GETTING TONED w/ BodyPump and other Group classes

I have been taking Body Pump for all but 3 years now, taking body pump will give you long lean muscles and not bulky ones. As a previous post of the line up of what Body Pump entails she is correct of that order. Also like she said one track is squats and one is lunges and you can ask the instructor for modifications. If you are looking to get results from Body Pump you need to take it 2 times a week (u can take it more if u like just not recommended back to back days in order for your muscles to have a rest day). Defin. go light at first and focus on form, if you aren't using the correct form you will cause injury and won't get results as well. Body Pump and CX Worx is the only weight lifting/training I do besides a couple different exercises at home to work on adding strength to my lower back and pecks because they are two weak muscle areas for me I am trying to give them a little extra attention. CX worx is a half hour class that concentrates on your core. AWESOME and challenging class, it has finally fit into my current schedule and I only have been doing it a month and I started to notice a difference in things after only 2 classes. I also take Les Mills Body Combat, and Body Flow. Both are also great classes if your gym offers them. I do Zumba as well. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like or I would be glad to help you out with any other questions you if I can.

I am fascinated. How does body pump lengthen the fixed points on your bones that your muscles attach to exactly? Since that's the only way I can think of that would make a muscle longer....or is there another way I do not know about?

Mine aren't showing very well, how do I make the bulky ones?

And why are you calling them lean muscles? Isn't that the definition of a muscle? I get just as confused when someone talks about 'assless' chaps...it's the same as saying assless assless pants.

Group exercise classes are awesome for so many reasons! I was a group fitness instructor for several years, and plan to go back to teaching as soon as I deal with other issues unrelated to the classes themselves. I started off taking Body Pump and I weighed about 270 lbs. My gym switched from Les Mills to the BTS programs (same format, same variety of programing, but a different company), and I became certified to teach the weight program offered by BTS. Doing primarily the weight program (equivalent to Body Pump), the cycle program (I don't know the Les Mills equivalent, but I know there is one), and Zumba, which I also began teaching, I lost about 120 lbs. I also got very nice muscle definition. I get bored doing weights on the gym floor, so the BTS weight program (called Group Power) really was and still is almost my only strength training routine. Start slow, take your time, be consistent, and ask your instructor for modifications. Don't listen to anyone who says that you can't lift enough weight to get toned while doing these classes. Many times people (especially women unfortunately) don't see results because they don't add enough weight to their bars during class. They're afraid that they will get big and bulky and suddenly grow a beard:); just not true. I knew women who could do their squats with over 100lbs (or about 45.5 kg) in class. Maybe not bodybuilder-type weight, but certainly more than enough for anyone to get very toned. As you can see, I'm truly an advocate of group exercise. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want.

I have been taking Body Pump for all but 3 years now, taking body pump will give you long lean muscles and not bulky ones. As a previous post of the line up of what Body Pump entails she is correct of that order. Also like she said one track is squats and one is lunges and you can ask the instructor for modifications. If you are looking to get results from Body Pump you need to take it 2 times a week (u can take it more if u like just not recommended back to back days in order for your muscles to have a rest day). Defin. go light at first and focus on form, if you aren't using the correct form you will cause injury and won't get results as well. Body Pump and CX Worx is the only weight lifting/training I do besides a couple different exercises at home to work on adding strength to my lower back and pecks because they are two weak muscle areas for me I am trying to give them a little extra attention. CX worx is a half hour class that concentrates on your core. AWESOME and challenging class, it has finally fit into my current schedule and I only have been doing it a month and I started to notice a difference in things after only 2 classes. I also take Les Mills Body Combat, and Body Flow. Both are also great classes if your gym offers them. I do Zumba as well. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like or I would be glad to help you out with any other questions you if I can.

I am fascinated. How does body pump lengthen the fixed points on your bones that your muscles attach to exactly? Since that's the only way I can think of that would make a muscle longer....or is there another way I do not know about?

Mine aren't showing very well, how do I make the bulky ones?

And why are you calling them lean muscles? Isn't that the definition of a muscle? I get just as confused when someone talks about 'assless' chaps...it's the same as saying assless assless pants.

