Pump workout, or Body Pump, is a group fitness program in which strength exercises with light projectiles are repeatedly repeated to music.
Body bars are used as weights — short rubberized fingerboards, separate pancakes for barbells or dumbbells. There are also movements with the weight of your body, such as push-ups from the floor.
The BODYPUMP™ fitness direction was invented The Les Mills story / LesMills back in 1990, the founders of Les Milles company from New Zealand. Now they sell training licenses, train instructors, and provide music and exercise combinations for classes.
The Pump program offered in many Russian fitness clubs is essentially the same, only with its own music and exercises.
Pump training provides several benefits:
Since Pump training is quite intense and includes strength exercises, it is worth being careful with the following conditions:
If you are in doubt whether to try intense exercise, consult with a therapist and warn the trainer about your problems and limitations.
Pump or Body Pump programs are offered in almost any fitness club. Find the right one and sign up for a group workout.
Body bars with pancakes, step platforms and dumbbells are provided by the fitness club, so you will only need to take comfortable sports clothes and sneakers, a bottle of water and a towel with you.
The lesson begins with a warm-up without weight. As a rule, it includes vigorous steps, arm swings, bends and squats. The main part may include various strength exercises with a body bar: deadlift, bench press standing and lying on the floor or on a step platform, chest and stomach cravings, squats and lunges with weight on the back.
They also often perform movements with dumbbells: standing and lying down, flexion on the biceps and extension on the triceps.
All exercises are performed one after the other to the music. As a rule, there is no strictly set number of repetitions — you work for 60-120 seconds, changing the tempo or amplitude of movement.
The video below shows an example of squats with a barbell on your back. At first, the exercise is performed evenly and calmly, then the lowering phase is lengthened, pulsation is added — fast squats after a smooth rise.
The specific choice of exercises depends on the trainer, however, almost all Body Pump classes include movements on the chest and back, abs, shoulders and arms, back and front surfaces of the thigh, buttocks. So in 45-60 minutes of the lesson you will have time to work out all the main muscle groups.And don't be afraid to get too out of breath in the process. You will rest during the change of projectiles and positions, as well as while the instructor explains the technique of the next movement. As a rule, it takes at least a couple of minutes, so you will have time to regain your breath.
To practice at home, you will have to purchase equipment: a bodybar, pancakes for it, dumbbells and a step platform.
As for the program, you can find ready-made BODYPUMP™ workouts in English on YouTube, as well as group Pump classes from Russian fitness trainers.
Free up space, prepare all the necessary equipment and follow the coaches on video.
If you've ever done strength training and know how to do bench presses, deadlifts and squats correctly, you can easily practice video even without knowing English.
If the exercises are new to you, it is worth attending at least a few group workouts in the gym to learn the technique and avoid mistakes that can reduce the effectiveness of movement or lead to injury.
