Les Mills Kia Kaha : BODYBALANCE®

BODYFLOW 35 LAUNCH ON TOP OF THE WORLD

jackiemills — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:46:00 GMT

Thirty people crammed into the group fitness studio at the Aspen Club in Colorado for the new class launch. Lori, Casi, Heidi and I taught this wee community of devotees. Their arms and legs were intertwined in track 7 but everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It is hard to get enough oxygen at 8,500 feet!

Lori has done a sensational job of establishing four programs in several months, which has really revitalized this club. (Here she is in her ‘office’.)

Aside from being one of the world’s top ski towns, Aspen is a centre for environmental thinking in America. We’re really happy to have a presence here.

Jackie

VIDEO SIZZLERS

susanrenata — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:27:00 GMT

Everyone at Les Mills loves talking about the programs (sort of an obsession really!) So big thanks to our ‘bright ideas’ department (aka Marketing) for coming up with a way to get others talking about them too.

We’re now doing mini-interviews about each new class straight after DVD filming and putting them up on the website when the classes hit the clubs.

Check out these “Video Sizzlers” – they’re a great way to find out what is hot in each new release and put a face to the names of the program creators.

Sus.

CHICAGO SUPER-QUARTERLY

jackiemills — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 22:14:00 GMT

What a fantastic experience to teach at the Chicago super-quarterly. It was the end of a huge day for all you teachers and there you were with bells on!!!

Kim, Josef and I just loved it. And I never know where this gal is going to show up - Great to see you again Georgia - flashing those BODYFLOW® green toenails.

Click Here to check out all the great pics from the Chicago Super-Quarterly.

Look forward to next year.
Jackie

Counting Down To The Big Day

Kylie Gates — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:23:00 GMT

Excitement levels are rising around Les Mills as we count down to filming the next round of masterclasses on Sunday, August 13. As always, the new releases are the climax of months of work by the Program Directors and their teams. The new classes are looking brilliant in last-minute trials and we’ve got two milestones to celebrate this time – BODYPUMP® 60 and BODYCOMBAT® 30.

Joining Glen and Susan on the BODYPUMP® presenter team will be Ute Wagner from Germany and the three “original” international presenters: Emma Barry, Steve Renata and Pete Manuel. Helping Dan and Rach celebrate BODYCOMBAT® 30 will be Kili Marti from the US training team. (Kili is also BODYJAM® Program Coach in the US and has been working with G on choreography for the new class.)

As with the 3/2006 Release, the new classes will all be filmed on one day so it’s gonna be huge!!!!

Kylie

10,000 Clubs

lisaosborne — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 12:03:00 GMT

Wow – we made it! As of last week, Les Mills is officially in more than ten thousand clubs in 63 different countries!!! What an amazing effort for a small company from a small country at the bottom of the world!!!! Huge credit also goes to our Les Mills agents, trainers and instructors around the world and it was great news to see new clubs in Spain pushing us over the 10K line to 10,011.

Congratulations to Cesar and Carmen and also to Jordi and Alejandra and the training and sales teams – and to everyone else in our amazing “global family.” All the agents are meeting for a conference in Spain next week so what a party that’s gonna be!!! And the work doesn't stop here, guys. Next target is to get to 25,000 clubs and be a top five global fitness brand by 2015. No pressure!!!

Lisa

3/2006 Release - It's All Good

glenostergaard — Wed, 10 May 2006 16:15:00 GMT

No pressure – just the first time we have ever filmed all seven new classes on one day! And in a new studio!! And with the Les Mills New Zealand’s superquarterly going off on the same day!!! And with minor issues like having to carry 43 RPM bikes back and forth from their usual home!!!! And with this being my first class as BODYPUMP head choreo!*&^%$#@!!!!!!!!

The good news is that the 3/2006 Release filming just went off people! Studio One looked great. The presenters looked great. And best of all, the new classes are just fantastic. Watch out guys ‘cos these new classes are comin atcha and they are gonna blow you away with their energy and passion and unbelievable motivation.

Pictured here is the BODYPUMP presentation team of John and Peggy Cleland from Canada (these old friends of Les Mills were a delight to have in town and look great on the tape), yours truly and fellow kiwis Susan Tolj and Steven Renata.

Check out the pics of the other presenter teams.

Glen

Peace In The Rockies

jackiemills — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 19:00:00 GMT

After the craziness of a full on week at IHRSA25 in Las Vegas (which Phillip says was the best industry convention he has ever attended), he wanted to go up into the Rocky Mountains to clear his head in the beautiful mountain air. Part of the motivation for this was we are writing a book for Random House on building exercise and eating habits which are sustainable both for the individual and the planet. We needed time where we could focus on this. A really inspiring place for me to choreograph too!

