Les Mills BodyCombat 67 , BodyCombat 68 and several other releases are now in the mix. This release has gone. BodyCombat 70 track listing is out. How has BodyCombat 69 gone down?
Les Mills BodyCombat 69 Masterclass
Filmed in the usual studio back in Auckland New Zealand.Dan, Rach and 2 other presenters. Beginning to notice alot of changes now in the sense of how the program is delivered and the language used. “Are you ready at home?” On demand/virtual must be getting more popular… Not sure if anyone else was distracted by the 2 big guys at the front who were over exaggerating moves?
Anyway onto BodyCombat 69 tracks
Track 1a – Upper body warmup – Everybody Stand Up – Bombs Away feat. Luciana
Really like the chorus/synth in this track. Choreography is simple which means lots of time to focus on technique before we start putting more power and speed into our movement.
Track 1b – Lower body warmup – Nuclear (Dillon Francis Remix) – Zomboy
Love the layering of the roundhouse kicks, lots of time to focus on technique and give appropriate levels. Accelerated warm-up seems a little out there but what works, works… The back kick into capoeira seems a step back before going into our first fight?
Track 2 – Combat 1 – I’m Alive – Shinedown
Combination we’ve seen many times in the past of the jab,cross, hook and 2 back knees. All the round house kicks make this track the first contender for mixing out. Like the previous release just repetitive and boring. It’s a shame as the music is easy to hook into and it’s not “dub step” or “hard dance”.
Track 3 – Power training 1 – Good Times – Sigma & Ella Eyre
This power track is probably on the top of the list in relation to favourites from this release. Defined as “Euphoric, Drum ‘n’ Bass and uplifting” and the music certainly matches this. It isn’t just beats and noise which is a tick on my sheet. Combinations brings different levels of intensity while being able to focus on technique. The weave adds a nice touch to break down the main combinations. I can see this on a mix playlist in the future.
Track 4 – Combat 2 – Say My Name (Dual Thieves Remix) – Peking Duck feat. Benjamin Joseph
No floor work in the middle of the track = #winning. It’s good to see we’re not breaking up the work out by going to the floor :). This is a massive leg track. Lunges, knees, front kick and lunge, 32 each side with a little capoeira thrown in. Another great butt burner. Nothing complicated “just get down, get dirty and say my name” :P.
Track 5 – Power training 2 – Count On Me (Andy C Remix) – Chase & Status
Only being 3 minutes and 45 seconds it’s short, sharp and kinda dull. The 20 second time trial. Dan looks like he’s having a fit on the master class :S. On the beat or off the beat with jab, upper, hook. Reminds me of a track 5 in BodyCombat 66. We didn’t have any floor work in the previous track but here we have some press-ups. It’s not long before you’re back on your feet repeating the combo on the left side. Being tagged as #gapfiller for future mixes.
Track 6 – Combat 3 – Wine Dem – Henry Fong
Starting off with a combination that develops into 2 hooks, one back kick, and a knee. This is certainly going to keep the heart rate high especially when the knee becomes a jump knee. Directional movement with 2 jabs and a double crunch moving into the singles. In terms of choreography is a #neutral track but the music doesn’t do it.
Track 7 – Muay Thai – Testify – Steve Hill & Klubfiller
Simple choreography of Knees, elbows, more knees and more elbows. Track broken down by the “superman punch”. Lots of room to show levels of intensity. Good track, will be used to fill future mixes 🙂 #classictrack7
Track 8 – Power training 3 – Watch It Burn – Camo & Krooked feat. Ayah Marar
If you’re committing everything you have to this track then by the end of it your shoulders should be screaming at you. Kept simple as we build up the full combination of jab,cross, and upper cuts. Not sure about the music or the lyrics “I don’t want to do this anymore, Don’t let us fall apart, no, no, no”. Away from the music I do like the choreography. Lots to work with to push intensity through the roof :).
Track 9 – Conditioning – Bring ‘Em Out – T.I.
“3 exercises to maximize the front and sides of the core to complete the workout.”. Leg criss-cross, pulse crunch, and an oblique pulse crunch.What a combination. #loveit #burn
Track 10 – Cool down – Rise Up – Andra Day
It’s quite a long cool down 4.13mins. This one feels like a classic combat cool down. #thankyou
Overall thoughts on BodyCombat 69
Only see 2 or 3 tracks making it into future mixes. Across various venues it’s been a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Most participants felt it lacked something and got boring quite quick.
I’m somewhere in the middle it’s not great, but it’s not terrible. Seems the fun is slowly being drained as we progress each release.
What Next?
BodyCombat 70 track listing is out. What will BodyCombat 70 bring? Predictions : #wtf
Lot of new moves from BodyCombat 50 through to BodyCombat 60 and they’ve been one hit wonders. Will we see these moves again any time soon? It would seem not. BodyCombat 70, new moves, new format?
Roger and I will probably be chatting about this release soon so please check out his group fitness over coffee podcast.
Got launch pictures/videos you want to share?
For every release comes an “everything bodycombat” post. These can all be found : https://www.siphilp.co.uk/tag/everything-body-combat. Have anything to share for BodyCombat 69 then please get in touch.
Give Feedback
If you have any thoughts about BodyCombat 69 and you’d like to share then please feel free to comment or get in touch. Give feedback to Les Mills? If you’re an instructor look for the Blah link, participant, take it to twitter :). While you’re here why not subscribe?
Are you an instructor? Do you have thoughts on how the “portal” could be made better? Check out my post : 5 things that would make the Les Mills instructor portal better
Finally, dear Dan and Rach
Please can we start having bonus tracks? Every other Les Mills program has them, options are good. 🙂 Thank you in advance…
