes for the 4th time that day, it was time for Sh’bam and BodyJam, Les Mills’ two dance fitness programs that for today they were combining 30 minutes and 30 minutes to make “Sh’Jam”.
Hehehe. I thought that was funny.
So here’s the basic difference (as I see it) between Sh’bam and BodyJam. Sh’bam is a dance class for non-dancers. Choreography is simple, easy to follow and more repetitive so that newbies or people that were born with two left feet (like me) can follow along and feel successful. “Come as you are, leave as a star” is the catch phrase.
BodyJam is a bit different. Jam is a dance class for people that can at least kind of dance. The choreography is a little more complex and there are more advanced moves that losers non-dancers like me would struggle with a bit more. I know that Jam has fairly recently come out with a “simple” version and an “advanced” version in an effort to reach the non-dancers as well. The two programs DO NOT compete with each other. That’s not the intent at all. They are really meant to be for different target markets and both classes are wide open and could appeal to ANYONE from non-dancers to dancers and beyond.
Let’s get one thing very clear before I go any further: I am NOT a good dancer. When I was 4 or 5 my dance teacher told my poor mother who wanted so desperately for her blonde little girl to be a prima ballerina that she just “didn’t think that dance was for Sara”.
Ouch. That hurts Mrs. Ballet Teacher. That really hurts.
Oh well, I had more fun with my sweaty, gross bag of ringette gear and boys skates then I would have in a fluffy old tutu anyways. Hmpf.
All that being said, even though I’m no good at it, I really do LOVE to dance. Sh’bam was perfect for me when it came out because it’s simple and easy to follow and I actually felt (somewhat) successful at it! I do have to avoid looking in mirrors. Sometimes what I think I look like doing Sh’bam and what I actually look like are two different beasts altogether.
I had an absolute BLAST for the first half hour of Sh’bam, there was some really cool music and fun moves and after doing about 30 billion squats and lunges and tuck jumps over the course of the day, it was so nice to just let our hair down and shake out our poor tired legs.
After about 30 minutes, BodyJam took over, and then the wheels started to come off for me a bit! Usually I can kind of stumble through a Jam class (embarrassingly, but still), but by that point in the day, my brain and body were just exhausted and I decided to pull myself out and watch this one from the back.
Remember how I said that Attack always brings the house down at these things? BodyJam is exactly the same way. I always absolutely love to watch Jam because the instructors and the trainers are total animals. They’ve got this raw, kind of reckless, dangerous energy about them that is TOTALLY infectious. They crank that music so loud that it makes the mirrors shake and turn the lights out and it seriously is like being in the middle of a rave at midnight, not like being in a dance class at a fitness club. Jam always draws a crowd to watch too because they just look so freakin’ phenomenal when they move. Trust me; you haven’t lived until you’ve seen one of these big BodyJam classes for yourself.
Check this footage out from one of the Super Quarterlies down in the States last year. Totally unreal.
After Jam, that was it for my day. I love BodyFlow (yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates) and lord knows I could have used the stretch, but by that time I just couldn’t ask my body for anymore. I left the gym tired, but so re-energized and motivated at the same time. I love my job so much!!
After the Quarterly and another very busy day on Sunday, I’ve been taken down (I’m talking full body tackle) by a cold this week, and it’s been all I can do to just get through my classes. I’m hoping to be feeling better by this weekend so that I can get some running and an RPM class in. The Eggnog Jog is coming up in just 2 short weeks and I’ve got some training to do!!
Happy Wednesday – we’re over the hump and cruising for the weekend!!
Going The Distance 