Les Mills Kia Kaha : RPM®

Happy New Year rpm'ers!

danmcdonogh — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 14:19:00 GMT

I hope that the new year finds you well rested and energized and ready to tackle O7' as it is going to be a big year for RPM and Les Mills.

We’re preparing now for filming RPM 35 in Auckland on February 8th and this will be a hugely important and exciting filming as we are teaming up with POLAR from Finland to monitor and graph every participant in the ride. POLAR are the world’s leaders in heart rate monitoring and the results from this test will solidify all that we have been promoting and preaching about RPM and the results that it can bring to our participants if ridden correctly. Stay tuned for further info!

As well, I am really looking forward to March. I will be spending the first 3 weeks in West Coast USA doing 1/4erlies, promotional classes and instructor recruitment - so if you know of anyone in the areas of Portland/Washington, California, Arizona/Utah that would be interested in joining the RPM team tell them keep an eye out for a club visit in their area during that time. I am really looking to recruit some males to teach the program :-)

At the end of March I will be heading to Brazil for my first time for club visits and the South American Summit. I am really excited about this trip and working with all the RPM instructors and fans in Brazil. So to all of you in Brazil, see you soon!

Until next time....Live and Ride Strong
Dan

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.

HELLO RPM'ers

danmcdonogh — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:09:00 GMT

Kia ora from New Zealand! The RPM team is fresh off of filming RPM 34 that encompassed great music, great coaching and a great international crowd full of RPM instructors and IMT's. We cant wait for you to get this release! We have been told its one of the best ever!

As well recently, the RPM team rode for the 2nd year in a row the amazing K2 Bike Race in the stunning Coromandel Peninsula. The weather was perfect and the ride well kinda desperate!

I rode the 100K and Glen and Sarah the 200K. A huge congratulations Glen who bettered his time by 30 minutes over last year and to Sarah who finished 4th in the Women's Elite Category. For the first 100k's she was hot on the tail of the Danish Rider who won the Women's Tour de France! Way to go Sarah! Look for Sarah to be doing some damage in the Pro circuit in the upcoming years! A true testimony that RPM and its training benefits can transfer to the outdoor riding world!

Looking forward to the 1/4erlies in Sweden, Finland,Norway and Portland, USA in the upcoming weeks so I hope to see all you RPM'ers in those areas soon!

Cheers
Dan

Cycling into the Future

glenostergaard — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 21:49:00 GMT

Hey RPMers

Check this out! It’s the brand new RPM studio at the new Les Mills gym that just opened in Wellington. It’s the tenth in the Les Mills chain and looks like a fantastic new facility. Can’t wait to get down there and see it close up –especially this amazing RPM studio. The entrance looks like stepping onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise but inside it’s geared up to replicate a great outdoor cycling experience, complete with road markings down the centre of the floor and road signs on the side. All the bikes are pointing in the same direction – like a peleton – and the front wall is a real scene from the city outside. Truly awesome! Click Here for the pics of the new studio and also some photos from the new class filming – RPM 33. It’s awesome too!

Glen

BODYPUMP® ON WHEELS!!!!

danmcdonogh — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:59:00 GMT

Dropping in on Maverick’s gym in Ventura, California paid off big-time for yours truly. Not only did I get the chance to do a world class BODYPUMP® workout and make some great new friends – but they also sent me these amazing shots from their recent country fair. The club participates in the annual fair parade and club owner Molly Hill decided to feature BODYPUMP® in this year’s float. What a great way to showcase the program!! Thanks Molly (that’s her second from left with the mike) and thanks to Jamie Mattock for the pix!

Check out the photo gallery for more pics from the day!

Dan

RPM® 33 Filming

danmcdonogh — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:21:00 GMT

Hi RPMers!

We’re really excited about filming RPM® 33 this weekend. We have a playlist of completely different sounds to inspire the inner athlete in everyone and the focus for this new class is “Work and Recovery” -- what it means and how it should feel. We intend to add some more clarity around what interval training truly is!

A thought to leave you with...If you leave an RPM® class and have the feeling that it wasn’t hard enough then do you truly use enough resistance to match the feeling that we are looking for? Do you truly understand what breathless means and how it feels? If you don't, simply Turn it Up! - “it” being resistance.

Check out the picture from the IDEA World Fitness Convention in the extremely hot Las Vegas, USA. I was honored to be presenting there alongside Kendal, Brent, Rodney, Kili and Rick from the awesome U.S. training team.

Dan

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

Salut tous le monde!

danmcdonogh — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 04:55:00 GMT

Just back from a fabulous tour of Switzerland and France where I lived the essence of cycling both indoors and out! Indoors, all the RPM classes at the quarterlies were full with stand by's and RPM 31 was rocking! It was my pleasure to teach with two great French trainers, Thomas (in the picture) and Fred. Outdoors, I did an incredible switchback climb through the French alps that lasted about 1.5 hours over the snow-covered top into Italy. The descent took 20 minutes at 70 kph, Yikes! What an incredible experience!

The quarterlies in both countries were fantastic and my hat is off to all the Les Mills teams. They're incredibly passionate and it's showing in the numbers "turning it up" at the quarterlies and the clubs.

Look forward to working with all of you again soon!

Until then,
Live and Ride Strong!

More pictures...

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

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

Colville Connection

danmcdonogh — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 04:24:00 GMT

RPM comes out on top!

Hey all you RPM' ers! Just wanted to let you know that I entered my first MTB race in about a year and all was successful! The race www.colvilleconnection.co.nz was very tough over 44k's but the scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect! At the end of the day I managed to pull out a win by 8mins! So, there's proof that RPM transfers to outdoor riding. Those double RPM classes that I have been doing a few times a week has paid off! I look forward to sharing more riding experiences with all of you. If you have any, please send them through!

Live and Ride Strong!

Dan

RPM Update

danmcdonogh — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 05:36:00 GMT

Kia Ora all RPM'ers out there! Just finished filming 31 and we believe that it is one of the best yet in terms of music, energy and coaching! We cant wait till you get it! We would love your feedback! Currently working on the music for 32 and we want to thank all of you who keep sending us music suggestions, the more ears the better!

Lots of action happening this spring in terms of riding for the RPM team. The Tour of Northland happens next week March 15 thru 19. It is a 4 day stage race that will take us through some of the most hilly, scenic areas of New Zealand. Averaging a 100 k's a day, the ride will sure to be a good one!

In May, I am attending a bike camp in Italy along side the Giro D' Italia - one of the most exciting pro races next to the Tour D' France! This bike camp will have me riding over a 100k's a day for 7 days through some of the most dramatic mountain ranges that Italy has to offer. As well, I will be able to watch all the Pro teams in action preparing for the Tour in July! Check out the itinerary

In August the World Mountain Bike Championship arrive in New Zealand in Rotorua! We look forward to sharing all of these experiences with you! From the RPM team we want to thank you again for all of your support in making the program one of the fastest growing programs in the world! Now, get outside and ride!

Ride Hard. Have Fun. Live Well!

Dan

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