During the days we have been skiing with Lori Lowell, who is the Group Fitness director for Golds Gyms International. Lori is a very passionate, driven person. She has a background in touring the world with a Sephardic music and dance group started by her mother and is totally committed to developing a very high standard of group fitness in Golds Gyms.

Phillip is going home next week to spend time with the group of Dutch and Belgian club owners who are visiting us in NZ and I'm off to Boston for the Yoga Journal convention.

Jackie

Record Breaking IHRSA

emmabarry — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 04:49:00 GMT

The IHRSA25 convention in Las Vegas was the usual sensory implosion of business shifting from stocks to frocks and back again in the flick of a neon sign for four days solid. In its 25th year IHRSA broke every record: more people, more countries, more sessions and a combined attendance at the Las Vegas Convention Center in excess of 14000 people!

Without a doubt this was also the greatest IHRSA yet for Les Mills.

Over 300 people rocked to the rhythm of our morning classes with a record breaking 140 enthusiasts hitting a high with BODYATTACK™ – nothing, but nothing could contain the energy in the room. BODYCOMBAT™ and BODYFLOW™ also had knockout turnouts.

The booth team of Brent and Michelle, Josef, Lee and me was strongly supported by Joella (Mid-West), Kim (South East), Erin, Victor and Lynn (Mid Atlantic) and regularly frequented by the big guns of the industry. Never a dull moment and the undisputed place to hang out!

Non-stop program demos defined the 16 booth hours and saw a constant flow of admirers through. All in all a darned good show or to put it in business-speak: “the resource was operating at full capacity”

Convention highlights: hearing Deepak Chopra, Bill Clinton and Lance Armstrong speak AND watching Joella fall off the stage.

More pics here

Smokey Fluorite

jackiemills — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 03:49:00 GMT

Filming the new BODYBALANCE 33 class was special in many ways but not least because of something that happened just before the start. My good friend and fellow teacher Dave Horn ran up and presented me with an incredible gift from UK teachers Dave Beech and Shirley England. It was a lovely pendant made from a special stone called smokey fluorite that’s found in the Malvern Hills near their home in the west country and near the ancient stone circles at Stonehenge and Avebury.

Legend has it that smokey fluorite has special calming and grounding qualities and I certainly felt that teaching the class. And now I wear it all the time! Thank you so much Dave and Shirley and good luck with your great work raising money for your local children’s hospice. Instructors from all over the world are connecting with the project on www.euromad.org.

This picture is of me and Dave H. Also pictured are Dave B. and Shirley at Stonehenge and Dave H. and Shirley in”balance mode” at Avebury stone circle.

Jackie

A Day At The Beach

jackiemills — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:09:00 GMT

Finishing a new round of classes is a big relief for the Les Mills program directors – and a great excuse for a quarterly get-together and wind-down. So on completion of the 2/2006 Release off we went for a day of swimming, picnicking, walking and frisbee-ing at spectacular Piha beach near Auckland. This is one of the most beautiful spots in reach of the city and where Phillip’s dad, Les, has a lovely beach house - our base camp for the day.

Aside from yours truly and Phillip, the picnickers were BODYJAM ‘G’ with partner Ginny (and schnoodle Bentley); RPM (and BODYPUMP) Glen and Sarah; BODYSTEP Mark with daughter Kaylah-Blayr; BODYATTACK Lisa with Pita and son Jackson and BODYCOMBAT Dan and Rach – a full team except for RPM Dan who was off winning a bike race at Coromandel (see his posts below).

A great day out in a fabulous setting and a fitting celebration for another Les Mills release!!!!

In the photo above there's (left to right) Glen, Sarah, Rachael, Jackie, Jackson, Pita, Lisa, Phillip, Ginny, Mark, Bentley, Gandalf. More pics here.

USA Quarterly Workshops

Steve Renata — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 05:05:00 GMT

Kia Ora USA! Awesome quarterlies last weekend in Fort Worth and Baltimore and more to come this Saturday with a huge day lined up at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. It’s the first-ever quarterly run by the new Les Mills South East team and I’ll be there for the action, along with Les Mills master trainers Susan Tolj, Kylie Gates and “rockstars” from the US national training team.

Look out for great new classes and education sessions that’ll help you pack classes at your gym. And check out the great range of branded clothing our new US supplier is bringing to the gig.

As the saying goes, you’re either in or in the way! Don’t miss out. Lets get together in Orlando and turn it up!

Stay pumped.

