What Is Les Mills Training?
From cardio exercise to strength training and everything in between, Les Mills workouts are a fun, fast-paced, and effective way to get in shape. Ready to learn more? Here’s what you should know about this popular fitness franchise.
Discover the Les Mills workout series
Available in 20,000 fitness clubs worldwide, Les Mills group exercise classes are loved by fitness enthusiasts around the planet. Whether you prefer a challenging, cardio-focused sweat session or a repetition-heavy barbell workout, you’re sure to find an activity that you love from Les Mills.
Keep reading to learn more about the history of the company, as well as information on where to sign up for Les Mills training sessions.
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What is Les Mills training?
Les Mills classes are high-energy group exercise sessions that focus on fun and physical fitness. Each Les Mills training session has a different focus, ranging from cardio to strength to dance to flexibility.
The origins of these classes date back to 1968, when Les Mills, an Olympic athlete, opened a gym in his native New Zealand. Years later, in 1990, Les’ son Phillip and his wife Jackie developed BodyPump, the first Les Mills training class.
Since then, the company has expanded to gyms around the world, which now offer a diverse variety of Les Mills group fitness classes, some of which we’ll highlight below.
Types of Les Mills classes
As we’ve mentioned, Les Mills offers a wide range of group workouts – so no matter what your fitness goals are, you can find a Les Mills class that will help you achieve them. Here are some of the most popular Les Mills training sessions available today.
Les Mills BodyPump
As Les Mills’ flagship workout program, BodyPump is a weight-training class that helps you tone up while increasing your strength. Set to a motivational soundtrack, your BodyPump instructor will guide you through each exercise, encouraging you to lift your way to a leaner and fitter you!
Les Mills BodyCombat
Inspired by martial arts, Les Mills BodyCombat is a non-contact cardio class that includes moves from several different physical activities, including boxing, karate, and Muay Thai. This total body workout is an effective way to keep fit and improve your confidence, all in a fun and supportive atmosphere.
Les Mills BodyStep
Looking for a full body workout that gets your heart pumping and tones your lower body? Check out Les Mills BodyStep, a cardio class that will help you build endurance as you step, squat, and lunge to an upbeat soundtrack.
Les Mills CORE
For an ab-blasting workout that improves your core strength and promotes better balance and stability, sign up for a Les Mills CORE class. In these sessions, you’ll work your way to a tight and toned core with a combination of bodyweight, resistance, and lightweight exercises.
Other Les Mills training classes
In addition to these four popular sessions, Les Mills also offers yoga, cycling, dance, and barre classes. Plus, the company runs several types of youth fitness classes, with options for everyone from toddlers to teenagers.
Are Les Mills classes effective?
Yes! Even though every Les Mills workout focuses on a different aspect of fitness, they’re all expertly designed to get you moving and help you see results. For example, in high-energy Les Mills classes like BodyPump and BodyCombat, you can expect to burn several hundred calories in a single session.
When you attend a BodyPump class, you’ll experience something that Les Mills calls “The Rep Effect,” which means that you’ll perform a high number of repetitions with light weights. As a result, you can expect to complete up to 1,000 reps during a BodyPump session – which is as many as four times more than you’d accomplish if you were working out alone.
Sign up for Les Mills workouts at CA
Does one (or more) of these Les Mills training sessions sound interesting? If so, come join us for a class at Columbia Association (CA)!
We’re a community-centric organization with three fitness clubs located around Columbia, including the Columbia Athletic Club, Columbia Gym, and Supreme Sports Club. Our friendly team of certified fitness instructors teaches dozens of Les Mills classes each week across these three facilities, including the popular BodyPump and CORE sessions.
In addition to Les Mills, we also have many other group fitness classes, including:
- Barre
- Cardio and high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
- Dance
- Martial arts
- Pilates
- Step
- Yoga
Even better? Our gyms are packed with state-of-the-art cardio and strength equipment, kids’ clubs, and many other amenities to make your workouts as comfortable as possible.
