If last week was all about cardio with the Core Pulse overdose, then it’s quite fitting that the theme for this week is endurance based strength. They are starting with the new Power Step choreography tomorrow so I figured I’d do an extra Body Pump session this week as a sort of warm up.

It has been months since the last time I attended a Body Pump class so I almost felt like a beginner again yesterday. I didn’t recognize a single track which suggest I may have missed an entire release.

When you don’t remember what weights you can take on each exercise, or when you are unsure if you are able to lift the same amount you did several months back, it becomes a lot harder to enjoy the workout. You put on too little and it’s not much of a challenge, you put on too heavy and you can’t do the exercises with good form.

But that is not my main issue with Body Pump. What makes it dull is that there is very little variation. All you do is stand in one spot and grind grind grind those weights. This makes it harder to connect with the music as well. In Core Pulse and Power Step it is much easier since you are moving your entire body in tune with the beat of the music.

I do feel that I did get a good workout for my biceps which is a good thing as I really struggle with that as of late. Biceps curls with dumbbells are a lot harder to do with good form than one could imagine. I suppose that is actually the whole point of using free weights. However I’m thinking that I may have an easier time developing my biceps strength with a more isolated exercise like a preacher or meditation curl. I will have to take that into consideration for my next strength training routine.