Ok.. What you call this?

[Doc2029]

I was just tired of doing cardio on treadmills and other machines. There isn't a lot of room to do things like burpies and no track to run on either. So, I took this class called "body pump". It was a high rep, low weight class with no real cardio in it, but it made you work hard got your heart rate way up and despite the small amount of weight by the end of the squats the 10lbs I was using felt like the 245 I normally do. You do these lifts slow and fast, you hold them at different points of the lift as well. It was really hard totally different from my normal weight training. So the question is simply should I continue with this class as a replacement to plodding along on a machine or keep looking. I do lift 3 X a week. Sunday, Tues and Thrus. and cardio only on Mon, Wed, Sat with fridays off. So, what do you guys/gals think?

[jondy]

Body pump is definetly challenging. I used to be an instructor for it a few years back. I would say it would depend on your goals. It is not really complementary to building muscle. It can also lead to serious overtraining if you already do a weight lifting regimen. I think the best use for this class is for people looking to build muscular endurance. It can also work for that person that can't get themselves to workout but think the group exercise route is motivating. Since, it's not really cardio you would probably not burn as much fat as other alternatives and if you are looking to get bigger muscles, it is not the type of weight training that will do that. It's kind of in a class by itself. I do, however, think it can be a great shock treatment every once in a while to keep your workouts interesting.

[Doc2029]

Jondy, I agree after doing the class it was fun even taxing however yeah it doesn't fit in to my goals. Not to mention when I went to lift on Sunday, I had a hard time because of lack of recovery time. So I guess it is back to the tredmill for me.

I wonder would a beginners arobics class be ok? I just need something else to keep me motivated for cardio. I used to play racquetball. However my new gym doesn't have courts for such activities. So my favorite cardio is right out.

[jondy]

Trying a beginner aerobics class could work. Just make sure it's more cardio than muscle stress. Some of these new aerobic or group classes have began implementing a lot of muscular work in them. The bottom line, however, is doing what your body can handle in terms of achieving your goals. Just gauge how you feel and how you recover.