If you want bulky muscle you need to do heavy lifting weights, Here is a little info straight from Les Mills, maybe this will be a better explanation. http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/bodypump/the-rep-effect/

I have been taking Body Pump for all but 3 years now, taking body pump will give you long lean muscles and not bulky ones. As a previous post of the line up of what Body Pump entails she is correct of that order. Also like she said one track is squats and one is lunges and you can ask the instructor for modifications. If you are looking to get results from Body Pump you need to take it 2 times a week (u can take it more if u like just not recommended back to back days in order for your muscles to have a rest day). Defin. go light at first and focus on form, if you aren't using the correct form you will cause injury and won't get results as well. Body Pump and CX Worx is the only weight lifting/training I do besides a couple different exercises at home to work on adding strength to my lower back and pecks because they are two weak muscle areas for me I am trying to give them a little extra attention. CX worx is a half hour class that concentrates on your core. AWESOME and challenging class, it has finally fit into my current schedule and I only have been doing it a month and I started to notice a difference in things after only 2 classes. I also take Les Mills Body Combat, and Body Flow. Both are also great classes if your gym offers them. I do Zumba as well. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like or I would be glad to help you out with any other questions you if I can.

I am fascinated. How does body pump lengthen the fixed points on your bones that your muscles attach to exactly? Since that's the only way I can think of that would make a muscle longer....or is there another way I do not know about?

Mine aren't showing very well, how do I make the bulky ones?

And why are you calling them lean muscles? Isn't that the definition of a muscle? I get just as confused when someone talks about 'assless' chaps...it's the same as saying assless assless pants.

If you want bulky muscle you need to do heavy lifting weights, Here is a little info straight from Les Mills, maybe this will be a better explanation. http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/bodypump/the-rep-effect/

Doing body pump did not make my muscles longer or leaner (really, not possible) than they are now that I am lifting heavier. I actually think I am getting more "toned" with the heavy lifting and I'm definitely increasing my strength faster than I did with pump. Lifting Heavy is not going to send someone into muscle building overdrive. Female bodybuilders take years (and most often steroids) to get the muscle mass. I think Les Mills is trying to feed into the "don't build bulk" marketing jabber that keeps many women on the elliptical for 60 min a day. Being strong and lifting heavy will help you look lean with well defined muscles. The other factor that plays into how your muscles look is also how much fat is on top of them.

And I know I am opening myself up to various comments, but this is me on heavy lifting. Bulky? It is a matter of opinion.

At my Gym, the Les Mills instructors with the best bodies are the ones that teach Bodystep, Bodypump and the spin class. The other aerobic instructors that teach bodycombat or Zumba are extra thick. By looking at them, I'd say Bodypump, step and spin are the best for weightloss and toning. I'm in a strength training class twice a week outside of bodypump, but I think with bodypump you have to keep increasing your weights (gradually) and work to exhaustion.

I have been taking Body Pump for all but 3 years now, taking body pump will give you long lean muscles and not bulky ones. As a previous post of the line up of what Body Pump entails she is correct of that order. Also like she said one track is squats and one is lunges and you can ask the instructor for modifications. If you are looking to get results from Body Pump you need to take it 2 times a week (u can take it more if u like just not recommended back to back days in order for your muscles to have a rest day). Defin. go light at first and focus on form, if you aren't using the correct form you will cause injury and won't get results as well. Body Pump and CX Worx is the only weight lifting/training I do besides a couple different exercises at home to work on adding strength to my lower back and pecks because they are two weak muscle areas for me I am trying to give them a little extra attention. CX worx is a half hour class that concentrates on your core. AWESOME and challenging class, it has finally fit into my current schedule and I only have been doing it a month and I started to notice a difference in things after only 2 classes. I also take Les Mills Body Combat, and Body Flow. Both are also great classes if your gym offers them. I do Zumba as well. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like or I would be glad to help you out with any other questions you if I can.

I am fascinated. How does body pump lengthen the fixed points on your bones that your muscles attach to exactly? Since that's the only way I can think of that would make a muscle longer....or is there another way I do not know about?

Mine aren't showing very well, how do I make the bulky ones?

And why are you calling them lean muscles? Isn't that the definition of a muscle? I get just as confused when someone talks about 'assless' chaps...it's the same as saying assless assless pants.

If you want bulky muscle you need to do heavy lifting weights, Here is a little info straight from Les Mills, maybe this will be a better explanation. http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/bodypump/the-rep-effect/

When you said a LITTLE info you weren't kidding! This is the entirety of the site's contents on the issue:

THE REP EFFECT™
800 REPS. TOTAL BODY TRANSFORMATION.

The key to BODYPUMP™ is THE REP EFFECT™, a breakthrough in resistance workout training proven to deliver a total body transformation, fast.

