Your Top 10 articles from 2022

1. New release highlights

Unsurprisingly, you love learning about what’s in the new releases! You all felt for Des Helu when he shared his experience of filming BODYPUMP™ 121:

“This was the first time I’d ever been given the Squat track to teach, and to be honest I was really scared. It’s a big track so I wanted to be really prepared. I think in the end I actually over-prepped for the class, because even though I knew the track inside out, when it came to the filming, I ended up forgetting the choreography to one of the main parts of the track. I think I just psyched myself out over it.

After I finished the track, I walked to the side of the stage and I was just sitting there thinking about it. Khiran [Huston] was sitting next to me and she just said: ‘Don’t think too hard about it. You did your best and you did a great job.’ I have to say hats off to Khiran, because she really helped me get through it.”

2. Kylie Gates on the benefits of aging

Creative Director Kylie Gate tells us she was overwhelmed by the response to this frank account of what it’s like to become an “older” Instructor”:

“I never really thought about wrinkles until social media came along, haha – isn’t that a sign of aging? If someone is concerned about being an older teacher I say: “Why do you listen to them? Who wrote the rule book?” No one did. There’s people for everyone. My people will find me – because of my uniqueness, the way I look, speak, teach, connect.”

3. BODYCOMBAT 90: Behind the scenes

Filmed during New Zealand lockdown at the end of 2021, this was an extremely challenging round for all presenting teams. You loved learning how this release was put together, plus Rachael Newsham’s candid reveal on how she brought her personal challenges into her coaching:

“It was a really different experience for me – having had no physical contact with anybody for a really long period of time. BODYCOMBAT™ 90 is a window into what it was like being in my world during lockdown. It shows how I talked to myself, how I helped myself get through lockdown. I really brought my own personal journey out in my coaching. The internal dialogue was bursting out of me, and it couldn’t wait to get out because I’d had no means of offloading.”

4. Vili Fifita gets real

The notoriously private Les Mills Ambassador opened up about the challenges of becoming a teenage father, and overcoming the “doubters”:

“When people find out you’re a kid and you’re going to have a baby, everybody starts looking down on you. I couldn’t even walk down the street without getting mocked. After I became a father, nobody believed in me. Everybody doubted me and no one thought I was going to be a good dad, to be able to provide for my daughter.

Having people look down on me, saying: “You’re a loser, you’re going to be nothing” is where a lot of my drive to succeed came from. It gave birth to a confidence I didn’t know I had and helped me become the ultimate version of myself. That’s why I don’t rely on anyone else, even today.”

5. Rach on cultivating confidence

Rachael Newsham asked in this article: “When everyone has the same music and choreo, how do you prove that your classes are just as awesome as the next Instructor?” She shares her tips to help you stand out when you're “vying for a spot on a well-established timetable full of experienced and popular teachers”.

6. Celebrating Pride

Four Masterclass Presenters – Otto Prodan, Tommi Wong, Nick Parashchak and Meno Thomas celebrate being part of the LGBTTQIA+ fitness community.

Otto shares: “Becoming an Instructor was a transformative shift. For the first time in my life, people were telling me to be myself. And the things that I thought were my weaknesses – or things I needed to hide – were the things that were being celebrated as an Instructor. For so much of my life, my default was to just try and blend in. Becoming an Instructor helped me find my voice and be comfortable with who I am.

“Now I know seeing people who are openly gay and who have a normal happy life is so important – and I want to use my role in fitness to extend my reach and showcase my happiness. I think back to my younger self and all I want to do is help others like me learn to be true to themselves – that’s my ultimate goal. It shouldn’t take courage to be yourself, you should just be able to be yourself.”

7. What type of recovery does your body need?

Do you know the difference between peripheral and central fatigue? If not, you need to read this insightful article! Learn why microfailure of our muscles is a good thing, and how to balance your training so you don’t reach macrofailure.

8. Lisa Osborne celebrates 20 years

Superwoman Lisa Osborne reveals how she went from a schoolteacher in Melbourne to Program Director in New Zealand, plus how her outlook has changed over the years:

“As I've grown older (you know I'm 33 forever, haha!) I've realized who I am and what I stand for more strongly than ever before. I know what my focus is, what my values are, what I believe. It’s these things that are important – not the external.

It's what we do every day in our classes that makes the difference. When you get up at 6am to inspire the people in your classes, that's what counts. Whether it's four people or 40, the number doesn't matter. It’s about how we collectively work together to change the world. What I care about is creating a product that people can share across the world to make so many others feel good.”

9. Marlon Woods talks filming and social media

Instructor favorite Marlon opens up about the reality of presenting on Masterclass:

“Until you’ve done it, you can’t imagine the pressure and the stress and the anxiety and the worry. You’re stressed out all week. You mess something up in a rehearsal on the Monday and then you fix it on the Tuesday. But then you mess something else up on Wednesday and then you realize you’re filming on Friday. And then all of a sudden, you’re in front of the cameras and the lights and all of the people…. and you forget how to even stand up. Seriously, for the entire first half of the Upper Body Warm-Up of BODYCOMBAT 82, I was panicked that I was going to fall over.

It's crazy how much we put into Masterclass and then once it’s done, we put the same stress on ourselves all over again because we’re worried about what people are going to say [once it goes out to Instructors and consumers]. The thing to remember is that nobody gets up there to do the worst job possible. Nobody is ever like, ‘I’m going to get there and I’m going to really mess this up’.”

10. Meno Thomas shares his inspiring journey

“Being an outcast is my superpower,” says BODYJAM™ Superstar Meno Thomas. Check out the full article to learn how the son of Mid Thomas (that’s right, Mid who BODYATTACK™ and BODYPUMP Instructors may know from Masterclass videos) found his voice through becoming an Instructor:

“Teaching group fitness at such a young age really helped my confidence, especially going through my journey with transitioning into being transgender. It’s been so helpful, not only for teaching, but also in helping me to stand for who I am today. It definitely helped me to find out who I really am.”

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