2/2006 Release Filming

Steve Renata — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 09:04:00 GMT

Filming the 2/2006 Release happens soon and topping the list of highlights has to be BODYPUMP 58. A massive chapter in Les Mills history ends with this final release from the BODYPUMP guru Mike McSweeney and helping to celebrate Mike’s huge contribution to Les Mills will be a presenter "A team" of Alani Mala, Shaun Egan and Susan Tolj. If you want to book a barbell, turn up early - this release will be going off!

Meanwhile, joint RPM Program Directors Dan and Glen have put together a release that will have participants flocking to your studio. Arthur (the Flying Dutchman) Riker is coming along for the ride so watch out for an action packed delivery of coaching concepts and an awesome cycling experience.

Rumour has it the other new classes are also among the best ever from Les Mills and that’s great news for the big group of Frenchmen who’ll be in town for the fun. More than 60 are heading south for the week so watch out for them on the next round of DVDs. Fortunately, we'll have some Brazilians and Canadians joining the visiting party to keep the excitement level under control (just joking guys!).

Here's the filming dates for anyone else who happens to be in town (Auckland, that is) and wants to join the demo classes at the Les Mills gym.

Tuesday 7th February - BODYCOMBAT 28 @ 5:10PM
Tuesday 7th February - BODYBALANCE 33 @ 7:10PM
Wednesday 8th February - RPM 30 @ 2:30PM (by invitation only due to limited bike numbers)
Wednesday 8th February - BODYPUMP 58 @ 7:10PM
Wednesday 8th February - BODYSTEP 64 @ 8:30PM
Monday 13th February - BODYJAM 37 @ 5:10PM
Monday 13th February - BODYATTACK 53 @ 6:10PM

Visiting For The Filming

Josef Mathews — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 19:03:00 GMT

Kia Ora,

Just a quick line to share my great experience I just had in Auckland. I left rainy Orange County, California two weeks ago for my twelve-hour flight to the heart of Les Mills. Having a bunch of butterflies flying around in my belly, I must say that it has been worth every nervous second.

I have had a great time filming the latest releases of BODYCOMBAT 27 with Dan and Rach and BODYBALANCE/FLOW 32 with Jackie, Anita and Dave. It has been really fun to see how things work behind the scenes for filming the DVDs filming and also be a part of the two presenter teams. A definite bonus has been to hook up again with a big part of the Baypoint Gang - the original Les Mills North America 2005 re-launch team of Alani, Bevan, Susan and Steve. I have also been lucky with the weather having lots of sunshine, which I understand is a rarity here in NZ ;-)

Heading back to the US tomorrow. I’m going to miss everyone over here but I am looking forward to rejoining the US training team for the new quarterly workshop round. Here’s a picture of Dan and I in the reception at Les Mills International.

Josef.

Colleen Mills 1933 - 2005

emmabarry — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:46:00 GMT

Sad times for all of us at Les Mills with the recent death of Les’ wife Colleen from illness at the age of 71. Colleen was simply amazing. Larger than life, a straight shooter and famous for those enormous, all encompassing embraces that left you breathless. Everyone has a famous Colleen story – she was memorable and saw through everything! She left her dent on the world!

Like Les, Colleen was an outstanding athlete, representing New Zealand in her specialist event, the 400m. She also worked closely with Les on the gym business they started in 1968 and was brilliant as Mayoress of Auckland in the eight years Les was Mayor – colorful, spirited and strong.

Colleen was also very much involved in the creation of the Les Mills group fitness programs. She worked closely with Phillip on developing the “jazzercise” program he introduced in the early 1980s and made a huge contribution in discovering and training our first instructors. She was responsible for talent spotting a promising young instructor by the name of Mike McSweeney (our BODYPUMP Program Director) in the Wellington gym in 1987. Colleen was always prepared to roll her sleeves up for the donkey work too – she’d spend hours drawing figures for the first choreography manuals – no fancy graphics packages in those days!!!

Colleen was a down-to-earth person who called it as she saw it. She was kind to a fault and shined a special light into all our lives. She’ll be sadly missed and our love goes out to Les, Phillip, Donna and family XXXXX.

BODYBALANCE And Pregnancy

jackiemills — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 17:22:00 GMT

Recently I have been getting many inquiries about doing BODYBALANCE when women are pregnant. With just a few alternative movements, BODYBALANCE is an ideal way to exercise in both pregnancy and the post-natal period.

Did you know we have a handout for pregnant women who want to do BODYBALANCE classes? It’s called “Pregnancy Exercise Guide – How to Modify This Class During Your Pregnancy”. The handout covers track modifications in detail and gives the ‘golden rules’. Women can get a copy from their instructor and instructors – you can access it by having your club manager download it from the eClub. I’d love to hear your feedback on the program – and keep those song suggestions coming in!

Jackie