THE REP EFFECT™ throws traditional thinking about lifting heavy weights on its head. Exhaust your muscles with light to moderate weights and perform high repetitions in a single workout. It's that simple, and that's the beauty of THE REP EFFECT™.

In a typical BODYPUMP™ class, you'll perform 800 repetitions in 55 minutes! Think you can manage that on your own? Compared to a standard gym workout, it's more than four times the reps during a weight training workout an average person can achieve alone!

BODYPUMP™ use THE REP EFFECT™ to give you sculpted shoulders, defined biceps and triceps, strong lean legs, firm glutes and a tight core. Choreography in each of these areas is specifically targeted so you'll burn fat, burn more calories and achieve more meaningful fat loss and muscle fatigue to build strength without building bulk.

That means a long, lean muscles and a toned, strong physique - fast!

I would say that's an advertisement, not info. And it's complete nonsense. Heavy weight does not make you bulky, only testosterone and a calorie surplus can do that, with strength training, in the hypertrophy rep range, which is somewhere between 6-12 reps. Women take MONTHS of hard work to pack on appreciable muscle without the aid of steroids. But, to err on the side of caution, you can lift in the range of less than 6 reps to guarantee not to see hypertrophy.

Check out this thread to see some examples of what heavy lifting looks like on women here (myself included):
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/884447-do-you-lift-heavy-are-you-bulky

I have been taking Body Pump for all but 3 years now, taking body pump will give you long lean muscles and not bulky ones. As a previous post of the line up of what Body Pump entails she is correct of that order. Also like she said one track is squats and one is lunges and you can ask the instructor for modifications. If you are looking to get results from Body Pump you need to take it 2 times a week (u can take it more if u like just not recommended back to back days in order for your muscles to have a rest day). Defin. go light at first and focus on form, if you aren't using the correct form you will cause injury and won't get results as well. Body Pump and CX Worx is the only weight lifting/training I do besides a couple different exercises at home to work on adding strength to my lower back and pecks because they are two weak muscle areas for me I am trying to give them a little extra attention. CX worx is a half hour class that concentrates on your core. AWESOME and challenging class, it has finally fit into my current schedule and I only have been doing it a month and I started to notice a difference in things after only 2 classes. I also take Les Mills Body Combat, and Body Flow. Both are also great classes if your gym offers them. I do Zumba as well. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like or I would be glad to help you out with any other questions you if I can.

I am fascinated. How does body pump lengthen the fixed points on your bones that your muscles attach to exactly? Since that's the only way I can think of that would make a muscle longer....or is there another way I do not know about?

Mine aren't showing very well, how do I make the bulky ones?

And why are you calling them lean muscles? Isn't that the definition of a muscle? I get just as confused when someone talks about 'assless' chaps...it's the same as saying assless assless pants.

If you want bulky muscle you need to do heavy lifting weights, Here is a little info straight from Les Mills, maybe this will be a better explanation. http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/bodypump/the-rep-effect/

I don't want to sit here and get in a debate with anyone about this. What alot of you say is true its exremely hard for women to build up body builder type muscles without doing additives to put it simply. I already had known that you aren't telling me anything new. I am just someone that wants to look toned/ripped which was what I took the poster of this thread wanting as well. I had just wanted to share my experience I am having using Les Mills like she has asked, so sorry to piss everyone off!!

Oh and I don't remember who it was that posted the picture I couldn't even see it. But that's great whatever works for you, I tried doing free weights but they just aren't for me, I get bored.

What a fascinating read.

"Tone" is built with a calorie deficit, elevated protein, and some sort of strength training. Low rep, high rep, bodybulder split, 5x5, bodyweight, it doesn't matter. Lose fat, preserve your existing muscle mass, and you'll appear "toned".

"Bulk" is buit with a calorie surplus, sleep, and some sort of strength training. Low rep, high rep, bodybulder split, 5x5, bodyweight, it doesn't matter. Gain weight, with an elevated amount of the gain going to muscle, and over time (a LONG time) you'll get bulky.

A lot of people (a large % of guys and most women) cannot see muscle size. Getting "toned" in most cases will make you appear more "bulky". This is the illusion of leanness. As you strip away fat and start getting sharply defined muscles, they appear larger despite getting smaller. There is a great site somewhere illustrating this concept, where there are two headless body shots of women, there is general agreeement that one is perfectly toned, and the other is too bulky. It is the same woman, the too bulky picture is taken after dieting down following the perfect picture.