Well several days have passed since we attended Les Mills #GFX2014. On the run up I have to admit I wasn’t that excited about doing the releases, infact I was more excited about seeing everyone and catching up. However, on the day it set in what was happening this weekend and high spirits kicked in.
The Diary – Run up
Saturday 1st March 8am
Bags are all packed. For only being 1 night away feels like far too much has been packed.
Protein brownie goodies for tomorrow might not survive the day, must resist.
Saturday 1st March 9am
Pre #GFX2014 workout consisting of BodyCombat and watching CXWorx with the lovely Diana through at the mariner centre in Falkirk.
Quick stop off after workout for a coffee, croissant and catchup before heading west bound for Glasgow. We’re talking about tomorrow, the GFOC podcast Diana done with Roger Edwards in relation to Insanity and the exciting stuff that’s coming.
Saturday 1st March 12.30pm
Arrive at hotel and check in. Gentleman was kind enough to let us check in early…. He also gave us the look of, why so many bags??
Saturday 1st March 2pm
Time for a donder. Realising I use to work down the road from where we are staying, get bearings and decide we’re not going to go into town.
Saturday 1st March 2.30pm
And relax. We find a nice pub called the Finnieston which served some really amazing food.
Later on in the afternoon meet up with the guys who have travelled from Ireland to the event. Catchup and banter begins.
Saturday 1st March 8pm
Head out for a fantastic Indian meal just down the street from the hotel called the Bukharah. I would really recommend the butter chicken. No room for anything else as we were still a bit full from the mussels we had at the Finnieston. Head back to hotel to chillout and discover MMA is being shown on VIVA, result.
Sunday 2nd March 6.30am
Well, I’d love to say that it was an uneventful night but would seem the people above us were having a party into the early hours of the morning which meant a good nights sleep before the event wasn’t meant to happen. Go down for breakfast, kitchen is yet to open but we get some toast and cereal so happy days. Registration opens at 7.45am and we’re literally a stone through away from the SECC we pack the car up and we’re on route.
Sunday 2nd March 8am
Arrived to discover the car parks around the SECC are all closed which meant paying for parking at the multi-story. Under the influence that parking was part of the reason for SECC venue this was a bit of a surprise and unexpected expense however, we park up and registration begins. Process was quick and painless. Let the day begin.
The day (More photographs will come in future posts)
BodyPump 89
The first BodyPump work shop kicked off early and hat off to Huw, Carl and Vanessa(not in picture below) as they rocked it. I have to say the room looked amazing with all the smartsteps and smartbars. The release looked and sounded amazing. I managed to get a couple of photos of various BodyPump workshops throughout the day which I’ll be posting later this week so stayed tuned.
BodyAttack 84
Wow, I can’t recall the last time I done a BodyAttack class but it won’t be long after launches till I do. Actually think this workshop and the CXWorx 14 workshop was the highlight of the day for me. Fitness magic was certainly felt.
CXWorx 14
The release itself I think is fantastic. Like a breath of fresh air has swept through the programme. Presenters Huw and Marcus made the release look so easy. The room we were in was packed and I couldn’t relax as I expected either a foot or hand in the face from a neighbouring attendee. Was quite worrying as around 40% of “attendees” weren’t doing the hover correctly even after being told to bring butt down several times :S.
Sh’bam 15
It’s safe to say I still don’t have any moves but I know a man that does. Watching the master trainers on stage really is hypnotic as again they make it look so simple. Music caught my attention many times and there are some massive tunes in this release.
BodyStep 95
Ok, so I’ve done BodyStep in the past but this time round it was safe to say I was staying away.
BodyCombat 59
In honesty workshop didn’t do it for me at all. Seemed to be something missing, at no point did I feel anything that made me go wow. Am sure the release will grow on me as track 6 is the only track that stuck in my head, is a bit of a beast ;). Whoever the guys were who shadowed in this track it’s ok to smile you know this right? Steve T rocked the show as always encouraging everyone to give a little more and even mounting Justin at one point(guy love?). Great to see some banter :).
Final thoughts
The Venue
The SECC capable of holding 10’s of thousands of people with ample parking, easy public transport and the very basic on sight facilities. The SECC stewards were very professional and helpful. Only downer was that they wouldn’t keep the door open if you wanted to see what was going on in the auditorium and other rooms.
The Event
In my mind it’s going to take alot to really out do Altitude SQW 2012 at Engage in Edinburgh as the presenters complimenting the UK trainer team were of very high calibre. With GFX2014 being bigged up myself and many others thought the full UK Les Mills training team would of been there. Would of been great seeing the likes of Tanya W, Dave C, Shey, Gio as it’s been a while, we come in numbers attitude 🙂 This leads on to 2 points that I think need to be highlighted as without constructive feedback then how can anything improve?
- No floor walkers. Amount of “participants” would of been more sensible to have floor walkers correcting technique especially in BodyPump and CXWorx.
- 1100+ all doing a fair amount of high intensity workouts and please correct me if I am wrong but 1 water fountain?
Overall though was a good day. Great seeing alot of old faces and catching up aswell as doing and seeing the latest releases from Les Mills. It was great to see connections and banter on stage across all the programmes :). Well done Les Mills UK for organising such a huge event that went very smoothly.
All The Photographs from the day
- GFX2014 Glasgow – Les Mills BodyPump 89
- GFX2014 Glasgow – Les Mills BodyCombat 59
- GFX2014 Glasgow – Les Mills CXWorx 14
- GFX2014 Glasgow – Les Mills BodyStep 95
- GFX2014 Glasgow – Les Mills Sh’Bam 15
- GFX2014 Glasgow – Les Mills BodyAttack 84
