When I joined my local gym, I had never heard of Les Mills until the person giving me the tour introduced it. Les Mills is a fitness program that began in 1968 that provides classes, music, training, and partnerships all over the world. Affiliated with over 20,000 fitness clubs, including my own, they provide a variety of classes that build cardiovascular health, strength, agility, confidence, and endurance.
I’ve only been to a handful of group fitness classes aside from yoga, and I haven’t always been the biggest fan of them. I typically expect to feel awkward, out of place, and out of shape compared to the other attendees. Knowing this but excited to jump-start my fitness journey, I reluctantly signed up for my first Les Mills class. The class was called BODYCOMBAT and it promised to bring together the best of cardio, kickboxing, martial arts, and agility training in one 55-minute class.
I’ve done cardio kickboxing before, on a Nintendo Switch game, actually. I usually only do 20-30 minutes of this at a time, so 55 minutes would be a challenge. I assumed, however, that we would do a warm-up and cool-down that would take a good chunk of that time. Spoiler alert: I was wrong.
not your average cardio kickboxing
I try not to ever be the first one there. Growing up with social anxiety will do that to a person. I arrived about 10 minutes early to grab any equipment I might need, but I quickly realized that I wouldn’t need anything besides myself and a heck of a lot of water. However, I did notice that everyone had a towel, which I would have needed to grab from the locker room. I don’t sweat too much, so I didn’t think I’d need it, but I also knew I was in trouble if everyone was expecting to be dripping in sweat. I strategically picked a place in the studio where I didn’t have to watch myself in the mirror. I was feeling a bit nervous, but also eager to get started.
The instructor started the class, and wasted no time at all. She got right into the routine, and also asked if anyone was new. Still feeling nervous, I hoped I wasn’t the only one and that someone else would speak up. They didn’t, but I still wasn’t too worried. After all, I’ve done cardio kickboxing before so I know my jabs, hooks, and uppercuts just fine.
We began with a set of jabs, and then added onto the combo progressively, until we finished the whole combo (ex: 8x jabs, hook left, uppercut, kick) . Once we had finished a whole set of this, we would switch sides and focus on the other side of the body. The first round of this was tolerable enough, but I was already losing my breath. I remember thinking, “THIS is a warm-up?”
It took about 5 minutes to finish the combo routine on both sides, and I thought we might take a break. Within 5 short seconds the next song had started, and we were right back at it with a new combo, this time focusing on kicks and squats. The instructor gave several levels to choose from when performing the routine, but I was still struggling at level 1. I tried to keep up as best as I could, relying on the energy of the class to push me through.
As the class went on, I began to feel more and more exhausted. The high-intensity moves were definitely taking a toll on my body, and I could feel my muscles trembling with each repetition. But I persevered, pushing myself to keep up with the rest of the class. A few times, I stopped to take an extra-long drink of water to rehydrate and give my body a pause. I was WAY out of breath. They had a water fountain in the studio, and no joke, I refilled my water bottle three times. It’s not a small water bottle. Notably, I received high-fives on my way to the water fountain. Everyone was so ready to lift each other up.
so when do we stretch?
Forty-five minutes had passed, and the instructor said it was time to grab a mat. Finally a cooldown, I thought gratefully. NOPE! It’s time for BURPEES AND ABS! I could die. Admittedly, I did the planks on my knees and even laid down for a few seconds in between. I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. I met eyes with a few people as we took swigs of water, and we exchanged looks of encouragement.
In the final 5 minutes, we got back up off the mats and began some slow, dynamic stretching. “You should be proud of yourself, you showed up today, and look at all you accomplished. You absolutely kicked a**,” she said, and I almost teared up. I was exhausted, sore, and really wishing I had that towel.
Even though I struggled to make it through and took more breaks than the others in the class, I was absolutely elated and proud of myself for seeing it through. Although it was certainly a challenge, it was also a fun and invigorating workout that left me wanting more. The act of sheer willpower was inspiring enough to make me want to do it again.
I highly recommend giving Les Mills a try, even if you’re like me and haven’t done an intense cardio workout in years. It’s an incredibly supportive community, and the energy in the room is truly infectious. In fact, I’m already planning my next class! So if you’re looking for a challenge and a chance to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, give Les Mills a try. Despite the exhaustion and sore muscles, I know that it’ll ultimately help me to become stronger, healthier, and more confident in my own body.
-w.w.
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