Body Attack 100 – What’s all the fuss about?!

(By Katy Thomas – Fitness Manager of Club Towers)

You may have heard our Group-Ex Instructors talking about “Body Attack 100” or read about it in our recent newsletters, but have no idea what Body Attack is, let alone what the ‘100’ means! If so, read on and all will be revealed…..

Let me start by telling you what Body Attack is and why I love it so much! Body Attack is a Les Mills Group Fitness Program that I have been teaching in Bedford for about 10 years. It’s essentially a “whole body” aerobic and strength based, endurance workout broken down into tracks (routines performed to a particular song). Each session includes warm up, aerobic, athletic strength, running, agility, power and core-based exercises. Les Mills create the choreography based on what has proven to be both effective and enjoyable and the exercises are paired with upbeat and motivating music. For the participant this provides something that works but also something that is fun – and ultimately these are the two main reasons for sticking with it!

Why do I love it so much? Well Body Attack is for everyone! Younger, older, whether you’re a regular to classes or just starting out. The moves are easy to follow, including functional exercises and each one has an alternative allowing you to ‘dial down’ the intensity when needed. This inclusive approach means everyone can start and finish their workout together. My class participants range from teenagers through to those in their 60s and 70s, male and female, all increasing their fitness and strength whilst burning some serious calories! As an instructor I get a huge buzz seeing the members enjoy their classes, their smiling faces, watching them getting fitter and healthier and hearing those words ‘that was my first Body Attack class, I really enjoyed it!’

Body Attack was the first Les Mills program I trained in and five programs later, it remains my favourite. I’ve seen the program evolve over time and become what it is today. It has a huge place in my heart and when people tell me Body Attack has changed their lives I know exactly what they mean!

So, I hear you asking, what does the ‘100’mean? Every Les Mills program changes every 3 months, this means fresh choreography and new music to keep participants motivated and the workout fresh and effective. The “100” means the 100th release of Body Attack, and with four releases a year, that’s 25 years of Body Attack! And whilst that longevity speaks for itself in terms of the appeal and effectiveness of Body Attack, I’m also really proud to say that I’ve personally taught 40 of those 100 releases! (I was very young when I started of course ?…….)

Les Mills UK have set the Body Attack 100 launch date of April 14th 2018, so that every club in the UK releases it on the same day. Imagine how many people will be doing Body Attack that day!

I decided I wanted to mark the occasion by getting at least 100 people doing Body Attack here at Club Towers, and to do that we need a big space! Well what better place than in our Tennis Bubble! We will have a team of instructors taking you through the workout with at least one of them performing the ‘lower intensity’ option for the whole duration. This means everyone can follow and take part and if you’ve never done Body Attack before, there will be no better times to come and try it!

I would love as many of you as possible to come and join us and be part of something unique and different – you have nothing to lose and if you get the bug, the benefits will last long into the future.

I look forward to seeing you all there and sharing the next episode in my Body Attack adventure with you!